In my experience, certifications have been a great help. I'm a sharp guy
that's been around networks for a while, but having that CCNP on the resume
sure increases the amount of phone calls I get. Getting CCNA/CCDA/CCNP (and
soon CCDP =) has made a DRASTIC difference in my life and career. Since
getting the CCNA/CCNP I have more than DOUBLED my income in just over a year
and a half because of the recognition and respect that the certs carry with
them. I have even seen places that demand CCNP like they would a BS degree,
turning down qualified candidates because they lack a piece of paper, which
is a shame. However, I totally agree with the one poster who made the claim
that a college degree is overrated because there are PLENTY of people who
scrape through taking the easiest stuff they have to get a BS. I disagree
with Louie's claim that employers ASSUME your green. In this day and age
anyone from age 20-60 could be a recent college grad and be "green" in their
field. On the flipside, someone who's 30 that's had a BS for 8 years and
forgotten 80% of what they learned still gets the respect from employers for
having that degree. As I mentioned before, too many people are "Blinded" by
the "BS" (no pun intended) and will hire a total boob with a BS over
someone who is actually infintely better qualified.
I must stop before my head explodes. =)
Mike W.
"NY50TT" wrote in message
[EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> Well here's a thread certain to start a fire, but I thought I'd see what
> would happen.
>
> Does the community feel that Cisco Certifications are still in demand in
the
> market place? Do they still get you through the door in anything?
>
> I have been in the IT field for the better part of 8 years. This year, I
> will be pulling in about 5K short of 100K, and I have a very short list of
> certifications which I rarely use in the network security and development
> position I'm in. I work for a very large, if not the largest IT shop in
the
> world, and I am a little disoriented by what is seen as really important
> inside this organization. I have some level of respect for this
> organization because of it's sheer size and some of the industry giants
and
> experts I work on teams with. However it doesn't seem that certification
> matters. All of the top tier architects, the "Gods" of the "Gods" are
all
> undoubtedly very good at what they do, and rumor has it they are paid
> handsomely(much more than me), but a quick direct survey of these rather
> humble people, and I find that they have just been around for forever and
> seem to know near everything, especially about the business aspect of
> things, but don't carry any certifications that some deem so important to
> get(though I have no doubt they would pass if they were forced to take the
> tests). Yet they are crucial to the organization, and would probably be
> considered "lifers", meaning they would never leave the organization.
>
> So, as you may understand, seeing this every day, you might imagine why I
am
> so disillusioned and pose this question. If I don't see certifications
> meaning anything inside the organization I'm part of right now, what do
> others see certifications worth in their world, their work, their area?
Is
> the playing field different "on the outside"? Does organization size make
> the difference? Do certifications matter more in an organization of 50 ,
or
> in one with 50 thousand people?
>
> I guess the other confusing aspect is that I use my skills diffrently now
> than I did before. It used to matter that I could sit down on a bunch of
> routers or switches and configure (provision them when they are not
ciscos)
> and make them do anything under the sun. Now that's considered a less
> valuable "production" type work, and the design,testing, project
management,
> policy writting, and architecture work I do is for some reason considered
> more important than all that "lesser", and once crucial "production" work?
> Now I spend my days testing and designing new infrastructres, and once my
> documentation and design is done and approved, people, they call them
"I.T.
> Specialists and "Junior Network Architects" sometimes getting paid a
whole
> lot less (almost half less) go out there and actually implement it
> worldwide. Yes, I'm still called upon to analyize things when they go
> wrong, and help out with the roll-outs, but somehow I pictured that I
would
> be touching more routers, not authoring documents of policy, design, and
> architecture. (ok so maybe I'm having trouble adjusting, but I spent many
> long nights study this sh** to be an expert at it, all the time
envisioning
> that I would be building and deploying networks, actually using this sh**,
> to make a living, but what ended up happening is that I use maybe 20% of
> that knowledge, and the rest of the stuff I actually get paid for has
almost
> nothing to do with any certification or education path)
>
> All the CCIE cisco certifications seem to be geared torwards doing this
type
> of "production" work, do CCIE's really use those skills in production once
> they receive their CCIE? Do they even touch a router anymore?
>
> Here's why I ask this, the one CCIE I personally know, he's the CIO at the
> site for the organization that I work for. He approves security policy
for
> the entire organization world wide, but it's probably been a long time
since
> he has even had to touch a router, switch, or firewall. (that's the job
of
> people like me, we go out, test the latest and greatest, create proposals,
> and them submit them to him to get approved) (though I should probably
ask
> him on monday in passing, when the last time he sat at a console actually
> was) I kid not, he is simply amazing, and he know's everything, and has
this
> scary guru type knowledge on networking and security, but I still hold
that
> I seriously doubt he uses any of the "production" type knowledge that the
> cisco ccie lab tests for on a day-to-day basis.
>
> That all makes it seem, that the concepts and years of expereince mean
more
> than the actuall cert, in this organization, but I wonder it it's the same
> everywhere else. Now, I'm sure that this CCIE has spent his years doing
the
> "production" work, but is the natural progression of things such that once
> you get the high tier certifications, that you move on to upper
management,
> and the type of work you end up doing is less and less hands on techincal
> and more and more business related?
>
> Another CCIE I've heard of, works in denver as a sales engineer for
juniper
> networks. In fact, juniper is one of the companies we are testing for
> replacing some devices that aren't handling the load requierments of our
> latest infrastructure(And I guess I'll probably end up working with this
guy
> when we get permission to actually talk to juniper). Here's this CCIE,
> who's job is to tag along with salesmen of juniper equipment, and be there
> to just dole out knowledge and insight on a perpective customer's needs,
and
> how juniper equipment can fit it, in a mostly cisco world. But the point
> is, he too probably (and I guess) seldomly touches a router anymore.
> Probably spends alot of time writting proposals, making drawings, and
> looking at architectures and design than anything else.
>
> CCIE's are expensive to hire, I guess it makes sense to use them for the
> most critical work, and leave the "grunt" work for other, less expensive
> workers, but I guess my point is that the "grunt" work used to be fun
> sometimes. When you get a CCIE or such, do you still get to play?
>
> Somehow I figured things would be different.
Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=10835&t=10599
--------------------------------------------------
FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
