I took some time, developing myself. I worked hard to get my CCNA and CCNP certifications through self-study. I committed all myself towards this goal as the courses are very challenging and it costs quite a lot. I believed in myself and i defied all odds in attaining the certifications without any practical experience. I made use of various resources especially simulators in-order to get the hands on skills which are vital in passing these certification exams. I used gns3, Bossom, packetlife.net, packet-tracer. I have different views on each but overally i can say all were so helpful for me to attain my certification.
Having my certifications, i had every reason to seat down and start applying for jobs. High profile interviews followed and it was a messy. I was bitter to myself, i was angry at employers but my resume was very impressive with qualifications Bsc Computer Science, CCNA, CCNP, Post graduate diploma in computer forensics at a reputable institution University of Cape Town. Practical experience was missing 'n' it eroded all my confidence. I went to interviews at Business Connection, RSweb, Dimension Data and University of Cape Town. I was then getting a salary of 8 000rands and all these job opportunies had a salary of over 25 000rands. I guese you can now understand how shattering it was to loose these jobs. I got my CCNP certification in January and after more than 400 applications i finally got a job as a cisco engineer in a very easy way without the rigorous interviews i hate to the maximum.
I was offered the job with an impressive salary more than three times my current salary then.Ohhh you can imagine the excitement and happiness and the satisfaction of a worthwhile investment. The only worrying thing was that i was being thrown in the deep end of a high level project as a consultant at a reputable company deep in the desert. I was supposed to configure FIREWALLS,i never configured before, i was to configure windows server 2008 a strange world to me, i was supposed to configure WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS a nightmare in itself. I had pressure from all sides yet overally i had limited technical skills but with very good qualifications. I had a team of network gurus of my own i was confident will help me out but this did not help my situation. At one point i decided to resign when the pressure and stress overwhelmed me. My family and freinds kept on encouraging me to hold on 'n' i did. I was learning a hard way and the client was not amused by my fatalities.
When it became apparent to the client i was short of the experience they expected they sat and agreed to throw me out. I felt so bad but at the same time i had to face the realities. I was way below their expectation but i was happy i did try my best.I had sleepless nights googling, researching, using simulators to try to overcome my lack of experience.The virtual machine with ms 2008 server did wonders to me, several other blogsites on several topics helped me with ideas 'n' the technical skills i needed, and finally one lady who had vast experience at my client site understood well my situation and she guided me through-out my ordeal. I survived the chop, i had help from the Technical architect of the organisation to configure the firewalls.I learnt a lot though it was so so embrassing. I had my first chance to mount a switch, using a console cable to configure a switch,configuring firewalls & access points, Ms windows server 2008, NPS.I came out a different technical person from this project. There are still a lot of things which needs to be learnt. I feel i need a person to learn from and to guide me but as it stands i have to believe in the few technical knowledge and theory i have.I only and will only become confident of it if it works.Before it works i am not confident as i should be, i cant stand and defend it confidently infornt of a client.I am normally jittery and tend to listen more from the client though it should be vise versa. This is my networking journey, in whateva way i will conquer and i really appreciate the sharing of information as it saved my life.
I will keep sharing information and the little technical skills i now have and hopefully it will save someone from the same shame i was in.
Check you in the next article
that's a common problem. I'm pretty much on the other side of the fence.
ReplyDeleteI am a Wits engineering dropout. I run a technology consultancy and an IT consultancy. I need to employ but everyone that come to do the 6 hour inter with any form of qualification doesn't pass the test. Those that don't have qualifications Get better results in general but lack the structured thinking one would need in a high pressure environment.
I have come to the conclusion that IT is more an art than a skill. Some people just get it and some people don't. those that don't can learn.
I find what helped me was the pressures of a client expecting their solution and your landlord expecting his rent :D
Well done. Forge on.
thanks bro, Takalani. I will always quote you "I have come to the conclusion that IT is more an art than a skill. Some people just get it and some people don't. those that don't can learn."
DeleteI will keep forging on. Knowing that there are pple like you out there who are doing it, succeeding further motivates me. I am learning, will continue learning.