My First CCIE

I’m going thru the INE lecture on Performance Routing (formerly known as OER). I have to say, I’m a little aroused. It’s probably overkill to bring another internet connection into my home and get a couple routers set up for PfR, huh? I see this kind of stuff and can’t help but think, “man! if I could just go back to some of the networks I’ve worked before…”

Just as I was starting to “get” multicast, work dragged me in a different direction. BGP. Oh yeah! Would you like that in blue? Or red? Cause I can make BGP submit to my will. And I have to say, it feels pretty good to be able to walk into that situation and have it totally under control. That may be more important than having your numbers. Now if I can do that with all the technologies across the board…

It’s been a great project… ntp.. TACACs.. ACLs.. I am SO in my element. I envy the people that get to do this all the time.

When I was a young boy, I ended up at some swimming class. I don’t remember if it was scouts or YMCA or what. What I DO remember is that there was a guy there who kept telling the instructors, “I can’t swim. I sink”. They, of course, reassured him. “Trust us.” and “It can’t be that bad”. At some point, we all had to jump in the deep end. This guy tried to restate his case and was, again, assured that even if he did sink… which he wouldn’t.. they’d be there to help him.

So.. the guy jumped into the water.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything cut through water so quickly. And, even at that age, I was keenly aware of the shock and surprise on the faces of the instructors as he slid to the bottom. They .. eventually.. did pull the kid out of the water.

This has some similarities to my multicast experience. Particularly in troubleshooting. I can read about the mechanics of multicasting all day but when it’s time to dive in and support myself above the waters of troubleshooting.. well.. let’s say it’s shocking and surprising how quickly I hit the bottom of the pool.

So I’m really trying to hammer out multicast. I see the water. I see what swimming looks like. But give me a failed installation and I sink like that kid. I guess I have no other choice but to keep reading. Keeping lab’ing. Keep pushing until it breaks through. I keep telling myself that I’m a reasonably bright guy and that I’ve learned tough things before. So, I trust I’m going to do it. But I’m not there yet. But I CAN swim.

I got sidetracked for a bit. I had to take my SSCP test. But.. we’re back to spanning tree. MMmm mmmm good!

In the back of my mind, I keep thinking that getting an engineer gig with Cisco would be just about perfect for a fanboy like myself. All Cisco, all the time. LOTS of equipment and resources available to hone your skills. Not to mention that fact that “work” would actually be a place to study and train. So many employers are adverse to training for fear that employees will leave for greener pastures.. but if you’re a Cisco genius, what better place to be than.. Cisco? Of course I understand that very few jobs are perfect. Photographer for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition perhaps. Professional food critic maybe. (Neither of which I’m really professionally qualified for. Although, if I had to fake it, I’d rather take a shot at the former… but I digress.)

Anyway.. all of this got me thinking about what the perfect job would be in my mind. Obviously, good pay and decent benefits are no-brainers. But let’s look a little past that. If I were to write my own ticket, this would be the checklist (at least for today)…

1. Money – As I said, it’s a no-brainer. I don’t HAVE to make 6 figures but being close is important. I make very good money now and just couldn’t swing a large pay cut. Besides, I think the time and effort I’ve put into being good at my job is worth something a little more than a certificate. Given the importance that data has become, geeks like us should rule the world. But I’ll be content with a good wage. I don’t need to be rich.

2. Benefits – I would like to know that, if I or my family comes down with something that it won’t destroy a lifetime of work. That we can live healthy. Id also like to know that I can be responsible and put some money away for when the day comes that I just can’t do it any more.

3. Challenge – This is a little harder to define for me but I can start with the premise that I’ve had a job or two that offered no technical challenge (although it had it’s share of bureaucratic  challenge). It wasn’t enough to keep me stimulated and I hated the idea of growing intellectually stagnant. Some challenge.. in my field… would be pretty important.

4. Travel – I know guys who travel a LOT. Being a family man, I’m not interested. I have found though, that some travel is really a good thing. It breaks up the monotony and gets you in touch with the people you’re interacting with. In a support role, it really gives me perspective on their environment, daily routines and their particular challenges. It also helps them have some idea who their calling. And.. I usually get a day to explore in that particular area. It’s been a good thing for me so the perfect job has some level of travel.

5. Training – For an engineer, this is almost as good as money. Personally, I love to learn more about things I already know.. or learn something about new things. Again.. it’s nice to have it relate to my primary goals. I’d like to know enough about Vendor XYZ’s router to make it talk to my ASR. I’m not really interested in learning the XYZ router so it can replace my ASR. That’s moving away from my core competancy. Not where I want to go at this time.

6. Recognition – Not all that important. I get recognition by the people in the other end of the phone who know that they can come to me and get it done. That’s what makes me feel like I’m useful.

7. Telecommuting – I’m used to the security of brick and mortar. “Going to work” is an ingrained part of my routine. But I’d be fine with telecommuting too. It would certainly be more convenient. But my concern is “out of sight, out of mind”. I don’t want someone looking around and wondering why they keep sending me good money (see #1) when they never even see me. so.. perhaps a mixture of in-house and telecommuting is ideal. Or… at the very least.. out in the field and telecommuting.

8. Location – .. which brings me to location.. I’m not planning on moving, ever. I’ve found “home” and I’m staying so relocating isn’t even a topic of discussion. Now.. things change over time.. but right now.. I’m staying. However, the “perfect” job would be with a company that would either allow me to work from wherever I wanted… or would have offices in different areas of the country.

9. Peers – I find I really enjoy working with bright people. I’m currently working with some of the brightest people I’ve ever worked with. And certainly all at once in one place. I think I have a problem working with “not so” competent people because I’m not an educator at heart. So, while I don’t have a problem with sharing information, I don’t want to have to go into an in-depth explanation of what IP is with someone who’s never heard of ‘ping’. It’s just not who I am. So, in my perfect job, I would prefer to interface with people of some technical background. Have NO problem talking about why a router isn’t functioning. Don’t want to explain what a router is.

There are the little things.. like breakfast brought in every morning.. being issued top of the line Macbook Pros.. 3 months paid vacation. On a more serious note.. some sort of profit sharing or bonuses would be very nice.

Of course, this is all just rambling. Sometimes the grass looks a lot greener over there and not so green here. I find it’s important to know what you’re really looking for out of a job. So I have to weigh what I really want with where I am. Honestly, I’m not doing bad at all. (And, of course, you can always break it down further and I can say I’m glad to be working at all. Plenty of people without that luxury.)

What does your perfect job look like?