Network Consulting Engineer for Cisco

brewboy

Had a recruiter reach out regarding this position. Anyone ever interview or work in this role? Would be cool working for Cisco (if I were even hired) but the travel and dealing with customers part may be tough.

ccie14023

Well, currently being at my second tour of duty at Cisco, perhaps I can help. It is cool, I suppose, working here, although as a company we certainly have our problems, just like anyone. Leaving aside the whole question of where Cisco is going, and whether it is still relevant in the industry (I believe it is, others don't), for the foreseeable future it really still is the heart of the networking industry, and working here you can't help but learn a lot. I have not been an NCE myself, but I have worked extensively with AS. Your quality of life and experience as an NCE can vary widely depending on the customer(s) who you end up working with. This is true of any customer-facing role, including SE's. However, it would be hard not to get valuable experience working as an NCE. A funny aside: When I worked in High-Touch TAC, we used to say that nobody should be hired as an NCE unless they have two years of TAC experience. We spent a lot of time dealing with the consequences of poor design decisions that were made by inexperienced NCEs. As TAC engineers we had shifts, but many of the NCE's I worked with ended up on calls at all hours of the night because they were dedicated to a customer, and that customer was having problems. It could happen to you. But overall it could be a great experience depending on where you are in your career.

brewboy

I can hear the TAC folks now- "brewboy screwed up again, go wake him up!" LOL. Thanks ccie14023. Lots of great information and very interesting hearing about the innards of Cisco. Although the experience would be amazing I don't think the timing is right for me.