Adrian, Plz do not occupy yourself with these thoughts. You are about to go for ur labs, just go and pass them. You have lot of thime to think afterwards what is right and wrong. Dont forget that ur Double CCIE plus Oracle 9i certified staus gives u incredible edge over any candidate. So shred all these thoughts and go for ur labs. Good Luck!!!! Let us know when u get ur numbers! Good Luck again Shahid adrian jones wrote:Hi Everyone,
My CCIE R&S lab is scheduled for December 2002 and Security is scheduled for January 2003. As the exam is approaching fast, I am beginning to wonder whether it is worth it to pursue the certification for several reasons. Let me explain 1) I just graduate with a Master degree in Computer Engineering at a university in the East Coast. I've been in the networking field for the past 20 months. I am currently working for a fortune 500 company as a network engineer. The pay is OK; however, the company is looking to downsize within the next couple of months. I think I will be out of work in the next couple of months. I've been looking for work for the past three months. At the moment, the job market is not that great and I've been having problem finding work. Last week I get an a job offer as an Oracle 9i DBA (I learn Oracle9i when I have free time and manage to get certified in 9i). I don't hate Oracle but networking is my first choice. If I can't find anything within the next few weeks, I would have no choice but to accept this position (it pays the bill). I know two colleagues that I am working with. They both have CCIEs (in the 5xxx #) and both are having problem finding work. None of them have been able to land new jobs for the past four months. They told me that the market is "flooded" with networking people and it is definitely an "employers" market. Both of these guys have at least 10 years of networking experience and it amazes me that they are having problem find work. To make the matter worse, even my own brother is a CCIE and he also is having problem find work. Granted that he only has two years of networking experience. Nevertheless, he has been looking for work for the past 5 months and no job offer. He is telling me the same thing that the market is "saturated" with networking folks. He has to compete with many qualified "unemployed" folks out there. That makes me question myself whether if it is worth it to pursue the CCIE R&S and CCIE Security given the market condition. These guys have years of experiences and "certified" and are without jobs. I would have virtually no chance with people like them even if I am CCIE certified. They are certified too. I know that it is too late to cancel the lab; however, this is just my personal feeling. I am wondering if anyone out there is feeling the same way. I would like to hear your take on this. Thanks. Adrian --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Shahid Muhammad Shafi "Every man dies; not every man really lives" remember, if God bringz u 2 it, He WILL bring u thru it!!!- Please help feed hungry people worldwide http://www.hungersite.com/ A small thing each of us can do to help others less fortunate than ourselves --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=57911&t=57911 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]