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by Joe Harris, CCIE# 6200

Today is Thursday, August 28th, 2008

About the Author

Joe Harris, CCIE No. 6200 (R&S, Security & SP) is a Systems Engineer with Cisco Systems® specializing in Security. In addition to authoring Cisco Network Security Little Black Book, Joe has also been a technical reviewer for several Cisco Press publications and written articles, white papers, and presentations on various security technologies. He also assists various Certification Partners by beta testing their newest CCIE certification workbooks and has been recognized by Cisco as an SE Wall of Fame award winner.

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Thoroughly Disappointed

July 3rd, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

So I received my latest CCIE plaque in the mail the other day and I must say, I’m thoroughly disappointed…The latest plaque is a lot smaller, thinner and much more unprofessional looking as the original “golden router.” My second plaque was not great either but it was at least a bit larger than the latest edition. Take a look at each of the plagues below and you can make your own decision:

Routing & Switching Plaque
Security Plaque
Service Provider Plaque

There Are 6 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Joey on 3 July 2008:

You’re not the only one feeling as such. Seems most of those who’ve had their CCIEs are slowly but surely feeling like Cisco is not giving them quite as much appreciation as they once did.

For the new and future guys, they all look magnificent
Comment by Joe Harris on 3 July 2008:

A perfect example that echo’s your statements:

http://blog.ioshints.info/2008/07/why-im-no-longer-active-ccie.html

http://ardenpackeer.com/blog/blog-cisco-the-new-ccie-plaques-suck/

Joe
Comment by Tassos on 4 July 2008:

Joe, it’s interesting to see someone having all the different plaques.
That way you can very easily spot their differences.

And as it seems, a lot of people feel disappointed by the new plaque.
Comment by Brad Hedlund on 4 July 2008:

Guys, come on, really, you don’t do this for the plaque. Who cares how much recognition you get from the CCIE program? It’s meaningless compared to the recognition and respect you get from your employer and customers. They certainly don’t care what your plaque looks like.

Also, one of my customers is a Ten Year CCIE, #2000-something. Anyway, recently he was surprised to see a nice plaque show up in his mailbox from Cisco for reaching his Ten Year milestone. He thought it was great and I thought it was cool too. It showed the CCIE program is still doing some cool things to recognize not just the new CCIE’s, but the old ones too.

My .02

-Brad
Comment by Joe Harris on 6 July 2008:

Brad, you are absolutely correct however my only reservation regarding all of this is the principal of the representation. What I mean is that the program has stood as the industry benchmark of certifications for more than 10 years now and along with that title represented itself and the people whom attain this level of accreditation with one of most recognized logo’s in all the world, the “golden router.” However the program has undergone significant changes since the days when you and I achieved our numbers (we passed 7 months apart). As an employee of Cisco I guess in retrospect it’s not really my place to complain considering I didn’t have to pay one red cent for either of my last 2 CCIE’s however in everything I do, I try and put myself in the shoes of my customers and relate to the issues that affect them. If I had to come up with $1250.00 (not sure the cost nowadays) plus travel and expenditures for the cost of just sitting the lab, not to mention the astronomical cost of the training materials used to study for the lab, factoring in also the cost of rack rental time or procurement of personal lab equipment I would hope that at the end of my journey Cisco would at least recognize the effort and cost assumed by myself and/or my employer and reward me with something worthy of the status of CCIE. I only took pictures of the plaques, you should see the certificate they sent to me, no kidding my Canon MX850 could have printed a more professional looking certificate than the one I received. Remember the days when you were required as a CCIE to attend networkers? As a triple CCIE I didn’t even get asked to attend by my management…along with many other aspects of the program (the plaque included); the program has changed, for better or worse is left up the individual to decide.

The ten year plaque your customer received is a nice jester (I’ve seen a lot of these plaques and hope to get one in the next couple of years myself) but why has the program not moved to emeritus status for people whom attained the CCIE status for the last 10 years? To myself and every other 10 Year CCIE that I have talked to, that is the right thing to do…a 10 year CCIE has shown their dedication to Cisco, shouldn’t Cisco return the favor? Even after 8 years I still pursued the Service Provider CCIE, not only for the glory of attaining that level of certification but also for the challenge of the certification. It’s still ranks as the certification of choice in the market place no question, I just think that as the program continues to uphold the CCIE as the de facto standard in the marketplace, they should maintain those standards at all levels of the program, the plaque included.
Comment by Brad Hedlund on 6 July 2008:

Joe,
I see your point. Its a legitimate complaint. But I still think its nothing to get really disappointed about.

What should really disappoint us is anything that lowers the overall market value and prestige of the CCIE certification itself. This is why I don’t think its a good idea to say to any CCIE (regardless of years certified) that you no longer need to re-certify. As much a I dread re-certifying every two years, when its said and done I come out of it a better CCIE than before and glad that I did it. I would hate for the market perception to be that the older CCIE’s like you and I, while rich with experience, are less skilled, slower, or rustier than the newer ones freshly out of the lab. Even for us old farts its good get back to basics once in a while and taking the written test every couple of years is a great way to do it.

I also think letting your CCIE go inactive is the most lazy and irresponsible thing I have ever heard of. Thats a shame. Those folks will regret that one day.

As for your comment about Networkers, I agree, any non-Cisco employed CCIE’s should still be required to attend at least 3 of the last 5 Networkers. As you well know Joe, working at CIsco is like Networkers every day.

-Brad