Why Most Engineers Struggle to Build Visibility (And How to Change That)

Andy Lapteff sits down in person with Tom Hollingsworth ahead of Networking Field Day 40 for a wide-ranging conversation about Tech Field Day, what makes a great delegate, how great technical conversations happen, and why curiosity remains one of the most important traits in networking.Tom shares the “secret sauce” behind Field Day: strong content, the right audience, and logistics that make the experience valuable for both vendors and delegates. Andy and Tom also discuss AI in networking, the difference between AI for infrastructure and infrastructure for AI, how new voices get discovered in the tech community, and why putting yourself out there can change the trajectory of your career.If you want to grow your presence in the networking industry or learn how to ask better technical questions, this episode is for you.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

In this episode, we break down why traditional job applications are failing and how networking communities like USNUA are becoming the fastest path to career growth in IT.You’ll learn: Why applying online isn’t working  How real opportunities come from real conversations  Why community matters more than certifications You don’t get hired through applications. You get hired through people.If you want to grow your career, this is the shift you need to make.Send us Fan Mail Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

For years, network engineers were told the same thing:“Learn Python… or fall behind.”But what if that’s no longer true?In this episode, we walk through a real Hello World for AI in networking: connecting an AI agent to NetBox using Model Context Protocol (MCP) and querying network data in natural language.No scripts.No Python expertise.Just results.This is a live, unfiltered build, from cloning a repo to debugging JSON to finally asking:“How many sites do I have in New York?”…and getting an answer instantly.What You’ll Learn: Why Python is no longer the entry point to network automation  What MCP is and how it connects AI to your network  How to query NetBox using natural language  How AI handles tasks that used to require scripts  Where human-in-the-loop still matters Why This Matters:Most network engineers haven’t started automation, not because they don’t want to, but because the barrier felt too high.AI just lowered it.This episode shows you exactly where to start.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

What does a network engineer actually make in 2025–2026? How do you ask for a raise without making it weird? And what's the single biggest thing holding your career back? We recorded this one live.This episode comes straight from the US Networking User Association PA Network User Group 2026 Spring Career Day — a standing-room-only event organized by USNUA in the Philadelphia area. Five talks. Five perspectives. All of it relevant to where you are right now in your career.Drew Conroy Murray from Packet Pushers kicks things off with highlights from their global salary survey — 418 respondents across 33 countries, with some genuinely surprising numbers around certifications, tools, and geographic salary gaps. Pat follows with a straightforward breakdown of how to build your case, time your ask, and walk out of a raise conversation with something — even if the answer is no.David takes it from there with a hard truth most engineers don't want to hear: being good at your job is the floor, not the ceiling. Visibility, advocacy, and knowing who has influence over your next move matters more than you think. Danny brings the career path conversation — why management isn't the only way up, why passion matters more than a title, and why finding your people changes everything.Andy closes with a personal story about unemployment, cognitive bias, and what it actually took to unlearn a decade of being anti-automation. Fair warning: it gets real.This is the kind of conversation that usually stays in the room. We're glad we got to record it.Topics covered: salary benchmarks, asking for a raise, promotion strategy, career pathing, network automation, cognitive bias, personal brand, soft skillsSend us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

What if the biggest problem in networking is that we’re solving the wrong one?In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy and Lexie sit down with Radia Perlman, one of the most influential figures in networking history and the inventor of Spanning Tree Protocol.This conversation goes far beyond protocols and configurations. Radia shares how networking evolved, through constraints, tradeoffs, and human decisions, and why so much of what we learn today is incomplete without understanding the problems those technologies were trying to solve.You’ll hear: Why Ethernet was never designed to be used the way we use it today  How Spanning Tree came to be, and why it wasn’t meant to be permanent  The blurred lines between Layer 2 and Layer 3  The real reason BGP exists (and its limitations)  Why engineers often jump into solutions before understanding the problem  What people get wrong about quantum computing and AI This is one of those conversations that doesn’t just teach you what networking is, it changes how you think about it.About AONEThe Art of Network Engineering explores the human side of IT—real stories, real lessons, and practical insights from people shaping the industry.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

