CCIE Numbers 235XX and climbing. I am happily one of the folks many CCIEs call when they pass the lab. I have had several great calls and hear a lot about expectations the new CCIEs have as they are exiting the testing centers. It is not unusual to hear the new CCIE ask about money!!
Yes MONEY!!
SHOW ME THE MONEY!! SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!! SAY IT WITH ME NOW, SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!
(Sounds like my last discussion with my boss in London)
I see raised hands again and hear Crickets, as I am being prodded along.
“But Eman what the heck are you talking about”?
I am talking about expectations that are created by the journey to become a CCIE. There are people making money off of the CCIE. It seems like we all have our hands out, from the CCIE themselves, to their kids, to their spouse, to the Channel Partner to the (yes) recruiter. That CCE number makes a lot of people excited about money. Yet the CCIEs I speak with, actually rank money second to the challenge of a new job. Yup, they assume the money will be good so they ask about the roles very closely. Channel partners need to be ready in an interview to discuss projects, clients, and markets. Yes money comes in second, but a very close second at that.
So to get to my very ugly point here I am going to show you Cisco’s recently published CCIE numbers.
Some note has been given to this rise in numbers accompanied by speculation about what they mean. In a couple of bits I have read the authors are decrying the loss of the North American lead in the race for the most CCIEs. In others the quality is being questioned while in still other forums the question of value is hot. I have an opinion about the motives for the various banner waiving bits that I will keep to myself but I will share my thoughts and experience.
From Cisco’s website (http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/ccie/certified_ccies/worldwide.html) (last updated 02/23/2009).
| Total of Worldwide CCIEs: | 19134 |
| Total of Routing and Switching CCIEs: | 16727 |
| Total of Security CCIEs: | 2147 |
| Total of Service Provider CCIEs: | 1182 |
| Total of Storage Networking CCIEs: | 140 |
| Total of Voice CCIEs: | 901 |
|
Multiple Certifications: Many CCIEs have gone on to pass the certification exams in additional tracks, becoming a “multiple CCIE.” Below are selected statistics on CCIEs who are certified in more than one track. |
|
| Total with multiple certifications worldwide: | 1974 |
| Total of Routing and Switching and Security CCIEs: | 739 |
| Total of Routing and Switching and Service Provider CCIEs: | 496 |
| Total of Routing and Switching and Storage Networking CCIEs: | 35 |
| Total of Routing and Switching and Voice CCIEs: | 258 |
| Total with 3 or more certifications: | 316 |
| Americas | ||
| Total:6505 | ||
| North America | 6124 | |
| Canada | 786 | |
| Mexico | 130 | |
| USA | 5206 | |
| Caribbean | 12 | |
| Barbados | 1 | |
| Bermuda | 5 | |
| Jamaica | 2 | |
| Guadeloupe | 1 | |
| Puerto Rico | 2 | |
| Cayman Islands | 1 | |
| South America | 350 | |
| Argentina | 74 | |
| Brazil | 200 | |
| Chile | 23 | |
| Colombia | 35 | |
| Ecuador | 1 | |
| Peru | 5 | |
| Uruquay | 1 | |
| Venezuela | 11 | |
| Central America | 19 | |
| Costa Rica | 12 | |
| Guatemala | 1 | |
| Panama | 6 | |
| EMEA | ||
| Total:5019 | Europe | 4202 |
| Albania | 2 | |
| Andorra | 1 | |
| Austria | 64 | |
| Belarus | 1 | |
| Belgium | 276 | |
| Bosnia and Herzegowina | 4 | |
| Bulgaria | 51 | |
| Croatia | 45 | |
| Czech Republic | 69 | |
| Denmark | 74 | |
| Estonia | 2 | |
| Finland | 37 | |
| France | 234 | |
| Germany | 623 | |
| Greece | 46 | |
| Hungary | 62 | |
| Iceland | 8 | |
| Ireland | 65 | |
| Italy | 149 | |
| Latvia | 8 | |
| Lithuania | 9 | |
| Luxembourg | 11 | |
| Macedonia | 2 | |
| Moldova | 1 | |
| Netherlands | 201 | |
| Norway | 64 | |
| Poland | 133 | |
| Portugal | 63 | |
| Romania | 36 | |
| Russia | 309 | |
| Serbia | 2 | |
| Slovakia | 38 | |
| Slovenia | 26 | |
| Spain | 177 | |
| Sweden | 94 | |
| Switzerland | 200 | |
| Ukraine | 31 | |
| United Kingdom | 966 | |
| Yugoslavia | 18 | |
| Africa | 223 | |
| Algeria | 6 | |
| Angola | 1 | |
| Botswana | 1 | |
| Cameroon | 2 | |
| Chad | 2 | |
| Cote d'ivoire | 3 | |
| Egypt | 66 | |
| Ethiopia | 1 | |
| Ghana | 1 | |
| Kenya | 3 | |
| Lesotho | 1 | |
| Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | 2 | |
| Mauritius | 1 | |
