From: Tom Larus (tlarus@cox.net)
Date: Wed Sep 14 2005 - 22:04:56 GMT-3
Vijay Ramcharan wrote:
>I've been searching for an active networking role since July and I'm
>slowly despairing of ever finding something. Seeking some encouragement,
>I began searching the GroupStudy archives and found this thread:
>http://www.groupstudy.com/archives/ccielab/200404/msg00115.html
>
>This message in the thread sums it up nicely.
>http://www.groupstudy.com/archives/ccielab/200404/msg00265.html
>
>If I had taken a better look at my situation and gone searching the
>archives 2 months ago, I'd be less disappointed than I am now. Since I
>posted my resume on Monster and Dice this July, I've been on a number of
>interviews but my lack of "large network" experience has been my
>Achilles heel. That's not to say that I'm inept or anything like that.
>My most recent round of interviews resulted in this, "Everyone that
>interviewed you came away very impressed with your knowledge and
>presentation abilities. We have however, identified a candidate that
>has more practical experience, and are going to pursue him."
>Before that it was something along the lines of "we feel you are
>technically sound for a level 2 position but you have no practical
>experience in large networks so we cannot go forward with you"
>And so it has been for pretty much all of the in-person and phone
>interviews that I've had.
>
>I'm not even concerned about pay rate as job satisfaction is much more
>important to me. Being a great network engineer is my long-term goal but
>it's impossible to be great without day-to-day experience. I find that's
>what helps to solidify the theory and lab work and keeps what I've
>learnt on the journey to CCIE from becoming ephemeral.
>
>I'm willing to put in the time to learn and do more and I've proven that
>I'm technically capable but it seems that even with the CCIE, getting a
>foot in the door is not that easy. Maybe it's because I live in NY and
>there's a bit of a competition for junior level spots but I sure was
>hoping that my cert would put me near the top half of a candidate list.
>I know there are others on this list in the same plight that I'm in so
>as a word of encouragement to myself and those, "hang in there,
>somewhere, someone, is willing to give you a chance".
>
>I'm still searching...
>
>Vijay Ramcharan, CCIE #14824, CCDP, MCSE
>
>P.S.
>I'm currently employed and have been at the same employer for almost 5
>years now. I don't do much day-to-day networking duties nor is there any
>future opportunity for that here or I'd be glad to stay.
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>Subscription information may be found at:
>http://www.groupstudy.com/list/CCIELab.html
>
>
>
I think a big part of the problem is the New York location. I have
noticed that there are not that many advertised positions (on the major
jobs sites) in the New York area for Cisco people. A reseller out on
Long Island wants a CCIE, but they want someone who can also do
penetration testing and other security tasks, and they have had the job
open forever. They can't be trying to build a case for an H1B visa
employee, because those have been filled for next year, too, I ahve read.
Check out the DC metro area. There are many positions, and even if most
require a lot of experience to go with the CCIE, you are likely to find
something good where they can use you as a member of a team and not
require that you know absolutely everything about everything. The DC
government (local) spends a lot of money on IT and likes people with
CCIEs. Perhaps the combination of the CCIE and whatever you do in your
current job might be attractive to them. The feds have lots of work,
too, but a lot of it requires a security clearance, and you do not
even want to read a thread about the Catch 22 situation with security
clearances.
As for the thread you referred to, that business of some technical
people trying to knock others down by finding their weak spots, that is
just a fact of life. Some people have lots of years on the job, and
many practical skills, but will never get the cert you got, and they may
well resent the idea that some employer might view you as somehow better
than them, and the opposite happened to that guy in the thread you
referred to. It looks like the freshly minted CCIE was trying to put
the fellow with so much experience.
At the risk of sounding like Rodney King, I think we should all just get
along, and help each other, and learn from each other. I have a good
friend who has much more on-the-ground experinece than me, but he
appreciates my input and analysis.
I know the competition can be deadly in places where there have been
layoffs, but if it is a healthy company, people should be collegial and
supportive.
Tom Larus, CCIE #10,014
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