good way to get a VoIP job

jamesp1983

I see that one area of our business that is growing quickly and pays well is VoIP. How does one go about getting into it? Certs, etc...

Turgon

Hard work on the CCNA and CCVP front will help you get a feel for cisco voice applications and voice technology. I would recommend some vendor neutral reading as well though. Expect to spend at least a year covering this material from scratch. After getting your feet wet on that front you will need to hawk your CV to get an entry level job with voice. Most probably this will be in solutions shop which does 'some' voice. You may need to take a drop in pay but it's a way in. Once there, work your ass off and learn as much as you can. Then push for a raise or move on to a more advanced role.

Good Luck.

jamesp1983

thanks.

mikej412

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

I see that one area of our business that is growing quickly and pays well is VoIP. How does one go about getting into it? Certs, etc...

Since it sounds like you work for a company that is already doing VoIP, you could start by buying lunch (or donuts, bagles, pizza) for the VoIP guys (and gals) and hope they like you.

If you don't know anyone in the VoIP group, it may be time to make some new friends.

I've mentioned in another thread that there are several ways to break into the Cisco VoIP world, and only one of them involves getting in the hard way -- the CCVP. If you learn the material and can convince someone to give you an interview and can demonstrate the skills -- you can get into Cisco voice that way.

You didn't mention what your company does with VoIP -- vendor? customer? reseller? service provider? Nortell? Cisco? Avaya? Skype? Asterisk? At large Cisco customers or Business Partners they may need Microsoft Exchange Guys, Linux Guys, MS SQL Guys for the Unity Server and CallManager Servers -- setup, initial configuration, troubleshooting, maintenance, etc.

For someone stuck on the phones in a helpdesk, getting to be the guy who plugs the IP Phones in at the desk might be a step up, but with your Certifications you might want to skip this lowest of entry-level VoIP jobs.

If your company is involved with Cisco equipment, then you might want to check out the CBT Nuggets for CVOICE, or the Cisco Press CVOICE Exam Certification Guide to get an overview of what you could be getting into. The Nuggets may be more fun, quicker, and non-cheap. The book may be cheaper, slower, and less fun.

Turgon

mikej412 wrote:

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

I see that one area of our business that is growing quickly and pays well is VoIP. How does one go about getting into it? Certs, etc...

Since it sounds like you work for a company that is already doing VoIP, you could start by buying lunch (or donuts, bagles, pizza) for the VoIP guys (and gals) and hope they like you.

If you don't know anyone in the VoIP group, it may be time to make some new friends.

I've mentioned in another thread that there are several ways to break into the Cisco VoIP world, and only one of them involves getting in the hard way -- the CCVP. If you learn the material and can convince someone to give you an interview and can demonstrate the skills -- you can get into Cisco voice that way.

You didn't mention what your company does with VoIP -- vendor? customer? reseller? service provider? Nortell? Cisco? Avaya? Skype? Asterisk? At large Cisco customers or Business Partners they may need Microsoft Exchange Guys, Linux Guys, MS SQL Guys for the Unity Server and CallManager Servers -- setup, initial configuration, troubleshooting, maintenance, etc.

For someone stuck on the phones in a helpdesk, getting to be the guy who plugs the IP Phones in at the desk might be a step up, but with your Certifications you might want to skip this lowest of entry-level VoIP jobs.

If your company is involved with Cisco equipment, then you might want to check out the CBT Nuggets for CVOICE, or the Cisco Press CVOICE Exam Certification Guide to get an overview of what you could be getting into. The Nuggets may be more fun, quicker, and non-cheap. The book may be cheaper, slower, and less fun.

Yes I would agree with that, you don't have to wait until you are certified before you can land a job in this area. Making a start wouldn't hurt though! Have a look around and see who is working in the voice space locally. You may find a traditional PSTN company working with avaya and such and looking for more help on the data side of things. You could cross train in a shop like that and there are other ways as Mike says.

phantasm

Lots of good adive in here and I wish more luck than I have. I work at a large facility with 2 12000 sq foot computer rooms loaded with networking and voip gear plus servers. The telecom guys and network people won't even talk to me. lol.

jamesp1983

Thank you guys. I'm currently working on my CCNP now, but I was thinking of starting the CCVP track afterwards (oh, and after CCDP). I'm hoping to not have to take an entry level position after I get those three, but hey, you never know.

Turgon

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

Thank you guys. I'm currently working on my CCNP now, but I was thinking of starting the CCVP track afterwards (oh, and after CCDP). I'm hoping to not have to take an entry level position after I get those three, but hey, you never know.

You are already pretty qualified. I would start knocking on some doors now before you clear all three professional certifications!

Good luck!

jamesp1983

Turgon wrote:

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

Thank you guys. I'm currently working on my CCNP now, but I was thinking of starting the CCVP track afterwards (oh, and after CCDP). I'm hoping to not have to take an entry level position after I get those three, but hey, you never know.

You are already pretty qualified. I would start knocking on some doors now before you clear all three professional certifications!

Good luck!

Thanks and good luck on your CCIE