This has been a great thread. Having endured Cisco certifications and an MBA program, I might suggest that you opt for both paths over time and prioritize on what is of value now. I completed neither, but the value of both was an alteration of perspective. My focus has always been on the humanistic side of networking (I am interested in BGP as-path manipulations, but I'm willing to let my techie friends figure it out). It works because I like listening to the balding white guy in the corner office, knowing that he is a _____, and helping him see the technical light without using a TLA. Bouncing between the worlds has been a lot of fun for me, and few in the industry enjoy doing it (my perspective), which makes for a neat niche. I will never be a 'manager only', nor will I surpass my BGP guru on pure tech, but the team is strong and we complement each other.
You may wish to jump between paths since you clearly appear to have an interest in both arenas. Then again, you may find that one clearly is a better fit for your needs. Good luck. --- Wes Stevens wrote: > I guess my point is that you will eventually hit a > point in your career > where you have to decide if you want to stay > technical or go into > management. For everyone it is different. For me it > was a no brainer - I > hated the paperwork and budgets ect. But another > thing to keep in mind is > like you said where do you want to be when your are > 50. For me middle > management is the pits. I have seen people come to > work here and get their > MBA degree from U of M at night paid for by the > company. Did it hurt their > careers? No for sure not. But did they ever make it > out of middle management > - no. Maybe other companies are different but to > make it here you have to > have to pedigree comming out of school i.e. stick it > out for an MBA and it > better be from a top tier (and no U of M is not on > the list) school. If not > you will never see an upper management position. > > >From: "Kaminski, Shawn G" > >Reply-To: "Kaminski, Shawn G" > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subject: RE: MBA or CCIE [7:41809] > >Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 17:39:39 -0400 > > > >Many of you may have seen this, but it looks like > this guy has got it all!! > >:-) He has a little bit to say about graduate > school and the CCIE. > >Basically, interesting reading. Click here (watch > for word wrap) > >http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/ccie_program/spotlight.html > > > >Shawn K. > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: nrf [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > >Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 4:10 PM > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subject: Re: MBA or CCIE [7:41809] > > > > > >I understand. But on the other hand, if you have > ambitions to be the CxO, > >a > >CCIE isn't going to cut it. Like you said, it's a > case of what you want > >out of life. > > > >However, what I will definitely say is this. If > you work for a company > >that > >is willing to finance your degree at night school, > you're a fool not to > >take > >it. If you're not the one paying for it, you > should get as many degrees as > >you can, because you never know what's going to > happen in the future. > > > > > > > >""Wes Stevens"" wrote in message > >[EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > > > A lot of it is what you want out of life. I will > be 50 in 5 years and > > > am perfectly happy playing with cisco's. I make > more money then my > > > boss with the mba does and have more job > security. What happens if you > > > get laid off > >at > > > 45 or 50 with a middle to upper management job? > If you are not way up > >there > > > in the corner office area you are going to have > a hard time finding a > > > job. > >I > > > work for a company in the fortune top 5 that is > very stable. Yet this > > > economy is hitting us also. They are going to > cut my office way back > > > from 500 people to 200 by the end of the year. > They will offer me a > > > job in Houston as they can always find a spot > for a cisco network > > > engineer. My > >boss > > > and a lot of other are really scrambling. There > are no jobs in the > > > local market and less chances of them finding a > place in another part > > > of the company as they are cutting back > everywhere. > > > > > > Just some food for thought. > > > > > > > > > >From: "nrf" > > > >Reply-To: "nrf" > > > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Subject: Re: MBA or CCIE [7:41809] > > > >Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 14:37:51 -0400 > > > > > > > >""Drew"" wrote in message > > > >[EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > > > > > Sean Knox wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I was actually heading towards my CCIE, > but after getting my > > > > > > CCNP, I > > > >am > > > > > > content with that for now and and getting > more experience > >(fortunately > > > >I > > > >am > > > > > > not some new wide-eyed kid in the field > and have been doing this > > > >awhile). > > > > > > Congrats on your decision to pursue your > MBA and I wish you > > > > > > luck. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I made a similar decision myself within the > last few weeks. I had > > > > > planned on pursuing my CCIE-Security, but > realize that I don't > > > > > work enough with Cisco products on a daily > basis, and certainly > > > > > not with routing in a complex way, to feel > that I would deserve > > > > > the cert, even if I attained it. I'm going > back to school for my > > > > > MS in CS, starting classes in June. > > > > > > > > > > I think in the long run, an advanced degree > is more of a benefit > > > > > than an advanced vendor cert. But thats > just me. > > > > > > > >Exactly. Especially later in your life. > Fiddling with Cisco boxes > > > >might be cool now, but do you still want to be > doing that when you're > > > >50? > >Probably > > > >not, you probably want to be sitting in a > director's chair ordering > > > >other young guys to set up the systems. It's > hard to win promotion > > > >to that > >chair > > > >without an advanced education. > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at > >http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. > _________________________________________________________________ > Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: > http://messenger.msn.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===== Robert Padjen __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=41920&t=41809 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
