> > > > 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.
I am going to differ from the other respondents to your question and answer your question this way. The only person who can truly say whether something is worth doing or not is you. Nobody else can make that decision for you. However, what I can do is offer you a framework upon you can base your decision whether it is worth it or not. *What does it mean by be 'worth it'? The notion of something being 'worth it' is essentially a calculation of whether the money and resources you would need to spend to do that thing could or could not be better spent doing something else. Instead of spending your time studying for the R/S lab, for example, would it be better for you to spend that time studying some other technology? Maybe. It depends on a host of factors - what you like to do, what technologies you have access to, and that kind of thing. However, this exposes some of the responses I've seen here as being overly simplistic. Many people are going to respond by telling you to continue your pursuit of the labs because doing so will do nothing but help you. Well, of course it will help. Everything helps. But that's not the point. Getting a MBA, JD, PhD, MD, MFA, and every other degree out there will help you too. But does that mean you should go and pursue all of them? Or, to give you an extreme example, should a lawyer spend time studying for a medical degree? Probably not. Let's face it - nobody just grabs designations and certifications just for fun, they do it because they are trying to advance their career. It's a return-on-investment kind of thing. Businesses don't invest resources just for the hell of it, they do it because they want to get a return on their investment, and they want to invest their resources into whatever will get them the greatest return. The same is true of you - you want to put your time and money into doing something that will net you the best return. * Saturation Let's face it - there are a lot of people who know networking out there, and due to the death spiral of the telcos, not much demand for for that kind of knowledge. Knowledge of complex networking is simply not as important as it was just a few years ago. By learning Cisco routing/switching and/or Cisco security, let's be honest here, you're not really distinguishing yourself from the crowd, because a lot of other people know it too. On the other hand, there are many aspects of networking that not that many people know. IP telephony, for example, is still very much a black-art. Storage switch technology like stuff from Brocade, McData, and (soon) Cisco is almost certainly going to be another. "True" security knowledge (of a level many many times deeper than the CCIE-Security could ever be) is yet another. The point is that you simply can't count on expertise of plain-vanilla networking to land you a job anymore. *The power of experience I've always been of the opinion that lab-study should always be something you do on the side to accompany a real networking job. Lab-study should never be used in place of a real job, for a number of reasons, not least of which is that you meet many more people through a real job than through studying in a lab. Let's face it, when it comes to finding work, it's really not what you know, it's who you know. Looking at this from the lens of being 'worth it', I would argue that instead of a person constantly studying in a lab for his exam, perhaps that person could better spend that time working at a job, even as a volunteer. Otherwise, consider the case of the lab-guy passing the lab and still not being able to find work whereas the guy who instead took whatever odd jobs he could find gets hooked up for employment through somebody he met. *Conclusion Again, none of this is to say that you shouldn't spend your time studying for the exams. Maybe you should, maybe you shouldn't. That is a choice that only you are qualified to make. But what you should do is take a look at all the alternatives available to you and make a decision accordingly. Lab preparation takes time and money (especially time), and time and money are the 2 most valuable resources in life. You should use your resources wisely. > > > > Thanks. > > Adrian > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=57920&t=57920 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
