Today George Morton - Dual CCIE #18532 Routing and Switching/Security, provided his analysis of Cisco's new worldwide CCIE count:
"I'm always surprised when Cisco announces the CCIE numbers. There's no rhyme nor reason that I can understand as to when they publish the numbers. The interesting thing is that this report shows about one month of activity and the big news is China.
"Since the last report about 32 days ago, China has had a decrease in its total number of CCIEs. Now it's important to remember if 5 pass and 6 are decertified then the net new CCIE number for the report is -1. In this monthly report the net new CCIE number for China is -9. With China leading the way for so many years this is a major shift."
CCIE Count Change by Country
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| Source: Dual CCIE #18532 George Morton |
"Other than the big news that China dropped we continue to see Egypt every month in the top ten list of net new CCIEs. The net new CCIE numbers average around 3 net new CCIEs per day. That's a very significant drop where in the past the average has been from 8 to 10 net new CCIEs per day. Don’t know why, but it could be the new CCIE R/S test.
"About 35% of the net new were in Service Provider. At the current pace, Service Provider is the second most popular CCIE after R/S. Many newly minted CCIEs that I speak to often talk about sitting for the SP because of its extensive overlap with R/S."
CCIE Count Change by Region
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| Source: Dual CCIE #18532 George Morton |
"As for Security, the track continues to weaken. I am disappointed that Cisco has not been able to position the CCIE Security program as a DoD or even as a security standard certification in the industry. Especially when considering that CompTIA Security+ is a qualification for some security DoD tracks, however, no Cisco Security certifications are.
"Why take Cisco's CCIE Security track, when it might be better to go for the CISSP?
"The CISSP costs less, its more generic, plus its required for more security posts. Just for fun, search on Monster.com for CISSP and look at the count vs. searching for CCIE Security, you'll see why CCIE Security is going to continue to slide."
September 2009 vs. October 2009 Worldwide CCIE Count Comparison:
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| Source: Dual CCIE #18532 George Morton |
View more CCIE Water Cooler Gossip.
What's your take, is this a bad omen for Cisco?
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only 5 voice ccie!
only 5 voice ccie passed in the last 32 days, scary stuff!
i am going for my first attempt next week!
god bless me :)
CISSP and CCIE-Security
Hi,
I'm a long-time holder of the CISSP certification, now studying for my CCIE Security. They serve two distinct purposes, so it is not really valuable to compare them. Many CISSPs I know can barely spell TCP/IP, while there's a LOT more to security than what a typical CCIE will know.
It boils down to what one wants the certification for and what kind of career path one wants. Don't go for a CISSP if your jobs is knee deep in network security. Don't go for a CCIE Security if as a security professional networks is only a part of what you do.
Cheers,
Fernando
CISSP vs CCIE
Apples to Cannonballs. They just don't really compare. I have had my CISSP for 10 years. Still working on my CCIE Security. Not a lot of technical knowlege required. I have little respect the CISSP cert. Just a tick on a check box.
If you are interested in DOING technical work, CCIE is the way to go. If you are interested in talking about stuff and doing presentations, CISSP is almost as good as a CCIE Security, but you will need additional expertise.
I could ramble on this subject for a long time but why....
Losing momentum or noise
I think H3C is kicking Cisco's butt in china..I read somewhere that H3C is the number 1 vendor there and has been gaining momentum over several quarters...So, the attractiveness of the certification is declining? Possibly?
But you lost 9 from 3600 in 32 days! common that is like 0.2% - its noise...cant read much into it.
0.2% in 32 days...
Think about that, that is a considerable number - doesnt really sound like noise to me.
Is the cert losing its appeal?
Good to hear they have changed the exam. Most CCIE's I have interviewed over the last few years have been quite underwhelming. On average those certified between 5000 and 13000 seem to be the most impressive.
CISSP vs CCIE
I have the CISSP and have taken the CCIE Security Lab once already. The CCIE Security is what I want but I can only do the possible here. Since Cisco has set the bar so high on the CCIE Security that only 9 people on the planet have passed it recently then why should I take it again just to donate $1400 to Cisco.
When Cisco wants to get serious about making the test realistic AND achievable then I'll look at it again. Right now, I may do the R&S or just punt at this point.
As to the CISSP, very few of the other CISSPs that I meet have much of a technical background. Some come from auditing and some come from management backgrounds and few come from networking backgrounds. A CCIE Security and a CISSP is probably the best combination there is for Security work.
Why take the CISSP? It is recognized around the planet and the ISC2 does their marketing to make sure that it is recognized as an achievement AND relevant. That is why it is used as a job requirement and a requirement for some DoD positions.
Cisco could be a contender here but they don't do their marketing AND they set the bar so high that people go elsewhere to achieve their certifications. I don't mind studying and don't mind hard work but I can only do the possible.
Cisco has only themselves to blame here.
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