| Morocco | 5 | |
| Nigeria | 19 | |
| Senegal | 3 | |
| South Africa | 103 | |
| Tunisia | 3 | |
| Middle East | 593 | |
| Bahrain | 10 | |
| Cyprus | 3 | |
| Isreal | 58 | |
| Jordan | 23 | |
| Kuwait | 40 | |
| Lebanon | 22 | |
| Oman | 10 | |
| Pakistan | 58 | |
| Qatar | 25 | |
| Saudi Arabia | 149 | |
| Turkey | 50 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 144 | |
| Yemen | 1 | |
| Pacific Rim | ||
| Total: 7582 | Pacific Islands | 662 |
| Australia | 571 | |
| New Caledonia | 1 | |
| Kirbati | 1 | |
| New Zealand | 87 | |
| American Samoa | 2 | |
| Asia | 6920 | |
| Afghanistan | 2 | |
| Azerbaijan | 4 | |
| Bangladesh | 5 | |
| Bhutan | 1 | |
| East Timor | 1 | |
| Georgia | 1 | |
| Hong Kong | 245 | |
| India | 588 | |
| Indonesia | 52 | |
| Japan | 1089 | |
| Kazakhstan | 4 | |
| Korea | 1027 | |
| Laos | 1 | |
| Macau | 8 | |
| Malaysia | 91 | |
| P.R. China | 3302 | |
| Philippines | 22 | |
| Singapore | 175 | |
| Sri Lanka | 5 | |
| Taiwan | 190 | |
| Thailand | 70 | |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | |
| Vietnam | 36 |
OK so there will be a test at the end of this article so pay attention.
What do these numbers mean?
These numbers DON’T MEAN SQUAT, if you are out of a job or in a depressed job market. There is still a big demand for CCIEs but some of the population cannot be reached by this demand. Countries like India where I have been trying to help CCIEs get jobs are leading the way in my efforts to help move some talent around.
Are there unemployed CCIEs?
Yes, most notably in India and the Middle East.
Yes there are CCIEs out of work. I have seen many of them take on contracting roles as a temporary measure but they are intra-employed (what does that mean? See my Career Diva’s article http://www.ccieflyer.com/Dec2008-career-diva.php). But seriously, I see that the upward trend in population of CCIEs is happening in regions where the jobs for them are the scarcest. Channel partners need to get with it. A CCIE has proven their knowledge and skills are head and shoulders above the average geek and hiring should come a lot more from the global pool.
In an interesting session I was in back in November of 2008 I was told that the average IT salary was increasing by 14% per year in India. But where I find the most unemployed CCIEs is in India now, yes the down turn in the global economy has hurt CCIEs there. Next is in line is the Middle East where the drop in the price of oil seems to have had a ripple effect across the economy and some projects are being put on hold and some IT purchasing delayed. The flight of CCIEs back to their home countries or just out of the UAE is happening. It seems like the global demand sometimes does not cross cultural divides. In some countries using race, gender, religion, and country of origin as criteria for a job has actually hurt their hiring goals. On recent trips abroad I have been told that an employer would prefer a person of a certain ethnic background over others. Sometimes the excuse is language skills, although they ask for English as one of the required languages!
How does the population affect the average salary of a CCIE?
Well it drives the average down. Yes this is true, believe it or not. With so few CCIEs (how many are there in the whole world? This is part of the test I warned you about!) you would think some form of supply sided economics would come into play, right? Wrong. Experience is the key factor creating the disparity between four digit CCIEs and five digit CCIEs. It takes years to get the knowledge and wisdom a four digit CCIE who commands over $200,000 a year has acquired. The young network engineers who are shouting, “Show Me The Money” have to earn their way up the ladder. The population growth in the lower salary ranks, have driven the salary average down for CCIEs.
My message is to those channel partners who don’t want to hire from outside of their cultural comfort zone.
GET WITH IT! MANY GREAT RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE WAITING FOR A CHANCE!!
My message to channel partners looking for the key resource to join the team but are fawning on hiring a newly minted CCIE.
GET WITH IT! MANY GREAT RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE WAITING FOR A CHANCE!!
My message to those channel partners that are waiting for the senior level CCIEs to lower their salary expectations.
Not a chance!
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