CCIE Life Paths

Dingdongbubble

Hello All!

I am, as some might know, a high school student and I am considering Networking as a career. I have heard of many 'success stories' of people with CCIEs and $100-200k jobs in high tech environments.

I would like to know all your 'success stories' of how you started off with networking in the beginning and how you rose up, your salaries at different stages, your certification exams etc etc.

Your stories might be a source of inspiration!

Thank You

Pash

Nice idea for a thread. I know there are a few on here with a story or two to tell and it would be nice if the regular visitors could say a little more about what they do also.

I think its great you are taking an early interest in IT, the general idea is if you start early with a real drive you will do very well. Im only 25 and im begining to regret not getting into IT a few years earlier.

Great stuff!

Dingdongbubble

Doesn't anyone want to share their story?

Darthn3ss

Pash wrote:

I think its great you are taking an early interest in IT, the general idea is if you start early with a real drive you will do very well. Im only 25 and im begining to regret not getting into IT a few years earlier.

Great stuff!

deffinitely. i'm only 18 but if i'd of gotten into this stuff when i was in 10th grade, theres a chance i coudl be on CCNP-level by now. my highschool offered the cisco networking academy, i just didn't know what i was going to do until senior year

Paul Boz

Who cares about the money. If money is your only motivating factor (you do it for the money and not for a love of the work) you'll never earn the true value of a CCIE. Any certification is really only worth what you put into it

CCIE's can pretty much make whatever they want to depending on what they do. You can work for a major network infrastructure and get a 9-5 job and a nice pay check, or you can do something like consulting, where the sky's the limit. It's pretty versatile.

seraphus

Paul Boz wrote:

Who cares about the money. If money is your only motivating factor (you do it for the money and not for a love of the work) you'll never earn the true value of a CCIE. Any certification is really only worth what you put into it

CCIE's can pretty much make whatever they want to depending on what they do. You can work for a major network infrastructure and get a 9-5 job and a nice pay check, or you can do something like consulting, where the sky's the limit. It's pretty versatile.

I care about the money! Especially because school loans are an azzkick.
It just so happens that money coincides with what I like to do.
If shoveling sh8t were this challenging, I'd be doing that!
(I work for an ISP and get a nice check, btw)

I don't think you can determine some kid's motivating factor as "cash"
based on one post. However, CCIE's can make some serious cash; of course
there are bunches of other factors. Thing is... CCIEs don't congregate
on this board as much as IE Writtens or NPs do, although I'm sure some
make just as much money. How about we hear a good story, versus an
"IE only" good story?

malweth

I just started working toward CCIE, so I'm a bit early on that path, but my story's a little different... (BTW... 28 years old now as a frame of reference).

I graduated University in 2000 (Electrical Engineering) and worked for Lucent for a couple of years (no Cisco there, of course). I left there three months before my team was laid off... and went to GD. GD sent me to CCNA bootcamp (Boston University - then run by what's now American Interactive), which I took to immediately -- and that's where my Cisco career started.

I did some R&S stuff and a lot of Voice & ISDN (PBX) stuff for GD, but ended up on overhead when the project ended. After a few boring months of this, I found a new job with the gov't. I now work on network R&D for a DoD branch. They also sent me to a CCNP bootcamp (American Interactive) after a bit of begging...

My decisions regarding the CCIE may be a bit different than many. The cert isn't likely to "get me places" or increase my salary within my dep't - though it would likely increase my reputation. Relocating would likely be a problem for my family, and the increased travel of consulting would be a bear... the price tag may help make that decision, but I'd hate to be placed in a worse position even if I were making more (might be able to stand it if it were a LOT more ).

I have a few years yet, but my end decision will be whether I leave the cushy job, go part-time self employed, or stay... I'll also need to make the decision whether or not I want to spend the money on the attempts -- in either case, studying my way there seems like a good middle-road. I really don't need to buy any equipment since I work in a (primarily cisco equipped) R&D test lab.

It's all very far off into the future... but at least I have a goal. I do want to get the cert just to say I made it (and it'd certainly be good politically within my organization). I do work with the stuff, so the studying is never wasted!

Dingdongbubble

Those stories gave me a better understanding of what to expect if I go into Net'ing. I have a bent of mind for computers and I work till the end to solve problems with determination. Even though the problems I fix might be too small for grown ups, but looking at my lack of qualifications, I think they are decent achievements for me.

So if I start 'loving' or 'liking' Networking when I go for a CCNA in the summer, I think I will enter a career which I will love through out my life, and perform well as a result. I do not want to enter a career for the money and then get bored with it within 5 years, resulting in poor performance and low or no satisfaction.

