I think it really depends on others around you and the team environment... I applied for and took a job that required a CCNA/CCNP + MCSE certification. I have mostly worked for network shops that used *NIX verses NT, however I had a taken all of the 4.0 courses back in the day. I knew I wasn't an MS guru, but knew how to get around the OS fairly well.
Once the few network tasks were finished the job became 80% MS administration. Even though I had felt comfortable with my MS skills, quickly realized it wasn't up to par for a large enterprise shop. What took place wasn't my ability to learn new skills, but the lack of teamwork from others around me. It was cutthroat. Any little mistake or even a hesitation would be brought to others attention. Quickly I was discredited from any effort I made and soon I wasn't brought into new projects that became available. Since then I have been more conservative in describing my skill set. I never want to be put into a similar situation again. Not only was it a daily struggle, but completely toasted my confidence as an engineer...something that I never had a problem with in the past. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Howard C. Berkowitz Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 7:53 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Am I over my head guys? [7:69746] At 6:57 PM +0000 5/29/03, Peter van Oene wrote: > > >I get through most days very much like a duck; calm in appearance, but >scrambling like crazy underneath to keep things afloat. Peter, you are causing metaphors to loop in the network of my brain. When I was a Boy Scout practicing silent movement for my First Class test, I used to practice on a flock of ducks at the local pond. My test of success was to crawl (usually through the mud and less desirable things) until I could goose a duck. A goosed duck is _not_ calm. On the other hand, one of my mantras comes from the emergency instructions at the Marriott conference center in Lisle or Naperville, IL: "In case of emergency, remain clam." Now, an alternative metaphor is the swan, which looks even more calm and elegant, but will REALLY get you with the beak if you irritate it. >This is not a bad >thing really, it just means that you may have to do a bit more research >here and there. At the end of the day, so long as you don't misrepresent >yourself, or answer questions when you aren't sure of the correct answer, >you'll do fine. It's funny. Early in my career, I'd go for jobs where I felt confident that I could learn what I needed as I went along. Now, my jobs tend to be things where a basic assumption is that I'll have to do research -- sometimes searching for things, and sometimes true "lab" research where there's no particular answer. At the moment, I'm doing as much medical informatics as routing & switching, and the research has to include both networking and medicine. It's interesting to jump back and forth, and even have cross-fertilization. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=69845&t=69746 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
