My New Job :)

Hello All,

I've been AWOL for most of the week due to starting my new job and spending all available free time studying. I just wanted to pop in to update and say that I'm having a blast. My new company is a Fortune 100 company with over 50 locations stretched across the world. The networking configuration, design and troubleshooting is handled from my office and it's been quite a whirlwind since I started on Monday. I've already been tasked with several large projects and feel that I have a good support system of senior engineers that I feel comfortable asking questions if I get stuck. I'm already getting my hands dirty with Cisco ISE, wireless, routers, switches, Layer 3 switches, ASA's, Call Manager, etc and LOVING it. THIS is exactly what I wanted to be doing when I decided to go the networking route. I know it's probably premature of me to say so after only a week but I'm LOVING it and I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life happily.

The people there are really great. My direct manager is actually a Defcon Goon who had his goon badge hanging from his door which prompted some interesting and fun conversations

Apparently even the CIO went to Defcon this year so I got to hear about everything I missed. They also provide some interesting perks like free unlimited soda, bottled water, gourmet coffee, etc and free meals several times a week. Free soda is dangerous for me since I'm such a caffeine fiend.

The company that I am contracting through is a little odd but in a good way. I don't want to mention the name since it's a REALLY small shop. They have a VERY interesting pay structure. I'm supposed to get paid on the 15th and the last day of the month. I assumed that I wouldn't get paid until the 15th since I started this Monday. I filled out my time card on Friday, had the IT manager sign it, scanned it, and emailed it in. I got an email back from the recruiter asking me to give them my banking info and within 20 minutes, I received an email with a wire confirmation from them. They literally paid me for the entire week I worked (including Friday) and WIRED (not direct deposited) the entire amount into my account which meant it was available immediately. I was a little shocked because that's more expensive for them. I had $2K more than I thought I would have in my account on a Friday night before a 3 day weekend so I'm not going to complain.

The other company I was interviewing for in San Jose was a good company but since they manufacture their own networking equipment that I would have been supporting, I doubt I would have been exposed to this amount of Cisco or other vendor technology. I'm 100% sure that I made the right choice by accepting the job in Los Angeles. It's a longer commute and I get home a lot later than any of my other jobs but I'm just waiting out traffic by studying. I reread both the Wendell Odom CCNA books in the last three weeks so all my CCNA knowledge would be refreshed and now I'm trying to figure out where to go next: CCNA Voice or Security? I'm having to configure some ASAs in the upcoming weeks for some of our new locations but I also deal with our VoIP tickets daily as well. I also need to learn some of the basics of BGP. NetworkVeteran, Forsaken_GA, or any of you other networking gods, do you have any BGP book recommendations?

Anyways, just wanted to update.

I'll try to pop in here when I can but the week has been insanely busy and I haven't even been handed 25% of the work I'll be handling in the future. If things keep going this way, I'm going to be keeping my fingers crossed that the SO gets her residency in the SoCal area.

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Comments

Jackace

Congrats on the new job it sounds like a great opportunity. I have to admit I'm a little jealous though. This is exactly the type of opportunity I'm trying to find.

Iristheangel

Where are you located, Jack?

Excellent1

Congratulations, Iris. I've read most of your posts since you've been on TE, and I have to say that your perseverance and dedication has been an inspiration and an example. I always enjoy seeing the guys and gals that push hard get rewarded. It doesn't ALWAYS happen, but for the most part, you reap what you sow--and I'm glad you're seeing the payoff for the work you've put in.

Best of luck in the new position and keep us updated on how it goes.

Hypntick

Congrats on the new spot Iris! Really glad to hear you're enjoying things. Always rough to swap up jobs while in school as well, bonus points for that level of dedication. Definitely keep us up to date with things there, always nice to hear good job stories vs. bad ones. Grats again!

j.petrov

Congrats! Sounds like a great job.

hiddenknight821

Congrats again, Iris! You have way more excited interview and job stories than anyone here this summer! Keep up the hard work.

spiderjericho

I would study Security since it does cover some ASA and renews your CCNA or just skip that and do CCNP Security or ASA Specialist.

Congrats on your new job.

webgeek

Congrats on the new job!!! Sounds like a shop I would love to work at / with!!! Toooo bad I'm on the east coast. Also I'm not a fan of LA! Thinking about moving to SanFran in the next 2-3 years.....we'll see

shodown

for BGP, Internet Routing Architectures is a good book to start, but its a tad bit old as far as commands, but the 1st few chapters don't even cover IOS or anything just how bgp works. TCP/IP Vol 2 is also another good book and it has multicast which is 2 birds with one stone, the other chapters I really don't use.

