Switching from programming to network admin in power utility

I’m currently in need of a job and don’t want to sway away from tech related roles. I was a “software developer” for 3 years since I graduated college with a computer engineering degree, but I mostly did some automation and app maintenance. So not much real software development and that’s hindered me a lot from finding a software dev role — even at the entry/junior level is a struggle.

However, I’m currently in my small hometown where I might have a good shot at becoming a network administrator with an emphasis in security at our local power utility co-op with plenty of training and education opportunities that they will pay for (this is great because I haven’t been lucky in getting any mentorship as a dev).

Overall, I like tech. I would love to learn as much as possible in this role and I assume I’m not shooting myself in the foot by entering an “old-school” IT role. I’m pretty new to the whole IT side of things but I find it very interesting. My question is — what career prospects do I have entering this network admin opportunity with an emphasis in security? I say this because down the line I may want to specialize or pivot into something else where I can use my “old-school” network admin experience. Thanks all I’m advance!