Desire for Knowledge Motivates Engineer to Earn Three CCIEs

Maybe it's his strong passion for soccer and the occasional beer that drives Marius Holmsen's success, but it probably has more to do with his tireless work ethic.

Thirty-one-year-old Holmsen has distinguished himself by acquiring three CCIE certifications in just one year—Security, Routing & Switching, and Communication & Services (recently renamed to Service Providers).

Marius is one of six senior engineers with Datametrix, a Norwegian network consultancy and systems integrator for other firms in Scandinavia. In a typical 6-12 week engagement, Datametrix engineers will assess the client's situation, identify problems, develop an understanding of customer objectives, and then create and implement a networking plan to reach those objectives.

When asked to recount his most challenging assignments, Marius says there are too many to mention. Datametrix has provided him with the opportunity to work in many different areas, along with the satisfying experience of turning clients into satisfied customers.

At first, Marius' drive to attain CCIE status was motivated by career advancement. With higher levels certification came greater responsibility (and a higher salary), which provided a much more challenging and interesting work experience. Every certification Marius has acquired has not only helped him professionally, but he consistently sees customers using Cisco Certification as a benchmark for evaluating Datametrix capabilities, so as a CCIE, his value to Datametrix and its continued success is obvious.

On the road to CCIE certification, Marius collected four Cisco Professional certifications and an SS1, which was an excellent base. In preparation for the CCIE exams, Marius studied from the recommended Cisco texts and took several Cisco courses, which proved quite valuable.

Studying for and passing three CCIE exams in one year required a lot of work, but Marius enjoyed expanding his knowledge of new technologies. His family was very understanding and patient—for that he feels he owes them a lot. He was also fortunate enough to have brilliant colleagues and a collaborative environment at Datametrix.

Although many Datametrix clients are service providers, they see many different environments, with consistent use of MPLS, IP Sec, VPN, ATM backbones and Gigabit Ethernet. Most recently, he has seen an increase in demand for enhanced security and IP telephony. In response to this trend, Marius would like to get his fourth CCIE in Voice.

Eventually, he'd like to work abroad and gain exposure to larger networks that push the envelope of bandwidth and complexity. This would also give Marius a chance to attend some international soccer competitions and sample some of the local beers!

July 2003