Legacy User

Congrats!! It all sounds great you lucked out on that opportunity. Sooner then later you will be a full fledged network engineer. You like the job and got paid earlier then expected what more do you want

Jackace

Iristheangel wrote: »

Where are you located, Jack?

Idaho

Iristheangel

Ouch, Jack. Are you able to move? Or telecommute?

ChickenNuggetz

Both books are highly rated and recommended. My sister actually recommended the first book as a good starting point for learning BGP.

Amazon.com: BGP4: Inter-Domain Routing in the Internet (078534237951

: John W. Stewart: Books

Amazon.com: Cisco BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbook (9781587055737): William R. Parkhurst: Books

EDIT: Forgot to add this: CONGRATS!!!!!!!

Iristheangel

Thanks, Chicken! I should check to see if those are on Skillsoft!

Rakurai

Grats on the new job, didn't sound like you wanted the job up in San Jose due to the distance. Sounds like you have a good opportunity for a huge professional growth with that company. Maybe in a year or so when I get to go back home you can hook me up with a job

Iristheangel

I would love to live in San Jose since most of my family lives up there but I couldn't take a permanent job since I wouldn't know where I would be in an year with my SO's residency. If I am still here when you get back, I'd be happy to pass your resume along to my boss.

MickQ

Congrats!

I'm looking for a good BGP book, too.
The "Route" book (FLG) has a decent enough basic start to it, but you would probably be just as well looking up youtube for the same amount of depth.

ASAs - I skipped the CCNA Sec and went direct to CCNP Sec level when I started working with them.

kgb

Congrats on the new job!

Always nice to read about people landing jobs they are excited about.

TLeTourneau

Congratulations, glad to hear you are enjoying it!

sratakhin

Congratulations! That's what I also would like to do when I have more experience.
I wouldn't even mind coming back to Orange County if I had a job like this

FloOz

WOW! Congrats on the new job, seems like a great place to work for a long long time! I am very jealous

Iristheangel

@Sratakhin - It came out of nowhere. I literally updated my resume on the major job sites, put down that I was looking and the next day I started getting calls. You probably have a decent amount of experience. You should put your resume up, notate that you're willing to travel, and put down your ideal salary range. I don't recommend waiting for the perfect job to come to you but it's still good to put yourself out there. Sometimes you get lucky.

@Flo0z - I'm going to be sad to leave it if I have to leave next year. My SO is a medical school student and will have to get chosen for residency next year. I might end up staying in the area or moving halfway around the country. I really don't have any control so I took this contract job for some solid experience before I end up having to move. If I stay, the boss has already indicated there might be a permanent opening if I continue to do well. If I end up moving, I would be happy to let everyone know the name of the contracting company and perhaps someone here can fill my empty spot.

sratakhin

Iristheangel, how long have you been in the IT? I understand that you may have little networking experience, but coming from the security field definitely helped you

Nonetheless, I'm amazed that you were able to find such a good job in SoCal so quickly. Three years ago I was looking for a job but couldn't find one, so I started my own small business. Of course, I didn't even a degree back then and only started preparing for A+...

Iristheangel

I started officially in IT in 2008 but I've been pretty into computers since I was a teenager. I really should find an old teenage picture of me. I looked like the epitome of a gangly nerd... Anyways, this job wasn't looking for boatloads of experience. They were looking for someone who understood the CCNA fundamentals, who recently graduated college and who had a passion to learn more. I fit the bill

dead_p00l

Congrats on the new job. It's great to hear that you're doing what you really want to be doing as well as getting exposure to different architectures, vendors, and equipment.

Jackace

Iristheangel wrote: »

Ouch, Jack. Are you able to move? Or telecommute?

I'm working on finances so I can afford to move. I definitely could telecommute though. I'm happy for you though. You landed what sounds like a great opportunity to get a lot of good experience. I hope it all goes well for you. Is this job going to be a temp to perm thing for you? If so it sounds like a great place to grow and get experience.

Iristheangel

I hope it's a permanent thing and I think my boss hopes it is too but both of use have no control over it. If the SO gets a residency down here, I'll stay. If not, then I'll have a year of networking experience in a HUGE enterprise that'll look stellar on my resume

N2IT

Congratz on the new gig! Sounds like a great opportunity

WiseWun

Congrats. Try not to take on too many tasks at first, fit in and see how things get done. What does your company do if you don't mind me asking?

Iristheangel

@Wisewun - If I said what they did, it'd be really obvious who they were. Let's just say they're *the* industry leader in what they do. They aren't a tech firm but they need the best technology running for their offices and their clients.