The Things You Do For Love
by Eman
Like many very lucky people I love my job. In order to support my love of this endeavor I have found some very creative ways to keep my clients interested in my services. Clients for me are CCIEs and Channel Partners. So for the CCIEs I provide career help and advice even if I am not representing or placing the CCIE. For Channel Partners I have been advising them on the care and feeding of their most valued resources, CCIEs. For a CCIE to love his or her job the vast landscape of employers is composed of many variables.
CCIEs are often called upon to work lengthy hours managing, troubleshooting, implementing or salvaging networks. So the family unit will witness mom or dad spending countless hours on their laptops while they pursue the solution to the Rubik’s cube their profession challenges them with often. I have frequently heard about the hardships and challenges work/life balance presents to the CCIE. What if both wife and husband were CCIEs? What if you were a child in a two CCIE family?
While in Greece a few months ago I was fortunate enough to meet and speak with a married pair of CCIEs. I took a picture with them and did not have enough time to ask all the questions I would like. Then I bumped into a second married pair of CCIEs also from Greece. Recently I spoke with Vicky Fyrigou, the better half of a CCIE couple. Her experiences and anecdotes were too much to keep to myself.
Q: Vicky it is a great pleasure to speak with you. I have often wondered what being a part of a married CCIE couple is like. Can you tell our readers, when you decided to become a CCIE and why you chose this career certification as a goal for yourself?
A: I decided to “try” to become a CCIE a long time ago. I had been working for about 4 years for an ISP, but had no training. When I switched jobs to a Cisco Professional Services Partner, I was given the chance to sit for the CCIE exam, by having a week’s lab training. Back then, there were very few CCIEs in Greece (in fact I was the 6th CCIE and 1st woman in Greece to get the CCIE R&S) and it was highly appreciated. Personally, I was very proud to get my CCIE, not because it would prove something extraordinary, but because it would prove that I had solid technical knowledge, and also that I had the guts to pass it.
Q: When you took your certification lab it was a two day exercise back then. What was that experience like for you to travel to Brussels and take such a monumental career step?
A: When I took my certification lab it was a two day exercise in Brussels, Belgium. It was a very stressful experience (I arrived in Brussels the night before the first day of the exam and I had to leave the morning after the second day). At least I passed on the first attempt. Regarding Brussels, the only thing I can remember from those two hectic days is the following joke by a fellow candidate CCIE from Belgium: If it doesn’t rain now in Brussels, this might be because of two reasons: either it has rained before, or it will rain afterwards…
Q: Whose number is smaller, yours or your husband’s?
A: I was certified in November 2000 and my husband was certified in June 2001, so this had put a lot of stress on him, mainly because of his friends and colleagues teasing him … Actually they told him that he could not marry me if he didn’t pass his CCIE
Q: Have you ever had disagreements about things like how OSPF figures routes or the proper use of EIGRP, you know techie stuff?
A: We had our share of disagreements (mainly regarding BGP), but no great fights, at least not for technical issues. In fact, we were most of the times “synchronized” regarding technical issues. I would start talking and he would finish my sentence by saying exactly what I had in mind.
Q: How did you meet your husband?
A: We were working together at the technical department of an Internet Service Provider.
Q: In Greece do women CCIEs get paid as well as their male counterparts?
A: Hmmmm, I really can’t say about the last few years, but regarding the past years I can say that generally women in technical fields weren’t paid as well as their male colleagues. In fact, back in 2000, I was paid less than male colleagues who didn’t have either a master’s degree or a relevant certification …
Q: On our call I was delighted to say hello to your daughter. She is such an angel. Balancing work and child rearing is tough do you face any unique challenges as a CCIE couple?
A: I think that keeping the balance between work and raising a child is tough anyway and we are facing unique challenges because of her unique “personality”. She’s now in her “terrible twos” so we have our hands full. Her father still expects that she will get her CCIE when she will be about 7 years old in order to help her parents.
Q: What advice do you have for working women on child rearing and husband keeping?
A: Be patient, be courageous, and be consistent. Be innovative and creative. Don’t forget to laugh and be optimistic. I’m still trying to figure out a way to find some time for myself.
Q: Do you have any anecdotes about life as a CCIE couple you would like to share?
A: Many! It’s easier some times to make my husband understand how I feel, just by “complaining” about his routing behavior. Another oxymoron is the fact that we used to chat and e-mail each other about our everyday issues even though we were both at home…
Q: As a woman who has seen the CCIE certification and status evolve what advice do you have for other women considering Networking and CCIE certification as a goal?
A: The CCIE certification can definitely open up new horizons for anybody’s career. Apart from this though, the whole examination process helped me working effectively under pressure, resolving problems quickly under difficult circumstances. For sure, I would advise any woman considering networking and CCIE as a goal to go for it (frankly, I think that it is a little bit easier for women, because we are by nature multitasking and this helps a lot in the troubleshooting part ;-). Still, remember that you can’t proceed without full support from family, husbands, boyfriends, friends – it needs a lot of study and effort.
Q: Do you read the CCIE Flyer?
A: Yes I do, and I wonder how come I hadn’t found something similar up to now.
Q: Do you like it?
A: I do like it. Most of all I like the fact that it reflects more than specific technical aspects; it reflects real life concerns.
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