Cisco Jobs & Cisco Careers

The job market is directly linked to the status of the economy and consequently is in a constant state of flux and change. Cisco certification (or any certification or recognised benchmark of knowledge) will always increase your chance of finding employment, but even CCIEs have had to accept less than they had hoped for in a depressed economy.

Employers are not just looking for knowledge either. Make sure your communication skills and other ‘soft skills’ are plentiful. As an engineer you will probably be part of a team. You will probably be in direct contact with customers eiher face to face or via phone and email. In either case potential employers need to be sure that you can fit in with that team and communicate with customers at all levels.

Consider your language skills. How good is your English, both verbal and written? It’s the international language of business and when it comes to configuring networks you have to been able to communicate precisely and effectively without an ambiguity. A big advantage to finding a position is a second language particularly if you’re looking for work in EMEA or the USA.

If your long term goals include people or project management, you will need to start developing those skills too both by ensuring that you push yourself forward into team leadership situations, and by learning how to use project management tools.

The certification overview section of this website includes information about job prospects and expected salaries for Cisco professionals working in the United States.