Become a Network Engineer? How Much Automation Do You REALLY need to know ?

When I was studying networking, I used to wonder how much coding and automation I actually needed to know to become a Network Engineer. Do you need Python? Do you need Linux? Do you need to understand APIs? Or should you just focus on the CCNA? In this video, I give my honest take based on my own experience working in network operations. I talk about where automation actually appears in a real networking job, the first scripts I came across, and what I think beginners should focus on if they’re trying to break into tech in 2026. You do not need to become a developer, but you probably do need to stop avoiding automation completely. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:04 Who’s this video for 02:02 My job and automation 04:20 Automation in networking? 06:11 My first scripts in a job 08:40 Python?? 10:30 Linux basics 12:30 APIs 14:15 What’s the point? 15:38 Outro #NetworkEngineer #CCNAJourney #NetworkAutomation #PythonForNetworking #LinuxBasics #APIs #TechCareer #CareerChange #CiscoNetworking #NetworkEngineering #ITSupport #NOCEngineer #techjourney