Network Automation

Hey everyone,

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I just felt like making this post as I have been pretty indifferent to automation and its impact on the networking profession. I currently work as a Network Engineer with focus in R&S, Security, and Data Center. Before the new Cisco certifications came out I was really wondering how much longer we have before we no longer will ever login to any routers/switches/firewalls and how we will no longer be needed. I realized that this is the complete opposite and I have started to embrace automation and I plan on automating most of the stuff in our network as to be honest there are so many tasks I feel like are a waste of my time (Adding/removing/trunking VLANs, configuration templates, etc). I have so many ideas to actually create a framework for the company I work with so that we do not deviate from standards (unfortunately like we do now). That being said, I am particularly only interested in developing network and security automation tools to give us a more efficient way of deploying networks, etc. In fact, I am doing a POC for our DNA center and me and one other guy are the only ones out of a team of about 12ish that know how to automate. Also, working on automating some ISE stuff using the API and REST :) We are a long way away from full automation anywhere and I actually still login to the CLI everyday for routing and the likes, so I think this will still be a thing in a future, but not as much as now. I noticed that learning Python is going to further and help my career once I transfer into a more Cyber Security role :)

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Do you think we will get to a point where everything is automating and we no longer will be around? I, also, wondered, if our job was basically going to be turning into pure software development. I had to think hard about this and I have come to the conclusion that if anything it is going to create more jobs and specializations. I feared that I would no longer be needed, but when automation goes wrong, we are the ones that are going to be troubleshooting. Sorry for the ramble, I had to get this off my chest somewhere haha. Time to finish up my NP and start getting some more security focused certifications :) I really want to know what you guys think our profession entails for the future.