What are the key technical skills or certifications Nokia looks for in entry-level candidates?

When I landed my first internship at Nokia, I found that the experience varies depending on the position that you are looking at. One thing that is consistent throughout all positions is finding people with a drive to learn. Showing that you are willing to go above and beyond, networking with others, and bringing a positive attitude honestly matters more than exactly what technical skills you know, as those can be learnt during an Internship!

Some of the skills that some of the employers would be looking for would be as follows though:

Networking: IP routing/switching, Linux, Python, automation basics. 

Cloud: Containers/Kubernetes, CI/CD, YAML, observability; Cloud RAN concepts. 

Certs (nice-to-have): Nokia Bell Labs 5G Associate, vendor-neutral cloud (e.g., k8s fundamentals), and basic security. Nokia 5G Foundation 

You can also look into the NRS 1 certification from Nokia: Nokia Certified Network Routing Specialist I (NRS I) | Nokia.com

For Network Infrastructure, focus on:

• IP routing and switching fundamentals (Nokia NRC or Cisco CCNA level)
• Linux systems and basic scripting (Python or Bash)
• Network automation frameworks like NETCONF, RESTCONF, and YANG models
  

For Cloud and Software roles, build skills around:

• Containers and Kubernetes (e.g., Certified Kubernetes Administrator – CKA)
• CI/CD pipelines (GitLab, Jenkins, Flux, etc.)
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Microservice architecture and APIs

For AI and observability/automation, explore:

• Telemetry and data pipelines (Kafka, MQTT, Grafana, Prometheus)
• Machine learning basics for network analytics or anomaly detection

Thank you for your apply! That’s really helpful! Are there any recommended learning resources or certification paths (like Nokia’s own courses or labs) for students to get hands-on experience with these technologies?
Also I'm interested in Cloud platforms like AWS or Azure, what’s a good learning path to build a strong foundation before applying to Nokia? How to start for a beginner?

Nokia actually offers its own industry-recognized certification programs and open learning resources that are perfect for students:

• Nokia Network Routing Certification (NRC) – our equivalent of a CCNA/CCNP track, covering IP routing, MPLS, Segment Routing, and Transport fundamentals. You can start with the Nokia IP Networks and Services Fundamentals course online, which gives you a great foundation for network infrastructure roles.
• Nokia Learning Services – NRC Program
• Cloud & Automation Skills – we encourage exploring Kubernetes (CKA/CKAD) or AWS/Azure foundational certifications, since many Nokia solutions run on containerized or cloud-native environments.
• AI & Observability Tools – hands-on practice with Grafana, Kafka, or Prometheus can be done through open-source labs. A great example is this EDA Telemetry Lab it walks you through real network data collection and visualization pipelines similar to what we use internally.

Many opensource technologies you can look at also

Most of our deployments are on baremetal, Openstack and Openshift, since thats what customers use on premise. However, AWS/Azure/GCP experience is directly related and transferable

Thanks a lot for explaining this so clearly! The NRC program and the learning paths you mentioned sound really helpful for students like me.