In this episode, Andy sits down with Gregory Grimes to unpack the world of Wi-Fi 7 and what it means for network engineers.If wireless has ever felt like magic compared to the predictability of route/switch, this conversation is for you. Andy and Greg walk through the evolution of wireless networking, from the early days of 802.11 to the latest innovations in Wi-Fi 7, including wider channels, better spectrum use, resource units, and multi-link operation (MLO).They also explore the real-world question every engineer asks: who actually needs Wi-Fi 7? Is it a game changer for the average home user, or does it really shine in high-density and high-performance environments like classrooms, auditoriums, healthcare, and immersive AR/VR use cases?Along the way, they translate complex wireless concepts into practical networking language that route/switch engineers can relate to, making this a great episode for anyone who wants to better understand modern wireless without needing a CWNA-level deep dive.In this episode:A quick history of Wi-Fi and the 802.11 standardWhy wireless feels so different from wired networkingHow contention, collisions, and airtime shape wireless performanceWhat OFDMA and resource units actually doWhat makes Wi-Fi 7 different from Wi-Fi 6/6EHow MLO changes the wireless conversationWhy deterministic wireless mattersWhere Wi-Fi 7 fits in the enterpriseWhen it makes sense to upgrade — and when it doesn’tThe episode also closes with a great reminder that networking is about more than protocols and throughput. Greg shares why the Art of Network Engineering community has mattered to him from the beginning, and why finding your people in this industry makes all the difference.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

“AI Won’t Replace You, But Someone Using AI Might”AI is everywhere; stickers, marketing, hype. Network engineers are understandably skeptical.In this episode, Andy Lapteff is joined by longtime friend of the show John Capobianco (now Head of AI & DevRel at Itencho) and Mike Bushong for a practical, optimistic “ABCs of AI” discussion designed for working network engineers.We start with a blunt reality: automation adoption is still low, and the old “automate or die” narrative hasn’t helped. Then we pivot into what’s changed: modern models are strong enough to be useful, but only if you stop treating them like a search bar and start connecting them to real tooling and real data.John explains the core building blocks—LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows, and especially Model Context Protocol (MCP)—and why MCP may be the protocol that finally makes AI feel operationally real.Finally, we land on a concrete “Hello World” for neteng: connect an AI client to a source of truth like NetBox or Nautobot (in a sandbox), start with read-only workflows (logs, config deltas, compliance), and build from there—safely.If you’ve been curious but overwhelmed, this is your on-ramp.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

What does “mission-critical networking” really mean?At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it’s not about uptime SLAs or dashboard metrics; it’s about supporting the research and care that helps save children’s lives.In this episode, we sit down with Remington Loose and Josh Morris to explore the architecture, scale, and responsibility behind one of the most meaningful networks in the world.We dig into:How research networking differs from traditional enterprise ITThe massive data demands behind pediatric cancer researchDesigning networks where downtime isn’t just inconvenient, it’s unacceptableSupporting clinicians, researchers, and life-saving applications simultaneouslyLessons enterprise engineers can learn from healthcare environmentsFrom high-performance data movement to reliability strategies that operate without margin for error, this conversation reframes what networking looks like when human outcomes are on the line.Because in environments like St. Jude…The network isn’t just infrastructure; it’s part of the care team.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

Erika Dietrick (aka “Erika the Dev”) is back on the show, and she’s days away from a major life change (welcome, Baby Dev). In this follow-up conversation, we dig into the thing that keeps coming up in network engineering careers: programming is no longer a “nice-to-have.”Erika breaks down her free YouTube course designed specifically for network engineers: Level 1 is “programmatic thinking” (the mindset + foundations), Level 2 is where AI becomes your learning accelerator, and Level 3 is about generating code responsibly, without falling into the “vibe coding” trap.We also talk about why coding feels so foreign to CLI lifers, why so many “slick” courses lose beginners, and how to use AI like Google-on-steroids. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not smart enough for this” or “I don’t have time,” this one’s for you.What we cover:- Why network engineers struggle with coding (and it’s not your fault)- The difference between using AI while coding vs vibe coding- How to build foundations that make AI actually useful- Why libraries matter, and how Level 2 focuses on network automation libraries- Career reality: why Python shows up in job descriptions everywhereFind Erika:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCkWURMuDQZox53bskCFS6vw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikadietrick/Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

We've all worked on those technical projects that felt doomed from the start. In this episode, we're joined by Eyvonne Sharp and Mike Bushong to dig into what actually derails technical projects, and why the root cause is usually people, not packets.We unpack:- Why 80–90% of project failures aren’t technical- What “executive sponsorship” is supposed to mean (and why most teams never use it)- The real reason timelines feel arbitrary: information asymmetry- What “healthy escalation” looks like (and how to avoid the courtroom vibe)- How to deliver bad news to leaders: few words, calm tone, clear next step, clear ask- The leadership move that instantly lowers the temperature: removing blame- Why informal networks matter, including a legendary security-incident save powered by… cheesecakeIf you’ve ever felt stuck in status-call theater, pressured to keep the project's status green, or unsure how to talk to leadership when reality hits, this episode is your playbook.Send us Fan Mail This episode has been sponsored by Meter. Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now! Support the showFind everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng