Generative AI is not coming for network engineering jobs; it's coming for the drudgery. Configure VLANs on 50 switches? GenAI script. audit firewall rules for unused objects? GenAI analysis.
The Human in the Loop
The role of the network engineer is shifting from "CLI Typist" to "Network Architect and Validator." An AI can write a config, but it doesn't understand political constraints or legacy application quirks. The future engineer will prompt the AI to generate the config, verify it against intent, and then approve the push.
Prepare Now
Start treating your network infrastructure as code. If your network state is defined in Ansible or Terraform, feeding that to an AI for optimization is easy. If your network state exists only in the memories of your senior engineers, AI cannot help you.