Which CCIE path do you think will be most valuable long term?

nickelito

Hello,

As the title says which CCIE path do you think will be most valuable long term, both when it comes to market value but also valuable in terms of what you learn while studying?

I'm leaning towards Security.. perhaps DC is in a good position too.
Please share your thoughts!

CE1028

curious as to what others think, but I'd say Security and Routing & Switching are valuable long term.

FloOz

Long term...at least from the point of view of the consulting world. DC and Security are the way to go.

EANx

I'd say it depends on where you are and what else interests you. From a pure "which CCIE" perspective, I'd say DC but if you want to combine your CCIE with other technologies outside a pure data center, I'd say R/S combines the best. Then a lot depends on where you are. Using a US example, the financial houses in New York will have a different demand than the tech market in Silicon Valley which will have a different demand than the government in Washington DC.

Simrid

The first thing I would say is; do what you enjoy.

Secondly, I think you have a few options - Datacenter certainly seems to be a growing industry and it also seems very interesting! Security is here to stay and will always be needed. I don't think routing and switching should be overlooked, it's really he nuts and bolts of a lot of networks and I think it would be extremely beneficial.

If you are after becoming a multi CCIE, I would suggest:

1) Routing and Switching
2) Datacenter
3) Security (if that's your thing) if not, CCDE.

sea_turtle

i would honestly throw service provider in there. not due to all the topics so much as the exposure to IOS-XR. If Cisco ever decides to pull their heads out of their asses and unify under a single OS (cough JunOS cough) i would be willing to wager it would be IOS-XR.

CCIE #50693

Let's face it. Regardless of which track is pursued, you have become really good in that area. I earned R&S and now after SP. You will find, as I have, that just having a # is sometimes better than not, and in other cases, not worth it too. But that is a whole different subject. I went after R&S first simply for the fact that, regardless of the "specialist" tracks, Security, Wireless, DC, Collaboration, you need to know R&S to get end to end connectivity. Security is pointless if you can't reach it, or maybe even the best security . R&S in my opinion is the launching point for the other tracks, yet, not required, I would say if you have a CCNP R&S, that is good enough to pursue other tracks. Your mileage may vary.