The Next "HOT" Cisco Track?

Over the last little while, I've been hearing a lot about the Cisco Voice and Cisco Wireless tracks as the most promising in terms of job security, salary, etc. Now that these technologies are no longer bleeding edge, but rather more mainstream, what do you guys see as the next big thing in respect to Cisco certs and careers.

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networker050184

Storage and virtulization are currently hot.

That being said, by the time you catch up to the 'hot' thing it probably won't be hot anymore. Technology moves fast and cutting edge only lasts so long.

shirazir

You're absolutely right, plus sometimes certain technologies are too hot and companies don't really understand the need for them yet.

The IT world is quite funny in that sense.

Master Of Puppets

I was about to say the same thing.Probably by the time you get a cert in that hot thing it will be outdated again

NetworkDropout

Well if you get your Voice Cert, you may as well go and get the CCNA Video as well

hiddenknight821

Even the hot thing like the Sun gets burned out eventually. We only have 5 billion years left.

Zartanasaurus

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Even the hot thing like the Sun gets burned out eventually. We only have 5 billion years left.

My Hydrogen+ certification will be worthless then.

it_consultant

networker050184 wrote: »

Storage and virtulization are currently hot.

That being said, by the time you catch up to the 'hot' thing it probably won't be hot anymore. Technology moves fast and cutting edge only lasts so long.

There is 'storage virtualization' which is very hot.

VAHokie56

I think if you go the data center track and can prove you know what you are doing in a virtual enterprise environment you are pretty valuable currently. Stack on solid route/switch background you will not be going hungry.

Mrock4

The problem is with "hot" tracks is who defines what "hot" is anymore? I have been booked up SOLID on R&S gigs as well as Data Center gigs lately..does that mean R&S is hot? Data center? Likewise, our Voice and Wireless guys are also busy as can be...

I guess what I'm saying is, defining "hot" is pretty much impossible to do, so there's no point chasing it. Do what you do, and do it well, and you will likely always be in demand (assuming you keep up to date with your skills and change as necessary)

VAHokie56

Mrock4 wrote: »

The problem is with "hot" tracks is who defines what "hot" is anymore? I have been booked up SOLID on R&S gigs as well as Data Center gigs lately..does that mean R&S is hot? Data center? Likewise, our Voice and Wireless guys are also busy as can be...

I guess what I'm saying is, defining "hot" is pretty much impossible to do, so there's no point chasing it. Do what you do, and do it well, and you will likely always be in demand (assuming you keep up to date with your skills and change as necessary)

I agree the all the data guys busy in general. I think what he is asking is what is paying the most right now and I feel like a good network guy who can also do UCS and 1kv crap can cash in big currently, just my humble opinion.

Mrock4

Absolutely, but it's hard to say "what pays the most right now" when engineers generally don't fall into one nice category. Even if they do, since all engineers are different, it's tough to compare them. I know a couple of R&S engineers who are making $200k-250/yr- but I wouldn't say R&S is "hot" because of those numbers..those engineers are highly skilled with 20+ years of experience. Likewise, I know voice engineers (voice has been "hot" for a few years) who make $80k/yr (not bad at all..but not $200k).

I guess all I'm saying is it's hard to quantify when a cert is "hot" and then associate accurate salaries without comparing all of the many variables..location, industry (defense positions which require clearances generally pay more than private sector employment), experience (a 1 year CCNP: Voice is different than a 10 year CCNP: Voice), negotiation, employer..etc. Not being argumentative, just pointing out for those who don't realize it that there are many, many factors to that question.

RouteMyPacket

Mrock4 wrote: »

The problem is with "hot" tracks is who defines what "hot" is anymore? I have been booked up SOLID on R&S gigs as well as Data Center gigs lately..does that mean R&S is hot? Data center? Likewise, our Voice and Wireless guys are also busy as can be...

I guess what I'm saying is, defining "hot" is pretty much impossible to do, so there's no point chasing it. Do what you do, and do it well, and you will likely always be in demand (assuming you keep up to date with your skills and change as necessary)

I concur, R&S for some odd reason seems to be undervalued by soooooooo many people. A solid R&S engineer is much more valuable IMO than a Voice, Security,Wireless one. R&S is the foundation of it all and for some reason is undervalued by so many

I mean, to each his/her own but R&S is and will always be "hot".

Zartanasaurus

Being good at your job is hot. I think that's the best advice you can give.

