SecureCRT

The CCIE is a massive investment of time and money and there is no guaranteed payoff. Every person is different, so I do not feel comfortable making recommendations either for or against it.

@ sorry to ask you would mind to share/pm me the experience gap when you stopped for years and your age when you returned?

@@madz1131 Sure, it's not a secret. I left IT in 2013 (though I did continue to due some minor work from time to time). When I finally got a job a few months ago I was 47 years old.

You'll have to research your options for whichever terminal application you're using.

I got in IT in ~1998. It was a different world back then. When the dot com boom hit, IT jobs were plentiful. Everyone and their brother were in IT, but so many were inexperienced and uncertified. By having my MCSE and CCNP, I was a rare breed with both server and network experience and certification. So even without a college degree, there was a period, early in my career, where I could pretty much name my price. Exciting times.

​@jeremiahwolfe so they were still able to get a network job, despite lack of experience and certification? Interesting.

Do you know how much time, effort, and money goes into passing a certification? I'll certainly make a review each time I take an exam, but that will be once or twice a year. I was knocking them out before only because I was looking for a job and had the time or need.

Of course, I am talking only about if you do one exam and pass, if you then can do a short review about your study material etc.

@@funny_dave7878 Oh, okay. Sure. I thought you were asking me to make a bunch of exam reviews. But yeah, if I take a test, I'll be sure to make a review. I'm not sure when or what will be next. My employer is real big on 60 hour work weeks and not very big on training or time for studying.

Being self-employed is a nightmare. People love to romanticize it, but the truth is that over 90% off all small businesses fail within the first 2 years. And, of the 10% that make it past 2 years, only a fraction of those ever become profitable. (Or something like that, don't quote me on the stats.) When my wife got pregnant, my business was making money, so I was one of the very...VERY few who every make it that far. BUT it wasn't making much money, certainly not enough to raise a child and put them through college. Money aside, I worked a MINIMUM of 60 hours a week, every week FOR YEARS. The stress was so much I put on over 50lbs and developed a heart condition. Networking pays pretty well, and offers benefits like medical insurance. My self-employed medical insurance alone cost my wife and I ~$15,000 a year plus another $5000 if we actually used it. To add a child to that would be too much. And while I used to work a lot of hours in networking, I NEVER worked anything like when I owned my business.

60

Thanks so much!!

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aae6lWiam7-WpLs

I appreciate it. They're not the only one. Others are claiming me as a student and using my name to promote their "courses".

@@jeremiahwolfe man that sucks to hear. Really unfortunate that that’s the level people are stooping to

47

@@jeremiahwolfe awesome, still got at least 20 years of routing packets before retirement or IPv6 (whichever comes first :D )

Thank you!

Thanks.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you so much!!