Mr Darby, I have a little question for you: Do you have a University degree and what education did you have to start off the career?

A question for everyone: Do you think that networking is going t become obsolete in the future, or will its demand decrease considerably or will it increase continuously?

Thank You very much for posting and more posts are welcome too.

Darthn3ss

Dingdongbubble wrote:

A question for everyone: Do you think that networking is going t become obsolete in the future, or will its demand decrease considerably or will it increase continuously?

Thank You very much for posting and more posts are welcome too.

i don't think its even possible at this point for networking to become obsolete, unless companies are planning to cut IT costs and go back to sneakernet? Imo, i think the demand will stay fairly steady, as now days businesses need networks for basically everything.

NightShade1

hehe i enjoy reading your histories darby it really encorage me that i can do lot of money and learn a lot! in just a few years if i put the effort maybe

shednik

NightShade1 wrote:

hehe i enjoy reading your histories darby it really encorage me that i can do lot of money and learn a lot! in just a few years if i put the effort maybe

DITTO always a good story there!

Humper

I am 21....Let me tell you my story...

In my last year of high school, I thought it would be cool to get into networking. I really had no idea what networking was. I thought it was all about plugging cables into my dlink hub. I thought a packet and a frame were the same thing...A MAC address? Is this like the mcdonalds hamburger?

Anyways I enrolled in a 3 year program at a local college. I started the program, not knowing what a switch or hub was till my 3rd semester. Once I finished my 3rd semester I had taken a coop job in a network team for a large corporation (my current job). I started working there in Jan 06, right away my colleagues suggested I started studying for my CCNA. So I got the CCNA books and studied at night after I finished work. My coop semester lasted 4 months, and I learnt more about networking then I did in 1.5 years of school. I wrote my CCNA in April 06 and passed with 1000/1000. It was then time to head back to school for the summer, and so I did. When I went to class, everyone was amazed that I completed my CCNA, and I was considered ELITE, because my fellow classmates spent no time at all studying over the coop term.

Once I finished my summer semester in August, I started back at my coop job again. During the coop workterm I passed my BSCI and BCMSN. This was nice because I was learning the theory from the books and configuring routers and switches at work, so I actually understood everything I was doing.


Another semester goes by, and Im now on my last coop workterm. I have one school semester left in September (this year). My plan is to do a challenge exam with my professors so I can get credits for those courses, and get hired on full time with the company I've been working for.

I will give you advice, that I've had to learn the hard way.

1. If you are american, go to university, get the best education you can...Do not waste your time with anything less then a 4 year undergraduate degree.

2. If you plan to go to school in the networking field, I plan you read ahead of the class. I saved myself alot of time and headaches as I had prepared for the courses that were to be taught in the next semester.

3. Get your certifications, they are very important for pay raises and getting hired on initially.

4. You will atleast have one a$$hole coworker that will put you down or be arrogant. Ignore him.

5. If you are on a contract, and say for example you want to make $20/hr....Do not ask for $20 ask for $25 because HR will try to negotiate with you always..

6. Always work hard, study hard and be very professional, these three things will get you very far in life...


My plans are to finish my last semester up this summer (doing the challenge exams). I would like to get my CCIE of course, but I would prefer to go back to university get my undergraduate degrees and then possibly think about an MBA. Those will forever stay on your resume, you never have to worry about it expiring.

Darthn3ss

thats a good point. I'm waiting until i get my certs and my AA degree, and a half decent job before i move on to a 4 year university. my major reason is money - i can't afford it, my parents can't afford it, (i have a scholarship that'll cover minimal amounts for a 4 year university.. not eligible for pell grants...) and i'm not going to raise up $70k+ in student loans to go through college (and thats a low estimate, thats assuming its only around $8kish per semester)... while i do think college is important, and a 4 year degree is a goal of mine, thats a HUGE monkey to have on your back, and tuition isn't dropping.. so it could be 8k/semester now but in three years it might be 12k....

goblue

Hello,
Humper, you made some great points that I can't agree with more. I'm currently 22, just graduated from a heavily recruited (in the US) engineering college in december. While in college I did a 8 month coop with a fortune 100 company, great experience and made some decent money, but being able to put that on my resume is really priceless. While I was still in school I got my A+, Net+ and CCNA and passed the BSCI during my last semester. During a career fair, I talked to another fortune 100 company and was offered a job with a rediculous salary considering I'm fresh out of college. I've been with this company for about 4 months and just finished up my CCNP.

One more note, experience is HUGE which is why picking a good school is important, when you're just starting off whether or not you are going to college, you have no experience and it may not be easy to find somebody will to more or less gamble with you, but if you have a degree from well known (not necessarily large) school, that will make job searching that much easier.

