This week Cisco released the January 2009 net new worldwide CCIE count. According to Dual CCIE #18532 Security/Routing and Switching - George Morton, Ph. D:
 "The trend from the last update done in November 2008 has continued to show that the growth in CCIEs is coming from outside the U.S. Using a five month average the growth during this period was just above the five month average. |
"Now for the U.S. you could argue that Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. played a role, and you might be right; but then why did Europe have more CCIEs in the same period?"
Morton continued that the answer comes around to a few simple ideas:
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That the marketplace still places a very high value on the CCIE; but perhaps the certification candidate has decided it is no longer worth the effort. With the income growth in other certifications, is pursuing a CCIE worth it? |
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Is the CCIE relevant? Is the value of the certification in terms of job performance been reduced due to the lack of "new." Everyone has a router, everyone has a switch. This might also be true at Cisco, why aren’t the Cisco U.S. employees passing the Lab? |
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Has the ISP channel taken such a beating that demanding more CCIEs has become counterproductive? The stock prices and financials of many ISPs might suggest that the need for new CCIEs might now be sliding in tandem with the price decline of ISP stocks. |
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Have corporations stopped looking to have network professional staffs, shifting instead to Project Management and outsourcing adds, moves, and changes? The problem; perhaps the outsource industry is outsourcing too! |
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The trend is very clear that the U.S. is no longer the CCIE factory, Asia has replaced it. |
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Does Cisco see the U.S. as a Cash Cow? With the future growth in Asia and the past in the U.S. The answer just might be Yes. |
January 2009 Top Ten Ranking
of new CCIEs by Country
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Sources: Cisco Systems and
Dual CCIE #18532 Security/Routing and Switching - George Morton, Ph. D.
January 2009 Ranking
of new CCIEs by Region
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Sources: Cisco Systems and
Dual CCIE #18532 Security/Routing and Switching - George Morton, Ph. D.
January 2009 Ranking
Percentage of new CCIEs by Area
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Sources: Cisco Systems and
Dual CCIE #18532 Security/Routing and Switching - George Morton, Ph. D.
November 2008 vs. January 2009
Worldwide CCIE Count Comparison:
Sources: Cisco Systems and
Dual CCIE #18532 Security/Routing and Switching - George Morton, Ph. D.
View more CCIE water cooler gossip.
What is your take on the meaning of the January 2009 worldwide CCIE count?
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Maybe Lack of Focus?
As I read the many blogs of US-based aspiring CCIE's, I see a lack of focus. Engineers are allowing themselves to be distracted by anything and everything. TV. Alcohol. Social engagements. BlackBerrys. Home ownership. Twitter. The blogging itself can be a distraction when it's not done in order to further one's study.
I see blogs that have carried on for a couple of years with no recent progress towards passing the lab. I frequently see entries such as "Oh, hi, haven't blogged for a few months, had to put my studies on hold because of XYZ. But I think I'll work on CCIE a little more now." Often, blog entries meander with no purpose, no sense of direction, but rather an ambiguous posting about some obscure lab exercise or arcane fact they stumbled across. Some people seem to enjoy pursuing the CCIE, as opposed to actually passing the lab.
OTOH, I see non-US CCIE aspirants often move with purpose, vision, and focus. They are motivated to pass the lab, and their blog entries show that - definite updates about study milestones reached, with regular assessments of their lab readiness.
This is certainly just one take on it. But I think the lack of focus comes from a lack of motivation. We're comfortable here in America. There's not the drive to succeed and get ahead like there once was. The financial rewards aren't as great. Coasting is easy. And hey, the new season of American Idol starts pretty soon. I already have HD and a huge plasma. Do I need anything else?
Re: Lack of Focus
I don't think that a survey of CCIE bloggers will give an accurate measure of the focus/motivation for CCIE candidates per country. What percentage of CCIE candidates blog? It's a very low number. The experience of bloggers may or may not be representative of the experience the vast majority of CCIE candidates. The motivations for each CCIE candidate are as diverse as the candidates themselves.
Even if every US CCIE candidate did blog their progress, I'm not sure that your point about lack of focus makes any difference. The last time I checked Cisco doesn't put a star next to your number for becoming a CCIE within a certain period of time. If you reach your end result (getting your CCIE) then who cares how focused you were along the way?
