At that time, I had a post-sales position in Nortel Network and we were required to have this certification after a few years on the job.I did my first attempt back in 1999 or early 2000 but I didn't pass. Actually, I went for my first attempt with no slightest idea of what was a certification exam. Now we have study communities, youtube videos, social media, forums, but at that time it was you, the equipment and thousands of pages of manuals and study guides.
I stormed away from the test center after my first attempt and called my boss immediately; "Hey! Sorry, I didn't pass but really... what the hell!? most questions it's just stuff that we find in the manuals. This is not a test to my technical skills, it's a test to my memory! A real exam should be a practical exam, not this!"
So I forgot this "useless certification not required to my daily job" stuff and went on with my life. But in 2002, the team was committed to have everyone at least nncss level (equivalent to ccna). This time I knew what to expect so, for two months, I took the training manuals but kept this thought in my mind:
"if you were making an exam on this topic, what questions would you ask?" and it worked.
I don't know what was hardest; answering the exam or when I saw the result and had to muffle a triumph shout in the room. Felt like I'd just scored the winning goal against a rival club.
But that was a really odd year because after the joy of getting the certification, 6 months later I got made redundant because Nortel was sinking hard and it was decided to terminate the post-sales support in Portugal. "That's alright! I have my nncss so I should get a new job easily".
I went through a few interviews but it would basically stopped at this conversation:
"I'm a certified specialist!"
"yeaah... you see but we're looking for someone with a ccna..."
"True, but it's a different vendor but it's equivalent to ccna. The standards and protocols are the same for every vendor"
"...yeah... you see, it's just that our technical manager... is asking for ccna's... we're sorry..."
I eventually manage a job related with Nortel equipment but that experience made me realize certifications are also a reference for the HR folk.
It also made me realized that I shouldn't get my eggs all in one basket and I should diversify my knowledge. At that time I was working as an outsource engineer at a bank. The network was so stable and I got my work so well organized that I got to a point where I could do the work load of a month in one hour so that gave me a lot of time where I could study.
Got a few more Nortel certifications but I was really bored with my job. I kept asking to move to other roles or other customers but my manager kept telling that only roles that were available required skills with Cisco solutions. So, instead of waiting for a hypothetical opportunity, I decided to create my own space and start my way in the Cisco certifications.
I bought the 3rd edition of the cybex CCNA study guide and went on with the studies. I barely passed my CCNA at first attempt (think it was 830 with passing score at 800) but I passed and that was all that matter. Now I add the hard proof that would assure my peers that you can get the job done, no mater the vendor.
A few years later,I had certifications in all vendors represented by my company (Nortel, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Enterasys). It seemed the more I had the easiest was to get the next one. Unfortunately that wasn't being reflected in my payroll. Whenever I mention that "yeah... you know... the economy... It's hard... but we'll see... we are aware of you situation". Tired of this talk I decided to advance to more advanced certifications.
I didn't knew where to start but I realized that my company had some CCNPs but no CCSP. "Well, I kind of like this PIXy thingy, let's do that!"
I eventually got my CCSP and had my payroll revised, but I was hungry for more. I felt that I should do the CCNP too. After that, came the CCNA-W and then the CCNP-W and so on.
17 years later, when I picked that paper and looked back to my journey, I smiled for a few moments, proud of what I have achieved. An ex-nortel that eventually got accepted in the Cisco Champions program. But I quickly got back to unboxing my stuff while my hearing regains focus on the technical video that was playing in the my ipad. It still have a hunger for more...
A few notes;
Will you make use of all the topics covered by a certification?
Depends on your job role but there are a lot of topics that you'll never see again as soon as you press the submit button at the end of your exam.
But more importantly, when you are studying for a cert, you'll cross with a certain topic and will go "oh! so that's why that thing happened!" or "oh! if only i knew this i would have done things differently"
Are certifications useless?
No, even if you take a certification that most of the topics are useless at your current job, that doesn't mean that it won't be useful someday. Unless you change to a different job role you'll sure find your self muttering from time to time:
Are certifications the ultimate proof of competence or skill?
No,that number or icon is just that, a number or a icon. Competence and skills are the result a ongoing study and practice. Always getting new resources to feed that constant hunger for knowledge.
If you got your cert I think, "Ok, I'm a master now! No more study for me!" sorry but you'll be outdated soon. Certs are just a mark on the journey, not the end.
There's a engineer that holds this certification so he must be an expert on that, right?
Well... it depends. If he as got it through the right way, the only way:
But it will show if "expert" got the cert through cheating or poor training, like these group of "black belts":
Here's some thoughts that I found during my certification path:
- it's the journey, not the end.
you'll be ecstatic when passing but you'll soon grant more value to the hours of work that to that new entry on linkedin.
- be vendor neutral and multi-vendor
Every vendor has strengths and weaknesses and nothing lasts forever.
- go wide and then go deep
Broad your knowledge and pursue expert level when you find your favorite topic. And by favorite I mean some topic that you can study for hours and felt it was just for a few minutes.
- "knowledge is like manure. It's only good when spread"
It's a small world. So many things and thoughts out there. Be a sponge, understand others views and methods. Share and be there.
- don't be afraid to fail.
Learn from your failures. They are great teachers. Failing at an exam isn't a proof of incompetence or that your are a hack.
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