Bottom line, listen to your parents, go to school, study hard and have some fun while doing so. What's the point in making six figures if you don't have time to have some fun with it

aar0ncee

I disagree with the 4-year degree path here in America. I can't think of a single 4-year degree that is IT related that would have made any difference in my career. In fact, I only have a 2 year degree in Computer Network Technology.

I am 25 years old and really didnt get my start on a career path til I was about 22. However, I have always been into computers since I was about 10 or so.

Started out just doing cmoputer repair work at computer shops... Had a couple of jobs like that, that really laid down my foundation of PC repair and how they all work and what not. Never really made much money doing that to speak of though.

Moved on to work at a help desk for a telehealth company supporting the WAN and the actual telemedicine hardware/software... Made about 20/hr doing that for a while. They got rid of my position but I had the opportunity to work with one of the guys hire up on the food chain. The fact that I had gone through the Cisco Networking Academy provided me with the knowledge to set up a VTP domain for his switches on the LAN. Made everything simple for him so he could manage it with CNA. No big deal really in my mind but hey, it saved my ass.

I was then hired as a Telehealth Systems Integration Specialist and became a Sys Admin and Server Admin. Did that for about a year and picked up my Net+, MCP along the way. Started getting ready for my MCSA and MCSE when that position got cut. Then i was offered the chance to start doing what I do now.

Now I have picked up my CCNA and am working as a Wide Area Network Specialist for about 30/hr. Chump change to some on this board... but for me, at age 25... It pays for my hobbies and I get to mess with some pretty cool equipment!

Uber-Geek

I think the point is that you HAVE a college degree, not what it is actually in. From a hiring perspective, business people are interested in looking at your ability to commit to something and achieve it over a period of time.

While IT people may have a clue what the CCIE is and what it means, business people may not. So they look to measure against a stick they know. Universities.

I have a bachelor's degree in journalism, and it has never gotten in the way of an IT career. So don't center on the CS degrees unless that's something you want. MBA is certainly not a bad idea, but may be overkill (or over-loaned) if you are planning to be a technically-oriented person instead of a manager.

No matter where you go or what you do, be professional and be motivated. People will notice your accomplishments regardless. And it's never too early in life to start that stuff! Technology was a second career for me, and at times I have wished that I had an EE background (when attempting to understand freaky stuff like phase shift), but other than that it has never held me back.

In fact, you may find benefits from a more "complimentary" type degree. There are very few "literate" IT people out there (beyond the basics, I mean the vast majority can not write a decent paper or presentation to save their lives!). So in whatever job you are looking for, that may be a fairly serious side benefit.

In the end, it's all how you market yourself. But certain benchmark things make it much easier when dealing with the uninitiated HT folk.

jvax

Great advise from THE Uber-Geek

Welcome to the forum

seraphus

DarbyWeaver wrote:

Uber-Geek wrote:

I think the point is that you HAVE a college degree, not what it is actually in. From a hiring perspective, business people are interested in looking at your ability to commit to something and achieve it over a period of time.

While IT people may have a clue what the CCIE is and what it means, business people may not. So they look to measure against a stick they know. Universities.

I have a bachelor's degree in journalism, and it has never gotten in the way of an IT career. So don't center on the CS degrees unless that's something you want. MBA is certainly not a bad idea, but may be overkill (or over-loaned) if you are planning to be a technically-oriented person instead of a manager.

No matter where you go or what you do, be professional and be motivated. People will notice your accomplishments regardless. And it's never too early in life to start that stuff! Technology was a second career for me, and at times I have wished that I had an EE background (when attempting to understand freaky stuff like phase shift), but other than that it has never held me back.

In fact, you may find benefits from a more "complimentary" type degree. There are very few "literate" IT people out there (beyond the basics, I mean the vast majority can not write a decent paper or presentation to save their lives!). So in whatever job you are looking for, that may be a fairly serious side benefit.

In the end, it's all how you market yourself. But certain benchmark things make it much easier when dealing with the uninitiated HT folk.

Glad to see you could make it Scott.

+1

jimjamuk

Well - here's my life story

Got into the whole IT thing quite late - I'm 34 now and have been at this networking lark for 7 years in the UK

Started off by knocking University on the head with two job offers during the summer before first term - both at Postgrad levels of work. Now's here was the hard decision

Brewery or Printing Trade........

