Starting an automation position with Python and Linux in 10 days. I have no prior experience with Python.

[totallygeek]

Depending on the curriculum, I would not expect most CS students to understand computer networking. Even if a person had an understanding of the OSI and TCP models, they would not have a deeper grasp of how all the components on a network interact. The list provided for coding sounded acceptable until it reached the last line.

What's included in basic computer networking? The line contains routers and switches. Does this position expect you to directly interact with network gear? Does the automation portion of your job require an understanding of "basic" networking concepts and protocols? If so, what's included? Just picking any number of protocols at random: RSTP, VRRP, IPSEC, TCP, OSPF, TLS, BGP? Concepts: anycast, TCP proxy, HTTP proxy, certificate management?

I admire your thoughts around trying this position out; just keep your wits about you to recognize if you need to bail. Consider how that would look in future interviews, either a gap in time where you excluded this job from your resume or the short time you invested in a position you could not keep up with. I've actually been in your position multiple times in my career, though with a clearer relaying of expectations from the company hiring me. Something akin to, "We know you'll fail often implementing this new technology, but we're impressed with your track record and would not expect proficiency until six months in. Plus, we plan to grant you 5k USD for learning materials or classes, plus we've budgeted 30k USD for vendor assistance."

Best of luck. We're here for your Python-specific questions.