Eastern Europe is one of the targeted emerging market areas of focus for my team as we prepare for a push into that region. I have been speaking with the Cisco Talent Lead for that region and it looks like I might actually be going to that region soon. So when I was talking with Narbik recently about his plans to add CCIE Security boot camps to his offerings I was happy to learn that his Security instructor is from Poland. Piotr is a dual CCIE R&S and Security with over 10 years experience in the field. His work is interesting security architecture and risk management in complex enterprise class networks. So when I got a chance to ask Piotr a few questions I jumped.

Q: Piotr I am impressed by your resume and the skills you have cultivated through your hard work. How does this experience prepare you to be a trainer?

A: I have gained a broad experience throughout the last 10 years in different positions. It is very important in my opinion to have at least a couple of years experience in networking before you start pursuing your CCIE. It is even more important when it comes to teaching people. Students expect to see some real world scenarios and descriptions and they usually try to resolve real problems asking interesting questions during the class. The more experienced in the field the teacher is, the more reliable answers they can give to their students. In addition to that, I have been teaching several customers and performed educational services for my internal clients within the organizations I have worked for.

Q: Narbik is a pretty good trainer you have a high bar set for you to jump. Have you attended training under Narbik before?

A: Yes, Narbik is unique. He has a gift for teaching and he uses it to provide the best CCIE training I have seen. I attended his class in Dubai last year and this was of great experience. Since then I have also met Narbik in Poland when he headed the boot camp for Routing & Switching.

Q: When did you decide to pursue the CCIE as a goal?

A: CCIE has been my goal from the beginning. However, I wanted to get as much experience as I could before attending the lab. This proved to be very useful preparation for me and I decided to pursue Security Track in 2006. This was a good choice as I became the 3rd CCIE Security in Poland at the time.

Q: The second CCIE was also tough I am sure. What did you do to prepare?

A: The answer is simple: Narbik's boot camp and his work books. This was more than enough to pass at the first try.

Q: There are 155 CCIEs in Poland so you are in a small and elite cadre of IT professionals. Do you know many of the other CCIEs in Poland?

A: Yes, it is not too much for a country with a population of over 38 million. I know a lot of Polish CCIEs because most of them are members of CCIE Club Poland which is an informal organization to which Polish active CCIEs belong. There are plenty of WebEx organized as well as real-life meetings to keep the community alive and share useful information. WebEx sessions are organized by Cisco Systems Poland for the Club members and we also invite CCIE from Central and Eastern Europe.

Q: Do you see the value placed upon your skills and unique talent in your pay check?

A: Someone said: "The best work never was and never will be done for money". CCIEs have the comfort of working on things they love and getting adequately paid. I love doing those things and I’m getting paid good enough, although the pay check is not my primary goal.

Q: The population of Security CCIEs did not grow in the recent Cisco statistics on populations of CCIEs. What do you think caused the stagnant numbers in the Security ranks?

A: Recent changes in the Security track forced people to learn more new stuff and they are still waiting for training materials from the vendors. The Security track is not the easiest track to pursue for someone who does not have a very good background in security. Nonetheless, I think the Security track will be more and more popular over the next 2 years as there is a high market demand for solid security engineers. The truth is that Cisco has never been the market leader in security, but it is going to change as ASA, IPS and ISR routers security features are becoming more advanced and popular.

Q: When advising boot camp students on preparing for the week-long Security boot camp you will be delivering what do you a tell them?

A: As the Security is a very broad topic there is no chance to go through everything from the beginner level. Hence, all students should have at least CCSP level of knowledge. This does not mean you must have CCSP certificate but an equivalent level of knowledge and two years of experience will help a lot. Of course I will be teaching core topics from scratch but some of the topics will be touched on at the higher level. Moreover, I highly recommend subscribing to Group Study mailing list as this is the place where someone can learn a lot and dispel any doubts.

Q: The workbook will be finished soon I hear. Are you making good progress?

A: Yes, I have been working on the Security workbook for 2 months now and I am expecting to introduce it at the end of November. As the main goal is to create the best workbook for Security track on the market it therefore takes a little bit of time to finish it. Narbik must also have time to review it and check the quality. The thing is we do not just stick to the blueprint as others do. We try to lead a student through the Security track with a step-by-step approach so that they will understand the basic topics well enough before they go on to something more advanced. Every task and solution has our comment attached so the student automatically learns technology and theory behind that as well.

Q: I congratulate you for hooking up with Narbik I think you chose well and I wish you a bright and successful future. I look forward to carrying the dates and locations for these boot camps in the future. Do you have anything you would like to share with our readers about yourself or you work life experience in your country?

A: Thank you. The boot camps will be delivered in 2010 in all the current R&S locations. The most important thing is that I will use Narbik's philosophy of teaching using only a whiteboard and markers, without trying to bore the students through PowerPoint. This approach is much better and current Narbik students, including myself, like it a lot. As for my work experience, I was working for the first Cisco Gold Partner in Poland for almost 5 years as Security Engineer and now I work for one of the largest banks as IT Security Analyst. Both jobs were very interesting and challenging and I gained a lot of experience there.

Q: Do you read the CCIE flyer?

A: Of course!

Q: Do you like it?

A: Yes, this is a very valuable source of knowledge regarding CCIE world. Keep it going!

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