Is CCIE Voice really worth it?

nellocon

Hi Folks,
I have been battling with my conscience for a while now and cannot decide whether or not I should go and attempt the CCIE Voice. My fear is that, well companies aren't really looking for dedicated voice guys these days...I can see the value in CCIE R&S as network engineers will always be in demand, but CCIE Voice is completely different and I feel jobs in this area will be harder to come across particularly as more and more vendors come on the scene (Avaya, Microsoft etc)

Just wondering what you guys thoughs are on CCiE Voice as a specialisation area. I think it will heavily depend on where you are living as some countries seem to have a strong focus on UC at the moment (i.e Australia)

Cheers.

shodown

I went back and forth with this as well. I've just decided to go all in on voice. You are right when you said that companies don't really look for CCIE V anymore. Only companies that need Architect's invest in CCIE V. The rest of them work for MSP's VAR's or service providers. The other thing is that there isn't much difference between CCIE V and CCNP V. You cover pretty much the same material just sprinkle in some UCCX and security. With that said you can see a HUGE difference between CCNP and CCIE V in the field. You can tell the IE guys have put in there time studying media resources, the complexity of SIP gateways, and dial plan where the NP guys have just passed the exam. Also it depends on your location. I live in the DMV area and there are voice jobs with several partners, a few SP, and the large govt enterprises all need high end voice guys to keep the phones running.

nellocon

Thanks Showdown. It really is a dilemma and not one to be taken lightly with the amount of work that is required. My issue is that I am a CCNP (R&S) and a CCNP VOICE. Most of my day to day work is related to UC and VOIP so this is what I do best. Right now I would love to tackle a CCIE but think I do not have enough experience to do a CCIE R&S. WIth hard work I think I would be well able for a CCIE VOICE but my fear is it will all be in vein as I am not sure it will lead to a solid career path for me.

I guess, I believe (and fear) that VOICE and UC is going to become a Cloud service more and more as companies will look to outsource it to save money. So you could either work for an ISP/Service Provider or you will not be much use.

networker050184

Most CCIEs do not work for end businesses whether they are R&S or not. There is just not a need for that level of technical expertise. Most positions that require that level of technical know how (and are willing to pay for it) are with providers or partners. I don't think that is anything specific to the voice area.