Network Engineer / System Architect

What would happen if every document a company had online disappeared? Securing an organisation’s network reduces the chance of such mistakes being made and helps to prevent attacks from online threats. As the world continues to move online, companies must increase security around their online networks.

A Network Engineer is responsible for overseeing a company or organisation’s network infrastructures, allowing the employees, clients and customers to communicate both internally and externally with ease. They implement, support, maintain, secure and develop the company’s network system, including telecommunication lines and computer firewalls. Network Engineers are part of the IT team that is either in-house or outsourced from an IT networking company. As part of the IT team, the Network Engineer will also assist employees with any network issues they are having and ensure that they continue working efficiently. They establish network system guidelines and enforce correct usage; they design and configure network systems, continuously monitor network performance and perform preventive maintenance to avoid any possible problems.

DID YOU KNOW?

• ​​​​​In many ways, Network Engineer jobs are the top of the IT profession.

Mr.Makara NGY
IT Manager
TOTAL Cambodge

I must ensure optimal performance and security of our network infrastructure – which is crucial for the overall running of the company.

My interest in computers and IT developed in high school, and I have always found myself drifting towards that as a career. I started as an English teacher, having received my Bachelor’s in Arts and English from the Institute of Foreign Languages. While teaching, I also worked part-time in the school’s IT department. Eventually, I went on to pursue a Master’s in Computer Science from the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

I have now been in the IT sector for seven years, two of which have been at Total Cambodge. I started my IT career as an IT Technician, then moved through the ranks to IT Engineer, IT Support, IT Supervisor and finally IT Manager, a position that I held at First Finance Cambodia prior to moving to Total Cambodge.

My daily tasks revolve around monitoring the data centre and the servers, and carrying out preventive maintenance work so we don’t come across any unexpected issues. I must ensure optimal performance and security of our network infrastructure – which is crucial for the overall running of the company.

What I enjoy most about my position, as an IT Manager, is that I have clear responsibilities in a multi-national company. The IT department helps a company to run its business smoothly – the simplest things, printing invoices and sending e-mails, require IT support. Additionally, IT is fundamental to companies communicating information across the world in a safe and secure way. With our regional office in Singapore and head office in Paris, I have the opportunity to travel, work with people in different countries, and improve myself through the company’s career advancement possibilities. Additionally, Total Cambodge has IT seminars that gathers IT departments from the Asian region, allowing mass sharing of ideas.

From experience, people looking to get into IT need to know the various paths they can choose. IT is very large – programming, application, network infrastructure, etc. It is hard to specialise in all the categories, and therefore it is best for students to have a specific goal and direction. If you don’t love IT, don’t go into it. Being punctual and flexible is very important because companies depend your work to run smoothly. I would also add that communication is a key quality for someone looking to get into the IT sector, because it’s important to be able to communicate with people who have no IT knowledge.