JDMurray

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

hiddenknight821 wrote:

Even the hot thing like the Sun gets burned out eventually. We only have 5 billion years left.

My Hydrogen+ certification will be worthless then.

But your Helium+ cert will be in HUGE demand!

Iristheangel

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Being good at your job is hot. I think that's the best advice you can give.

This +1. Better to be good at what you do and love it than to chase after the latest trend only to find out you have no taste for it or aren't good at it.

snokerpoker

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Being good at your job is hot. I think that's the best advice you can give.

That is so true! Good post.

shodown

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Being good at your job is hot. I think that's the best advice you can give.

This is my view.

Mrock4

Iristheangel wrote: »

Better to be good at what you do and love it than to chase after the latest trend only to find out you have no taste for it or aren't good at it.

Or you can make your own trends, like me. At first, people looked at me weird when I racked gear without pants, but now I think it's really catching on.

Iristheangel

Picture or it didn't happen, Mrock

Mrock4

Well doing it isn't the problem, it's getting my coworker to take the photo! There's always security cameras..

dontstop

100% have to agree with being good at your job. My personal comment would be, Learn your foundations really well as they never go away. What's "hot" is normally gone in 12-48 months, those who can quickly adapt are those who have a solid foundation of knowledge and you will be able to decide for yourself if something is *worth* your time, This will give you the confidence to tell your boss it's a P.O.S and to not invest.

At the end of the day, I.T. will always be made up of foundational Technology and then all the fluff Managers and Vendors want you to think is the new sexy, worth your money and time.

For example: Mainframe & Thin Clients -> Fat Client's & Client/Server -> Visualization & Thin Client again -> Cloud = Swings and roundabouts especially when organizations don't do things right it ends up costing more and you never see the real benefit.

Zartanasaurus

Mrock4 wrote: »

Or you can make your own trends, like me. At first, people looked at me weird when I racked gear without pants, but now I think it's really catching on.

Just read an article in CIO magazine about the benefits of co-ed pantless racking. Could be revolutionary.

WiseWun

Interesting thread! I attend Cisco Webinar on Data Center technologies and they say this is the next "big thing". Where I live, there are too many R&S folks so the market here is saturated and this is why I'm gearing towards this track and the fact that I enjoy virtualization. As Mrock pointed out, there are so many variables to consider and for me, location is key. Consider emerging markets for example, you will be in demand whether you do R&S, Voice, or Security, etc.

jibbajabba

Pigfarming will be future - you heard it here first ...

Sett

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Even the hot thing like the Sun gets burned out eventually. We only have 5 billion years left.

lol. That was not the case for Sun Microsystems.

networker050184

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Being good at your job is hot. I think that's the best advice you can give.

You can be the best at something but if there is no demand for it you aren't going to get many job opourtunities.

While I agree being good at what you do is very important, you want to align what you do with trends in the industry. I'm not a fan of chasing the next big thing, but if you don't follow the technology you will be left behind.

WiseWun

networker050184 wrote: »

You can be the best at something but if there is no demand for it you aren't going to get many job opourtunities.

While I agree being good at what you do is very important, you want to align what you do with trends in the industry. I'm not a fan of chasing the next big thing, but if you don't follow the technology you will be left behind.

+1. This is why I was promoted 10 months after joining the company and the people who were there for 4-5 years demoted because they didn't move with the technology.

pert

Dont understand all these people saying you should focus on doing what you love. If I only did what I loved I'd be home right now in my boxers eating cereal and playing video games. You don't need to "love" your job. You just need to not actively hate it and be committed to doing it and doing it right.

shirazir

pert wrote: »

Dont understand all these people saying you should focus on doing what you love. If I only did what I loved I'd be home right now in my boxers eating cereal and playing video games. You don't need to "love" your job. You just need to not actively hate it and be committed to doing it and doing it right.

+1

I do want to enjoy my job without a doubt, but making sure I don't despise it and that it puts food on the table is paramount.

Everyone has different motivations and as Pert said, ensure you don't hate it and commit yourself to doing it right.

networker050184

pert wrote: »

Dont understand all these people saying you should focus on doing what you love. If I only did what I loved I'd be home right now in my boxers eating cereal and playing video games. You don't need to "love" your job. You just need to not actively hate it and be committed to doing it and doing it right.

You are kind of taking it to the extreme. Not to speak for everyone else, but I believe everyone is suggesting you do what you enjoy within the field of IT. Most core IT functions like networking and systems aren't going anywhere though you have to stay on top of the emerging trends.