From: Darby Weaver (darbyweaver@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Jan 31 2008 - 11:00:27 ARST
For the majority of people who are career-changers and
are working in lower paid IT roles like help desk
analysts even going from the $20-30-40k range to the
$60-80k range is one hell of a bump for $10-30k
investment.
And today so many tools like Dynamips/Dynagen, etc.
are available, it stands to reason that until their
are over 500,000 CCIE's and the CCIE salary is
averaging less than say $50,000.00 that it will be a
great move for quite some time to come for the
majority of IT workers.
What does this mean for most Network Engineers?
It means we have to get better and more diverse to
stay marketable and competitive.
For instance this week's project was a game of twister
using a couple of stacks of 3750's, OSPF with multiple
instances and the very creative usage of Area 0 and
another area to manipulate and summarize routes and
influence traffic, with a usage of VRFs, with
redundant ASA's with multiple DMZ's, and of course
sprinkling the whole entree with a litte IPSec VPN
users or site-to-site VPNs...
Now a straight CCIE RS may not have all of the tools
to make this configuration work and I'm willing to bet
that most would have a time deciphering what is
happening and being able to produce the relevant show
commands to prove what is happening.
But the engineer of tomorrow will have all of these
skillsets and more: RS, Security, SP and maybe some
elements of QoS.
BTW - Notice no QoS is involved with this one just
yet.
But policy maps were explored and discarded in lieu of
a more eloquent solution that is easier on the cpu as
well.
This little prokect is inherently secure, of course,
offering most if not all of the recommended security
features offered by Cisco's Configuration Interpreter
Tool and has the standard secure 2-factor
authentication using Radius against a domain-based
system in addition to secure protocols for backup,
administration, and management. Yep even using
certificates.
So...
The top level positions that require expert-level
deign and archticture will still require this level of
skill.
Many may get the CCIE, attrition will strike some as
they may not have the skill or experience or will to
continue after the CCIE is achieved (some get the cert
to become managers or unwittingly get promoted per the
Peter Principle), and thus may not last long in "the
real world". Others may not like the undue duress and
demands placed on one's family/quality time that seems
to be the nature of the job overall. I mean not
everyone likes being on call 24/7/365 and working
60-80 weeks regularly or 100+ hour weeks to meet
deadlines, especially if only paid on the basis of 40
hours per week.
See what I mean?
So on one side the CCIE becomes a great enabler. On
the other side great skill and expertise will still be
required and aptly rewarded.
It's still kinda funny to see adds where a CCIE is
"REQUIRED" but must also be availble to provide
desktop PC client-side support.
Yep... there will be a 25-45k job available for those
guys... who just paid for the paper too.
Have no fear.
And sometimes an employer may not be positioned to
employ a person who is truly a CCIE or has the skill
of a CCIE, in which case, it would not matter if you
had all 5 CCIE's the job only pays $60-70k and that is
what it is.
This may be the case for the isp, bank, or other
types. In which case, one has a decision to make.
Stay and be over-qualified and under-paid, or go forth
and step off of the ledge.
I suspect there is a place for all types. Since just
earning a CCIE is a task by itself and considered of
some value by someone out there.
--- Gary Duncanson <gary.duncanson@googlemail.com>
wrote:
> You can still make a very good living contracting as
> an experienced pro with
> an IE. 800 + dollars a day happens.
>
> Regs
> Gary
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <EdmondsSG@aol.com>
> To: <ccielab@groupstudy.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:02 PM
> Subject: (no subject)
>
>
> > I'm not sure that having IE means $$$ in the
> market place anymore - maybe
> > for people running bootcamps etc and the like -
> but not in my world....
> >
> > I would think theres more money to be made in
> advising others how to pass
> > than in say a bank isp etc ..
> >
> >
>
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