I really don't understand why anyone is surprised that China and India are leading the way in new CCIEs? Those two countries contain 37% of the world's population. There are more than 2 BILLION more potential CCIEs in those two countries than in the US. Recent decreases in the cost of CCIE study (rack rentals, cheaper gear, Dynamips) along with an explosion of network infrastructure in those countries could pretty much account for the "explosion" in new CCIEs. Plus, isn't the US a "mature" market for CCIEs? It would be interesting to chart the number of US CCIEs minted per year/month over the 10+ years of the program to see if there is a drop off in the number of CCIEs per period (and when it started occurring). Is the US really "slacking" or is there just an explosion of "CCIE mania" in other parts of the world? What is the average increase in salary once one attains their CCIE? Is that percentage significantly higher outside of the US? Is the job market outside the US such that one might have more need for a CCIE to secure a job? What is the difference in the percentage of CCIEs to installed network devices in each country? Is the passing percentage higher or lower outside of the US? What percentage of CCIE candidates are currently working at a high level network position? Is that percentage significantly different between US and non-US candidates? If you want to go the controversial route: is there more cheating occurring outside of the US? There are any number of reasons that could account for the difference in the number of CCIEs per country that really can't be sussed out by just looking at the number of new CCIEs per country.
It's interesting to look at the numbers and speculate on the reasons for the "anomalies" but I don't think that you'll discover a core reason unless you survey the newly minted CCIEs. The decision to pursue the CCIE is based on personal goals. Some of those goals and motivations could be cultural or economic, but without knowing these motivations, speculation is pretty worthless.
I would write more about the insinuation that Americans are too fat, lazy, and easily distracted to seriously pursue the CCIE, but I have to finish this pizza and take a nap before American Idol starts. ;-)
LOL was this directed at me
LOL was this directed at me :P ? I would have to guess home ownership trumps all other priorities. A house isn't self healing :)
Sheeesh!
Yours truly received the following email message regarding the story above:
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I read your "China CCIE count grows 11 times more than U.S."
In China, native Chinese wishing to take the exam pay $500. Yes, that is $500 for a CCIE. If a U.S. worker wants to go to the exact same Chinese physical classroom, they pay $8,000.00 plus airfare and lodging.
In India, tuition for a Bachelors, Masters, or Ph.D costs $120 per year..... but only if you are a native from India. U.S. students pay the out of country rate of $25,000.00 per year.
When the deck is stacked so hard against our people, and companies such as Cisco, Microsoft, AT&T, hire foreign workers as their first choice and usually at less than half of U.S. labor rates, why in the hell wouldn't applications for CCIE training go down in the U.S.
Do your homework...... the ugly truth of offshoring, outsourcing, and the continued financial attack on U.S. citizens and the U.S. economy by corporations is what paints such a rosy picture for "CCIEs from China."
Sheeesh!
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Sincerely,
Brad Reese
BradReese.Com Cisco Refurbished
Cheating
The level of cheating within IT exams in China is much higher than in the US. It's not really frowned upon as much in the US. I'm sure the Labs are openly circulated, and there are really only many scenarios the proctors can produce. If they changed the format of the lab to be more like the CCDE in terms of how often it is offered, and how long a lab stays in circulation I would bet that the pass rate in Asia would fall.
Also don't forget to take
Also don't forget to take population size into account.
If someone from India is
If someone from India is paying $120 per year for University tuition and a US student is paying 25k. But think about this, is the US student paying tax in India. When someone wants to study in the US at a University, they have to pay foreign rates, not what what the locals pay. Heck I did, and even my buddies that were out of state had to pay more because they weren't a resident in the particular state. Just something to think about. Back to doing some homework, how's your's going? :)
and..
BTW: Last message was to the person that sent the email, not the person that posted the message.
Re: Sheeesh!
Yours truly received the following email message regarding the comment from - Sheeesh!:
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My thoughts are simple. I am too tired to fight with a party pooper.
- The Lab is in English
- The IOS is in English
So someone from China has to learn a second language, then a third language IOS, to even consider sitting for the Lab. In the states you already have the first part English, which also helps with IOS. So give me a break.
The answer is work harder to pass the Lab, then work even harder to stay ahead. Being an American is not a birth right to be fat, stupid, dumb, and rich. It is your birth right to be able pursue to your goals, something that China restricts in a very big way. To be a CCIE requires very hard work, and it does not always pay off. So start trying and stop crying.
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Related story:
Cisco mulls adding verbal interview to CCIE exams
Sincerely,
Brad Reese
BradReese.Com Cisco Refurbished
Numbers
Remember that the numbers published reflect total active CCIE certifications. Anything else is calculated.
The interesting part would be to know how many actual new CCIE certifications were achieved compared with those who have gone active. You would certainly have more in the US who happen to go inactive, since the majority of potential CCIE older than 2 years is much greater in the US.
This may cut into the numbers somewhat. that coupled with the populations differences and the per-capita growth in numbers may even out.
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