Can I switch from software engineer to network engineer?

Yes. You can switch from software engineer to network engineer, and a software engineering degree meets the education requirement for nearly every network engineering role. What you must add is networking knowledge, meaning IP addressing, routing, switching, and the main protocols, plus evidence of that knowledge, which is usually one certification and a set of lab projects. Most people who make this move do it in 6 to 12 months of part-time study, and many enter through a hybrid role such as network automation engineer.

The move is easier now than it was ten years ago. Networks are increasingly configured by code rather than by typing commands into each device, and network teams need people who can program. A software engineer already has the half of the job that network teams find hardest to hire for.

Can you go into network engineering with a software engineering degree?

Yes. Job postings for network engineers ask for a degree in computer science, software engineering, information technology, electrical engineering, or equivalent experience. The degree title is rarely the filter. The interview is the filter, and it tests subnetting, routing, and live troubleshooting of a broken connection, none of which a software degree teaches in depth.

That is why the certification matters more than the degree for this move. A CCNA on your resume tells the hiring manager that you have covered the networking material that your degree did not.

Network engineer vs software engineer

Neither role is better in general. The better choice is the one whose daily work you prefer: shipping features in code, or keeping the connectivity that all code depends on reliable.

Skills you already have

Programming. Python is the standard language for network automation, and you already write it or can learn it in weeks. Libraries such as Netmiko and Nornir, and tools such as Ansible, apply device configuration from code.

Debugging method. Reproduce, isolate, read the logs, fix the cause. Network troubleshooting is the same method applied to packets rather than to function calls.

Systems knowledge. You already know HTTP, TLS, DNS lookups, and how a request travels from a browser to a server. Cloud work on VPCs, security groups, and load balancers is networking under another name.

Skills you need to add

• The TCP/IP model and what happens at each layer.
• IP addressing and subnetting, until you can subnet without a calculator.
• Switching, VLANs, and spanning tree.
• Routing: static routes, OSPF inside an organization, and BGP between organizations.
• DNS, DHCP, and NAT in detail.
• Firewalls, VPNs, and access control lists.
• Packet analysis in Wireshark.

Practice in a lab rather than only in a book. Cisco Packet Tracer is free and enough for CCNA topics. GNS3 and EVE-NG run real network operating system images for more advanced work. "Computer Networking: Principles, Protocols and Practice" by Olivier Bonaventure is a free, thorough textbook.

Certifications, in a sensible order

Start with CompTIA Network+ if you want a vendor-neutral foundation, or go directly to the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), which most employers treat as the standard entry credential. After you are in a networking role, the CCNP deepens routing and switching, the AWS Advanced Networking specialty covers cloud networks, and the Cisco DevNet Associate certifies network automation, where your software background is an advantage.

Security certifications such as the CISSP are a different track. They cover security management rather than networking and are not a step in this move.

Roles to apply for first

Apply for the roles that value both skill sets, because they will interview you on your strengths. Network automation engineer and NetDevOps engineer roles want a programmer who understands networks. Cloud network engineer roles want someone who knows VPCs, transit gateways, and load balancers. Network operations center (NOC) engineer and junior network engineer roles are the traditional entry points and accept a CCNA plus lab experience.

For the application, publish your lab work. A repository with a documented network topology, the configuration files, and a Python script that deploys them is stronger evidence than a certificate alone.