Maybe you are just starting your career in IT, or maybe you already work in IT to some capacity and have been thinking about getting into networking. Whatever the case may be, Computer Networking can be a really great career.
But does being a Network Engineer require a lot of math skills?
The short answer is yes, being a network engineer will require SOME math skills, but the good part is these math skills are specific ONLY to the Computer Networking field and can be easily learned by anyone no matter their level of math skill.
What does that mean exactly?
It means even Albert Einstein would not know how to supernet three different /27 networks. (don’t worry what this means, just an example).
As a matter of fact, I am sure Einstein didn’t know how to subnet…
Sure, if he was still alive and you explained supernetting and subnetting it to Einstein he may be able to pick it up quicker than the average bear, but the point being is people do not inherently have computer networking math skills. They are learned. Any yes, maybe some math concepts you already know could help with the learning process, but trust me… I went to summer-school for math many times, and if I can do it, anyone can. I even have a good friend that is a super successful Concrete Contractor in Syracuse NY, who did my stamped concrete patio last week. If you put your mind to it, you can do it.
Maybe you are just starting your career in IT, or maybe you already work in IT to some capacity and have been thinking about getting into networking. Whatever the case may be, Computer Networking can be a really great career.
But does being a Network Engineer require a lot of math skills?
The short answer is yes, being a network engineer will require SOME math skills, but the good part is these math skills are specific ONLY to the Computer Networking field and can be easily learned by anyone no matter their level of math skill.
What does that mean exactly?
It means even Albert Einstein would not know how to supernet three different /27 networks. (don’t worry what this means, just an example).
As a matter of fact, I am sure Einstein didn’t know how to subnet…
Sure, if he was still alive and you explained supernetting and subnetting it to Einstein he may be able to pick it up quicker than the average bear, but the point being is people do not inherently have computer networking math skills. They are learned. Any yes, maybe some math concepts you already know could help with the learning process, but trust me… I went to summer-school for math many times, and if I can do it, anyone can.
Maybe you are just starting your career in IT, or maybe you already work in IT to some capacity and have been thinking about getting into networking. Whatever the case may be, Computer Networking can be a really great career.
But does being a Network Engineer require a lot of math skills?
The short answer is yes, being a network engineer will require SOME math skills, but the good part is these math skills are specific ONLY to the Computer Networking field and can be easily learned by anyone no matter their level of math skill.
What does that mean exactly?
It means even Albert Einstein would not know how to supernet three different /27 networks. (don’t worry what this means, just an example).
As a matter of fact, I am sure Einstein didn’t know how to subnet…
Sure, if he was still alive and you explained supernetting and subnetting it to Einstein he may be able to pick it up quicker than the average bear, but the point being is people do not inherently have computer networking math skills. They are learned. Any yes, maybe some math concepts you already know could help with the learning process, but trust me… I went to summer-school for math many times, and if I can do it, anyone can.
The common misconception about networking and math
Before I started my journey into networking, I had a friend of mine that was already a Network Engineer. I remember I used to go to his office now and then to see what this whole “Networking” thing was all about.
I remember he would show me things, and try to explain what he was doing or what he was working on…
And while I was very intrigued by the freedom and responsibility his company afforded him as a Network Engineer… I’ll be honest, the specific knowledge he had with IP addressing, subnetting, routing and all that stuff seemed overwhelming to me.
To me, everything seemed to revolve around numbers being typed into a black screen… It looked like the matrix.
Couple all this with the fact that I knew he was always good at math in school; I think I assumed that networking must only be for math whizzes of the world.
This was my misconception, and I think many others feel the same way. The fact is, it just isn’t the case.
What specifically in Networking requires math?
Everything and nothing…
As a Senior Network Engineer who has been doing this for a decent amount of time, I can say that while we do use “numbers” very often in our day-to-day activities, these numbers are more often used for “identification” purposes rather than calculation or “math” purposes.
So, can you really even call this math?…
From the most basic level to the more advanced networking levels, we see numbers are used more for identification purposes than anything.
Example: IP Addressing
Let’s take IP address for an example (don’t worry if you don’t know what an IP address is).
A private IP address is used the EXACT same way that a home address is used.
FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES.
We know that every home has their own unique address. Sure, all the homes on one street address look very similar, almost identical… Except one difference. The house number.
Take a look at the two houses below on the same street.
Both home’s address have “Main St, New York, NY”.
Both homes are on the same street, same city, and same state.. So the majority of their address is the same.
The only difference is, the yellow house has a HOUSE NUMBER of 101, and the blue house has a HOUSE NUMBER of 102.
Same thing goes for private IP addresses.
Take a look at the two computers below on the same network.
Both computers IP address start with “192.168.1.”
Both computers are on the same network, will have the same network ID, same subnet mask.. So the majority of their IP address is the same.
The only difference is the yellow computer has a HOST ADDRESS of .101, and the blue computer has a HOST ADDRESS of .102.
IP addresses use these numbers to help us differentiate and identify each device on the network. Just like home addresses help us identify homes on a street.
Even getting into more advanced networking like Router ID’s for routing protocols like OSPF, and Autonomous System numbers for BGP.
Numbers being used strictly for identification purposes.
Point being, networking can seem complicated with its many uses for numbers, but in reality, most of the time it’s less about the math and more about the identification.
Exactly what kind of math do you need to know how to do?
Now I would be lying if I said all networking is just simple numbers for identification purposes. Yes there is some math you will need to know how to do, but it really isn’t that complex.
Without going into an in-depth nitty gritty networking lesson, I will tell you that the majority of the math you will need to do will have to do with subnetting.
So what type of math is involved with subnetting?
BEING ABLE TO COUNT IN POWERS OF 2
If you can count from 2^0 to 2^8 power, AND MEMORIZE IT you will be way ahead of the game.
This is the basic math you will need to be able to calculate the size of networks you are creating, and the amount of hosts each network can handle.
This same math is used to calculate from binary to decimal and vice versa.
And of course you will need to be able to do your basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
You can get down in the weeds with advanced networking and math with calculating bandwidth requirements, wildcard masks, etc. But the majority of it is still based on the above principles.
Does the day-to-day of a Network engineer require math?
No, it doesn’t. The majority of the math that I need to do as a Network Engineer typically happens when I need to design a new network, or segregate existing networks.
Unless you are a design engineer, this isn’t a daily occurrence.
Being a network engineer, you do need to be able to look at networks on a daily basis and be able to differentiate it from other subnets. Now a lot of this comes with practice, and just seeing these common networks every day.
In this scenario, you could do the math if you are second guessing yourself or you can just use one of the many online subnet mask calculators out there on the internet 🙂
To sum it all up
Networking tends to get a bad rap on how much math is required. And yes, there is some math, but it’s in no way a majority of the job.
The math that IS required is “network specific” math which really isn’t that difficult and can be learned quickly. Don’t let the fear of math steer you away from pursuing a career in networking.
