Network engineers will have to work hard to keep pace with the rapidly developing field of computers. We probably cannot even imagine the advances computer technology will make in the next ten years. The companies with network engineers who keep abreast of these advances and who know how to apply them for their company's benefit will have a competitive edge. However, no person works only because he or she can benefit the company they work for. Maslow's theory argues that we are motivated by unmet personal needs that range from basic survival to "self-actualization," or understanding ourselves in terms of important issues such as truth or justice. That highest level in Maslow's hierarchy has little application in the business world for most people, but the rest of them do. We get pay so we have the money to meet our most basic needs for habit, food and safety. He believed that we had to meet lower needs such as physiological, safety and social needs before we can successfully develop healthy self-esteem and work toward self-actualization. Working as any professional, including as a network engineer, can support the development of a healthy adult self-esteem through work success. Presumably most adults have solved the issue of basic life support and safety, but not all adults have developed...

They may struggle to find adult love, or in more serious cases, struggle to maintain friendships.
People who lack social skills may struggle as network engineers because of the need to interact well with others, but they do have those skills, then such a job can lead to both friendship and the feeling of belonging to a group. While it is not an employer's responsibility to provide those opportunities, companies where the individuals who work there get along well will likely be companies where the need for problem-solving doesn't make its own new problems, because the people involved know how to get along together. The work of the network engineer affects virtually every employee in most companies, and he or she must be able to get along well with others.

Once a network engineer has been established in a position, he or she should garner respect from his or her colleagues as well as experience success in the kinds of problem-solving called for by the position. This would help support Maslow's "Esteem" needs. While it is not an employer's responsibility to develop self-esteem in its employees, at the same time, when companies hire younger employees they would be wise to recognize that many will have the need to have their skills recognized.