Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog are my own views and not those of Cisco.
Dear readers,
Yesterday I embarked upon an important milestone in my life and I wanted to share my story with all of you.
After graduating from high school, with very little education other than my self-taught knowledge about computers, I found my very first job. I took out trash, mopped floors, and cleaned toilets for minimum wage in a department store. Dissatisfied with this career path, I quit a year later. A couple of years passed and I found myself with no job, bumming around the house, and goofing off on the Internet from late night until early morning. Eventually, I decided to do something with my life and went back to school to further my education.
In February of 2007, I enrolled in a six-month program at a local post secondary institution to certify as a Network Technician. Midway through the program, I started this class called "Internetworking" where the topic was this thing called "Cisco". At the time, I had no idea who or what Cisco was, and instantly thought about a dude with platinum hair on the beach singing “The Thong Song”.
After my first few Cisco classes, my eyes widened and I was intrigued to learn more. I learned that this "Cisco" thing is partly responsible for creating the Internet we have today (NOTE: I'm not talking about the ARPANET). I thought to myself, "This is cool!" and I started to invest hours into studying by staying after class and traveling to campus on weekends to do labs. I honestly didn't care about passing the course or getting good grades, it was just fun and interesting to me. Before I graduated from the Cisco Networking Academy, I challenged my first Cisco certification (CCNA). It was one of the hardest exams I’ve ever done, and to my surprise, I passed it on the first try.
Immediately after graduating from the program with honors, I was hired on a contract by IBM as a Cisco VoIP specialist where my passion for anything to do with Cisco grew even more. When I wasn't working, I read thick textbooks published by Ciscopress and studied day and night for more Cisco exams. By 2010, I setup my own "Cisco lab" at home, passed 5 more Cisco exams, and earned an intermediate level Cisco certification (CCVP). After my contract expired, I did a couple of more network admin jobs that involved administrating Cisco networks. A few years later, I was out of work for a while just before the economic downturn in oil prices.
Months went by and I was struggling to find employment. I'm not a kid anymore, so now I have responsibilities and bills to worry about paying. I applied at several companies and went to a dozen or more interviews. Then, last February, as I was about to go to yet another interview for a short-term contract, I decided to meet with an acquaintance for lunch. We met through a video game we played together on our Android smartphones and we hardly interacted much outside of the game before. I also didn't really know what he did for work but I know it had something to do with writing software. My intentions for meeting with him were just to hang out and have a bite to eat before my interview. After telling him how unsuccessful I've been with job searching, he tells me his workplace is hiring and they are looking for somebody experienced with networks and computer security, like me. "meh, what the hell, I'll apply", I thought.
Showing a very mild interest, I asked him "Where do you work?", and he replied, "Cisco".
After a month, I had an interview, then after a couple of weeks of waiting impatiently, ready to lose all hope in finding a job, I receive a formal offer of employment with the company. I can't describe the joy I felt; I was now officially
an employee for one of the largest tech companies on the planet, a company I've admired, invested my career in, and without it, I would probably still be bumming around at home with no ambitions.
Yesterday, I celebrated my one-year of service as a full-time employee at Cisco, and for the first time in my career, I could see myself working at the same company until I reach retirement.
As I reflect back to my teenage years, I feel a strong sense of pride in myself, where my career started, and all of my accomplishments since. I hope this post inspires other people, young and old, to never give up and to always follow their dreams.
Yours Truly,
Kevin - Proud Cisco Employee
P.S:
One person I can't forget to thank for making this happen is Jonathan, the guy who met me for lunch. If you're reading this, I hope you can now understand how eternally grateful I am to you.