Well the Brewing trade won it (on many levels!) and started out doing Biochemistry (£12k). 7 years later and 6 Promotions mean't I finally became a project brewer (£25k). And part of my final project was to introduce Miller Genuine Draft to the UK - something I still smile about whilst in the beer aisle in Sainsbury's

Along the way I built a reputation for fixing anything to do with the IT system for the company (putting a few noses out in the process) and managed to find out (during a routine fix) that the company had become too successful and had been bought by one of the national brewers. This gave me a 3 week head start on Plan B than everyone else!

Anyway made redundant on the Friday 3 weeks later and walked into a job with Cable & Wireless. (I look back and wonder if I should have said anything to my friends at the time - but at risk of losing £22k in redundacy kept my lips sealed!) (£25k) Started out at the bottom as before and was asked 3 months in what I would like to specialise in - Networking was what seemed to click on a day to day basis.

Assigned a mentor and off I went - 5 years later (and 5 or 6 dodges of the redundancy bat) and I was Lead Network Engineer working on all sorts of government work (dont ask - carnt tell you)(47k). The day it all became a bit too samey I knocked it on the head and went contracting to see the world.

Until the day I left C&W I thought I'd never do the CCIE and was stuck in permie world mentality with my CCNP. Since touring some large companies I have realised that I do stand out from the crowd and that has sparked me into study mode again for the big one.

Still buying enough kit for my lab at the mo then I'll be full time studying for the Lab hopefully early next year

jimjamuk

keenon

seraphus wrote:

DarbyWeaver wrote:

Uber-Geek wrote:

I think the point is that you HAVE a college degree, not what it is actually in. From a hiring perspective, business people are interested in looking at your ability to commit to something and achieve it over a period of time.

While IT people may have a clue what the CCIE is and what it means, business people may not. So they look to measure against a stick they know. Universities.

I have a bachelor's degree in journalism, and it has never gotten in the way of an IT career. So don't center on the CS degrees unless that's something you want. MBA is certainly not a bad idea, but may be overkill (or over-loaned) if you are planning to be a technically-oriented person instead of a manager.

No matter where you go or what you do, be professional and be motivated. People will notice your accomplishments regardless. And it's never too early in life to start that stuff! Technology was a second career for me, and at times I have wished that I had an EE background (when attempting to understand freaky stuff like phase shift), but other than that it has never held me back.

In fact, you may find benefits from a more "complimentary" type degree. There are very few "literate" IT people out there (beyond the basics, I mean the vast majority can not write a decent paper or presentation to save their lives!). So in whatever job you are looking for, that may be a fairly serious side benefit.

In the end, it's all how you market yourself. But certain benchmark things make it much easier when dealing with the uninitiated HT folk.

Glad to see you could make it Scott.

+1

i was taken back when i saw his first post indeed TE is the place to be

wildfire

Darby I think you should be writing books

Anyway heres my path to Networking

Joined the RAF in the mid 90's After doing A-Levels. Joined as an "Electronics Engineer"
It didnt take me long to realise Electronics by this time was almost dead! Ah well I was having fun.

After a years electornic training, and a year doing Telecoms (By Telecoms I mean HF radio stuff) I got offered the chance to go on a network implementation team, it wasnt glorious work, it was cabling and installing hubs etc, but I loved it. Later I was put with the IT guys to help out with the servers and NT admin.

Shortly after that I went on my promotion course, which was a further year of Electornics training, but who would turn down training while you get paid (£16K by this point). 1 year later an a HNC in Engineering I was posted to Cyprus in the Sun, prior to going them sent me on a load of NT4 courses, exhance etc, and a Cisco course.

2000 and off I flew to Cyprus, (£21K) and a load of extra tax free cash by this point. When I first arrived I stuck to the servers as thats what I knew, and the Cisco stuff scared me at first. I did my MCP, restructed all the server, and Migrated from NT4 to 2000.

Then the guy that used to do all the Network (Cisco/3com based) was sent home, and I was thrust in to the breach. Not long after that I sat down and studied like mad, in my spare time I used the spares we had to build a test rig/ training network. I sat my CCNA (passed on the second attempt)

The network had really grown, and by the time the second Gulf War came around there was lots to do. In the space of three years the network had grown exponentially, and there was really only me doing that side. They (being the military) decided that it was time to join the RAF and Army networks on the island and work in a combined cost saving enviroment. So I did the design for this. By now I had done BSCN and CCDA. Just as I was really enjoying it---

Promoted in 2004 and posted back to the UK.

This time I was in charge of a team of engineers, and our job was to design and deploy computer networks world wide, we had a wide array of equipment. Lost of Voip, Cisco, Nortel, Juniper etc, but the job sucked, as I was away all the time, and my CCNP was taking to long, by 2006 I still hadnt finished it.

