What is data center experience?

What is data center experience?

Data center experience is the knowledge and skills that one acquires from working in or with data centers. Data centers are physical facilities that house IT infrastructure for running applications and services, and storing and managing data. Data center experience can be valuable for IT professionals who want to advance their careers, learn new technologies, or work on challenging projects.

Why is data center experience important?

Data center experience is important for several reasons:

• It demonstrates a broad range of IT skills and competencies, such as networking, storage, computing, security, and cloud.
• It shows the ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic, and complex environment, where uptime, performance, and reliability are critical.
• It exposes one to the latest trends and innovations in data center design, operation, and management, such as automation, virtualization, edge computing, and artificial intelligence.
• It provides opportunities to collaborate with diverse teams and stakeholders, such as data center engineers, technicians, managers, vendors, customers, and regulators.

How to gain data center experience?

There are different ways to gain data center experience, depending on one’s background, goals, and preferences. Some of the common ways are:

• Working as a data center technician. A data center technician is responsible for installing, maintaining, troubleshooting, and repairing the physical infrastructure and equipment in a data center. A data center technician typically has a high school diploma or equivalent, and some technical training or certification. A data center technician can earn an average salary of $54,000 per year in the United States¹.

• Working as a data center engineer. A data center engineer is responsible for designing, testing, implementing, and optimizing the network, storage, computing, and security systems in a data center. A data center engineer typically has a bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, engineering, or a related field, and some professional experience or certification. A data center engineer can earn an average salary of $98,000 per year in the United States¹.

• Working as a data center manager. A data center manager is responsible for overseeing the daily operations, planning, budgeting, and compliance of a data center. A data center manager typically has a bachelor’s degree or higher in business administration, management information systems (MIS), or a related field, and several years of experience or certification. A data center manager can earn an average salary of $117,000 per year in the United States¹.

• Working with cloud service providers. Cloud service providers are companies that offer IT infrastructure resources for shared use by multiple customers via an Internet connection. Some of the major cloud service providers are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM Cloud (IBM), Microsoft Azure (Azure), and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Working with cloud service providers can give one exposure to various types of data centers (such as hyperscale and edge) and cloud computing models (such as public cloud², private cloud², hybrid cloud², and multicloud²).

• Taking online courses or certifications. Online courses or certifications are convenient and affordable ways to learn about data center concepts, technologies, best practices, and standards. Some of the popular online courses or certifications for data center professionals are:

  • Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Data Center². This certification validates one’s ability to install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Cisco data center network infrastructure.
  • IBM Certified Specialist - Data Center Virtualization V1³. This certification verifies one’s knowledge of IBM Cloud Pak for Multicloud Management V2.2 and IBM Spectrum Virtualize V8.3.1.
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate⁴. This certification demonstrates one’s ability to design secure and scalable solutions using AWS cloud services.
  • Google Professional Cloud Architect⁵. This certification proves one’s proficiency in designing and managing robust and cost-effective solutions using GCP cloud services.
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert. This certification validates one’s expertise in designing and implementing solutions that run on Azure cloud platform.

How to showcase data center experience?

One can showcase their data center experience by:

• Creating a professional resume that highlights their relevant skills, achievements, projects, and certifications related to data centers.
• Building a portfolio that showcases their work samples or case studies of data center projects that they have completed or contributed to.
• Networking with other data center professionals through online platforms (such as LinkedIn), communities (such as Data Center Knowledge), events (such as Data Center World), or organizations (such as Data Center Dynamics).
• Applying for jobs or internships that require or prefer data center experience.

Conclusion

Data center experience is the knowledge and skills that one acquires from working in or with data centers. Data centers are physical facilities that house IT infrastructure for running applications and services, and storing and managing data. Data center experience can be valuable for IT professionals who want to advance their careers, learn new technologies, or work on challenging projects. Data center experience can be gained by working as a data center technician, engineer, or manager, working with cloud service providers, taking online courses or certifications, or showcasing one’s data center experience.

Tweet

Read More..