It’s no secret to anyone that the world as we know it has changed. In a seemingly short period of time, we’ve traded weekend get-togethers with family video chats and restaurant date nights with takeout.
With the onset of Covid-19, many professionals once required to work within the office’s confines now have the option to work from home. Without technology and technical professionals, organizations would not have been capable of shifting their workforce to a remote setup so quickly.
Types of IT Roles That Are Perfect For Remote Work
Many organizations seem to be coming around to the idea of allowing their employees to work remotely. For technology professionals, there are plenty of tech jobs that can be done from anywhere. Let’s take a look at a few jobs that are often available remotely.
IT Support Engineer
When a printer stops printing or a program isn’t operating as expected, IT support engineers swoop in to save the day! The best part? They can do that from anywhere.
I worked at a managed service provider (MSP) for several years, providing support to various clients remotely. While there were a few issues that required the dispatch of an onsite technician, most problems could be solved with a phone and the use of remote support software.
Systems Administrator
Systems administrators are responsible for the configuration, maintenance, and upkeep of endpoints and servers. For organizations with physical data centers, their system administrators may need to be onsite occasionally, but many of the tasks associated with system administration can be performed remotely.
With the rise of cloud computing and cloud data centers, future systems administrators are even more likely to have the opportunity to work entirely remotely.
Network Architect
Network architects design and build computer networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and intranets. Network architects will likely be required to perform work in data centers and onsite occasionally. Still, much of their work (specifically in the design phase) can be performed remotely.
Security Engineers
Security engineers focus on protecting their organization from various cyber threats like hackers, social engineers, and insider threats. Most tasks performed by security engineers can be done from anywhere in the world as long as the engineer has an Internet connection.
Other jobs that can be performed either entirely remotely or partially remotely include network administrators, IT consultants, helpdesk technicians, system engineers, network analysts, ethical hackers, penetration testers, and security engineers.
What Helps When Applying for Remote IT Jobs?
As with most professions, having specialized certifications in your chosen field can help you stand out among the competition. One certification that can serve as a great foundation for an IT career is the CompTIA Network+.
The Network+ exam is one of the core certifications offered by CompTIA. This certification validates that professionals are knowledgeable and have the skills needed to troubleshoot, configure, and manage wired and wireless networks. As a vendor-agnostic certification, the Network+ prepares professionals to support networks regardless of the platforms in place.
Getting Started with Network+
Whether you are looking to pursue a career in networking, server administration, or even cybersecurity, computer networks’ fundamentals are needed, and the Network+ lays the groundwork to pursue any of those paths further.
Upon achieving the Network+ certification, professionals may choose to attain other industry certifications such as the Security+, CySA+, Server+, Linux+, Cloud+, and more.
The CompTIA Network+ certificate prepares individuals for careers (many which can be performed remotely) including:
- Network administrator
- Network field technician
- Junior network administrator
- IT consultant
- IT support engineer
- Network field engineer
- Computer technician
- Help desk technician
- System engineer
- System administrator
- Network support specialist
- Network analyst
- Network architect
Why Network+ is a Good Option For Remote Work and Job Flexibility
Although my career has led me down many different paths, it all started with computer networking. As a teenager, I began studying computer networks, and by the time I graduated high school, I had landed my first job as an entry-level network engineer. The years I spent focusing on routing and switching prepared me for a career in cybersecurity.
Without a full understanding of how a computer network functions, you can’t correctly protect or infiltrate it. I genuinely believe that a professional with any job in technology would drastically benefit from having the networking knowledge of a Network+ certification.
