Network Designer/Architect Vs Network Engineer...Theory Vs Real Life - Part 2

Now let's proceed further with our discussion from where we left it last time. I strongly believe that in Network Engineering field lots of gaps can be filled out with study. There might be a network engineer which could have spent 10 years into industry working on a flat network. If I compare his skill set to a fresher CCIE Lab certified person, our CCIE is most likely a way ahead in terms of skills. Of course people may argue about Experience and all, which I am not saying isn't important. But similarly something like CCIE not only teaches candidates in depth look at technologies but also prepare them to handle mental & physical stress along with importance of strategy.

Now one important thing that also CCIE taught me was - "In the end of day it's just a Technology and as long as we can break it into different pieces , you can see simplicity within complexity".

I remember couple of years back someone during an interview asked me " How much MPLS do you know ? " And I started explaining that I know MPLS quite a bit and have good understanding about how Layer 3 Intra AS MPLS VPNs works but of course since I mostly work for Enterprise customers. So CE is pretty much that defines my reach into SP-MPLS. 

The guy immediately replied back - "Knowing MPLS is far different from working on MPLS"

Wow....

I asked him back if MPLS in real life works much differently from what I know from theory and practice and if he knows something about MPLS which is not documented in any good MPLS book. Also if there is any voodoo magic about MPLS ?

of course I didn't get that job as a result :) hehehe...

But that was necessary to ask. Because when I am interviewing anyone, I always try to find how good he/she is with fundamentals about that particular technology (Of course not expecting bits and bytes info) and if he is good than how much willing that person really is to play the role we are offering. Of course that doesn't mean that I am gonna offer Level 3 Engineer position to him but still perhaps recommend him for Level 2 to give him chance to learn and explore.

Now coming back to idea of using Learning as technique to fill technology understanding gaps. If we talk about CCDE recommended books list (More accurate version), I don't think it's fair that none of those is actually available in India and I must buy US editions. US edition is always a choice and perhaps only choice but one must understand the economical differences we have. 

BGP Design & Implementation - Not Available in India
End To End QOS Network Design - Not Available in India
Definitive MPLS Network Designs - Not Available in India
Optimal Routing Design - Not Available in India
CCDE Quick Reference - Not Available in India
EIGRP For IP - Not Available in India
Comparing, Designing & Deploying VPNs - Not Available in India

CCDE Bootcamp Status:

Vendor - INE - Only run CCDE bootcamps in US
Vendor - Jeremy Filliben - Don't run bootcamps in India

So this is first reason I wanted to highlight in this series to Cisco CCDE Program Manager and CCDE Community.


HTH...
Deepak Arora
Evil CCIE