My journey had finally come to an end, or perhaps it was just beginning?

by Chris Ellington

Chris Ellington Bio: Christopher S. Ellington, CCIE #6814, has been a routing and switching CCIE since 2001. He has worked extensively on corporate networks of varying sizes, including global network spanning many countries to smaller single site networks. His skills include anything to do with routers and switches, as well as WAN switches, optical equipment and IP Telephony. Presently he is working as a freelance contractor under his own company, Ascent Networks. Christopher has over 16 years of experience in IT and has worked in a variety of companies, both small and large. He presently resides in Indianapolis, IN and is available for contracts anywhere in the world. If you would like to contact Chris send an email using the CCIEFLYER feedback link found at the bottom of this page.

February 1, 2001.
My journey had finally come to an end, or perhaps it was just beginning? I had passed the difficult lab exam known to many as the CCIE. I had my number, 6814, and it took all I had not to stand on the desk and cheer that I finally had passed. It was the end of the road. I knew that once I had my number, I would be set for good. The only thing I had to do now was pass the written exam every two years and I would maintain my CCIE and always be employed, or so I thought.

Shortly after passing, I accepted an offer to work for a Cisco partner. I quickly became the go-to resource for them, regardless if it was sales support, implementations, post-cut support or just the customer that needed some help. It was a solid position, although in time the difficulties in working with a small Cisco partner were becoming evident. Especially the part about the partner being poorly managed and not having a lot of funds to pay staff. In March of 2007, I found myself on the outside looking in as their partner let me go due to problems with finances. I had been in several situations throughout my career where I needed to find a job quickly, and this was no different. As such, I followed a plan and secured a job at a medium sized organization and I saw it as a blessing, since I was able to go to work for the manufacturer of IP PBX's.

As a support engineer, my hours were defined, I had very few instances where I was working outside of the 8a - 5p business hours and I also was going to do some teaching along the way for our first level support engineers to get their CCNA. Life was back to good. I was able to round out my experience with the missing piece, as I had worked for a large customer, been on the partner side of things and now I was working for the manufacturer of software.

The downside to this position, I would find out, was that when times are difficult, my position would be eliminated.

The company decided that since I didn't directly contribute to the bottom line by writing the software, I was expendable. My manager had mentioned several times that "many eyes are on you due to your high salary" and this was a large part of the reason I received my notice in early December 2008, along with 39 of my collegegues. Since I had only been with the company less than 2 years, my severance wasn't very good and with the Christmas holiday looming and the "dead" weeks coming, I knew I had to act fast. Unlike most of those I knew that also lost their jobs, I was able to secure several interviews and was confident that I would have a position by the end of the year. In the end, each of the companies decided to go with a "less experienced" candidate which I discovered was code for "you are too expensive".

I have a large family with a wife and 7 young children, so not working wasn't an option and neither was the government assistance, as it didn't pay well nor is it timely. So I followed my path, which began with a paper route at age 12, to enterpreneurship. Since early in my life I knew I wanted to own my own business, but it was never the right time. As my children said, by working for myself it was unlikely that I would fire myself, thus it seemed like a good plan.

As of now, I'm working as an independent contractor and I've got several contracts in hand, several more on the horizon and a good outlook. I am certain I will be successful, but it's not without it's stresses, that's for sure. I've made it a point to not burn bridges my entire career since you never know who might be your next boss, which has helped me. I generally don't forget people and have pressed them for the contract work. The first day of my first contract was outstanding, as I sat there thinking about how the only agenda was mine and how freeing that was.

I've now got the flexibility to take jobs I want and think I can truly add high value to, rather than just taking the next job in the queue. I have to admit that I never, ever thought that getting my CCIE would cause trouble and my wife and I believed that getting my CCIE was job security. We have since discovered that while it is of very high value, there are no guarentees in life, as we should have known, but only opportunities.

I am now on the path that leads me to my passion, owning my own business and doing what I truly enjoy. I've amassed a lot of experience, particularly in IP telephony and network management, but with my experiences have seen many, many networks and troubleshot everything from DLSW (yes, my 4 digit number means I had to know things like DLSW+, Appletalk, IPX, etc to pass) to optical. If Cisco makes it, I have likely worked with it.

My career has been quite fulfilling and I am anxiously awaiting the next challenges that it will bring. I know there is light at the end of the tunnel and keep my work in perspective; it's important but certainly not more important than the people I love and the people I work for.

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