Benefits for Employers

Wagner Bernardes believes both employers and customers see benefit in CCIE certification.

Listen to Wagner Bernardes, a Sao Paulo-based solutions consultant for Equant, talk about who benefits from Cisco CCIE® certification, and you’re likely to come away thinking it’s everyone. Wagner, who achieved expert-level status in the CCIE WAN Switching track in 2001, believes that it’s not only the CCIE certification holders themselves who benefit from certification, but also the companies who hire them and the customers they serve.

“Companies know that if you have your CCIE, you are a good person to hire,” Wagner says. “They know CCIEs have the knowledge to build and maintain a network…and you can learn new technologies fast.” Wagner’s current employer, Equant, who is a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, currently employs five CCIEs. “Equant believes [CCIEs are] valuable to our customers because they will always have the best team to design and implement solutions, and configure the products.”

“Companies know that if you have your CCIE, you are a good person to hire. They know CCIEs have the knowledge to build and maintain a network…and you can learn new technologies fast.”

Wagner also appreciates what expert certification has done for his career. “When I got my CCIE, it opened a lot of doors; employers have a lot of respect for CCIEs,” Wagner says. “My company [at the time] increased my salary. And everybody looked at me with respect. When I came back to Brazil, I had a lot of offers.” Which is not to say these benefits came easily. Wagner, who didn’t pass the lab exam until his third attempt, puts it in perspective: “My Director [at the time] said jokingly, ‘I will give you all you need to get a CCIE, but you have to promise me you will be successful on your first try.’ When I failed the second time, I almost gave up because there was so much pressure. But you discover that you are too close to give up. You have to stay dedicated and persistent—and focused.”

For Wagner, that dedication and persistence have brought benefits of their own. “When you study for your CCIE, you gain the knowledge…to design and maintain a network. As a solutions consultant, I work with multiple technologies and must be capable of implementing new solutions. [Because of the CCIE process,] I now have the discipline to study and prepare myself to make these technologies successful.”

April 2006