Hi mate,
Maybe I can shed a bit of light on this issue. I can over to UK for the purpose of doing a masters in networking. I selected core papers in networking, specially in protocols etc and had other papers in subjects related to networking i.e. networked applications etc.
The benefit of doing networking in UK is that you get the study the latest technology that is happening right at this moment. If you manage to get into a good university, you will be working in good labs. But let me assure you, with good facilities, you will have to make good use of it as well. You will not achieve anything with just good labs and a nice looking campus. It has to accompany hard work, and with masters, it will take a bit more.
I studied in Greenwich University, which is located at the banks of the river Thames. The location was absolutely brilliant. The Royal College of Music was also on my campus, and being a music enthuciast, this was a bonus for me. It was hard work trying to get away from all the fun of living in the hall of residence, and enjoying all the night of central london. But as long as I could maintain my grades, everything else became easy for me. We had a marvellous library, and I would spend hours in it. Some might say I am a geek, but I was a proud geek who could work out the toughest networking OPNET scenario, and could down 10 shots of vodka in the same evening (the aftermath is not within the scope of this eulogy)
After graduating, and going through the motions of getting a job, I finally landed with my dream job with a company which was in the service industry. I started my career as a networking engineer, then become networking analyst, and currently I lead a team of 25 networking engineers who manage various networked systems for the London Underground Limited.
Through my experience, what I can tell you is that, you need a very strong foundation, if you want to make it big in the networking industry. As long as you know what you are doing, be it a CCNA or etc etc etc, your basic fundamentals should be as clear as crystal. I have come across people who put networking credentials in their CV, and on asking 'What is pinging', they fall flat on their face. So, I urge you, if you are going to put something in your CV, be prepared to back it up in your interview with facts. If you can't, don't put it in. It only devalues your credibility.
I hope this was useful. I do tend to go overboard when explaining something
Picking pebbles on the shore of the networking ocean