So in Jan 2006, I took the plunge and left

2006 - Worked for Cable and Wireless as a 2/3rd line Engineer in their noc (£35K), learnt lost of new things, ADSL, MPLS etc. However I felt this was a step back, Id gone from desiging large networks for thousands of people. Also the ISP side your in that bit in the middle which in most cisco books is a nice fluffy "cloud".

So 3 months later I joined EADS, as a network design and intergration engineer (£38K + a good benefits package) which was building networks to diagrams specs. Great someone is paying me for this CCNP finished, CCDP under way.

Out of the blue, I got a call from Cable & Wireless, this time a job in their Datacentre (£42K + overtime, + loads of benefits) I accepted, with about 1 week to go, I was all set, was cleaning my desk. When one of the more senior bosses wanted to talk to me.

They offered me a more senoir position doing more design based work and trailing / concepting new products and ideas (and a fancy new job title to boot). And with it offered me a package which took me over the (£55K) mark. No brainer really, as part of the deal I managed to negotiate Fridays off to do CCIE study. They are sponsoring me through the lab etc. So I got a great job and Im happy.

HAd I not got offered another job would I be in that role? - To be honest I dont know, but thats how the dice have landed.

Im not sure about other people stories, but I think most people would have not gone straight in to Network Engineering, Its not the sort of job you can leave college and go straight in as an Architect. Most people will have come from either a microsoft background or from cabling etc.

Now roll on the 10th August for my CCIE lab.

NightShade1

Heh interesting history wildfire

jasonboche

aar0ncee wrote:

Now I have picked up my CCNA and am working as a Wide Area Network Specialist for about 30/hr. Chump change to some on this board... but for me, at age 25... It pays for my hobbies and I get to mess with some pretty cool equipment!

$60k/yr. @ age 25 is not chump change. You are doing well for yourself. Even if you are living in a high cost of living area such as New York or California. Some people your age would resort to doing other things to make your kind of money. You are admirable for using your brains and making good decisions. Along the way you are helping companies and colleagues get the most out of their computer equipment and networks.

Jas

Uber-Geek

keenon wrote:

i was taken back when i saw his first post indeed TE is the place to be

hehehehe.... I'm no different than anyone else! Just more experienced.

Scott

jasonboche

Uber-Geek wrote:

keenon wrote:

i was taken back when i saw his first post indeed TE is the place to be

hehehehe.... I'm no different than anyone else! Just more experienced.

Scott

No, you're no different than anyone else. Except you have, what, 3 or 4 cooling zones in your house for the racks? And your standard work attire probably includes a superhero style cape with a giant C on the back of it. :P Let us know what it's like retiring at age 36

mikeeo

Dingdongbubble wrote:

Hello All!

I am, as some might know, a high school student and I am considering Networking as a career. I have heard of many 'success stories' of people with CCIEs and $100-200k jobs in high tech environments.

I would like to know all your 'success stories' of how you started off with networking in the beginning and how you rose up, your salaries at different stages, your certification exams etc etc.

Your stories might be a source of inspiration!

Thank You

Don't fool yourself. When you become a CCIE it just makes life harder, because you are going up against other CCIE's and well you have to set yourself apart from those CCIE's. Sure its easy to knock a CCNP out of contention, but you will be making CCNP money.

Turgon

mikeeo wrote:

Dingdongbubble wrote:

Hello All!

I am, as some might know, a high school student and I am considering Networking as a career. I have heard of many 'success stories' of people with CCIEs and $100-200k jobs in high tech environments.

I would like to know all your 'success stories' of how you started off with networking in the beginning and how you rose up, your salaries at different stages, your certification exams etc etc.

Your stories might be a source of inspiration!

Thank You

Don't fool yourself. When you become a CCIE it just makes life harder, because you are going up against other CCIE's and well you have to set yourself apart from those CCIE's. Sure its easy to knock a CCNP out of contention, but you will be making CCNP money.

Very true, and with the perception of the CCIE, and the lack of understanding about out it by many people, there are sometimes unrealistic expectations of what you should know. A mixture of certifications and demonstrable experience is best. Get as much as you can.

mikeeo

With that said..I just landed a job with a world wide ISP that pays 152k and its a 10 minute drive from my house

mikej412

mikeeo wrote:

With that said..I just landed a job with a world wide ISP that pays 152k and its a 10 minute drive from my house

Any chance you'll get to telecommute?

Congratulations!

Paul#4

mikeeo wrote:

With that said..I just landed a job with a world wide ISP that pays 152k and its a 10 minute drive from my house

152k??

That is very good!
I hope I get close to that salary when I get my CCIE.
Did you get CCIE Service Provider?

mikeeo

R&S