What happens when a network engineer realizes their biggest strength isn’t just technology, it’s communication?

In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff sits down with Patrick McCabe to discuss the transition from network engineering into product marketing and other vendor-side technical roles.

Pat shares stories from:

• carrier-scale networking,
• tier 3 operational support,
• IPTV deployments at AT&T,
• systems engineering,
• sales,
• and eventually product marketing leadership.

Together, they discuss:

• why some engineers naturally gravitate toward communication-focused roles,
• how soft skills accelerate technical careers,
• the realities of outages and operational burnout,
• the difference between engineering and product marketing mindsets,
• and why AI is changing how technical professionals work.

This episode is especially relevant for engineers who enjoy:

• teaching,
• storytelling,
• customer interaction,
• content creation,
• mentoring,
• or translating technical complexity into business value.

If you’ve ever wondered what comes after network operations, this conversation offers an honest look at one possible path forward.

Topics discussed:
Product marketing, vendor careers, systems engineering, AI, technical communication, networking careers, maintenance windows, IPTV, AT&T networking, soft skills, sales engineering, and career growth in IT.

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