"You can do anything. You just need to decide to do it, have the will to do it, and never give up. Be confident in yourself and stop the barriers in your mind."
How it all began
To understand how I got started, you need to understand that people are either a native digital citizen or an immigrant digital citizen. Being a native digital citizen means that when you’re 10 years old you’re using everything. You’re using YouTube. You’re using the Internet. I was an immigrant to the digital age. In 2001, I decided to do something about migrating to the digital age. That’s when my Cisco certification journey began. I was interested in routers and switches, so I did my CCNA in 2001. That certification landed me a job as IT manager. Next, I did my CCNP in 2006 or 2007. At the same time, I was looking to go for cybersecurity, so I also earned by CyberOps Associate certification. In addition, I became a Cisco Certified Instructor, working with different partners and different public and private sectors in the US and Europe.
CCIE to CLN Community contributor
In 2012, I began my journey towards CCIE certification. I already had CCNP Security, CCNP Routing and Switching, plus all the CCNA level, including CCNA wireless, voice, and CCDA. After a few failed attempts, I passed in 2014. During that time, I started writing lots of articles and documentation and shared it for free in the Cisco Learning Network. I discovered that a lot of CCIE students were collecting my PDFs, so the Cisco Learning Network Community Manager worked with me to place my documents in a folder that community members could more easily access for learning.
The act of sharing my CCIE study PDFs made me realize how important it is to share knowledge with others. We need to have the passion to share our knowledge and help others. That's why I create a lot of videos. I create a lot of articles in my native language, so people in the community can understand it. Sharing motivates you to keep going, too. You want to read more to create another valuable thing for yourself, so that you can keep sharing.
Reading
Watching movies & TV shows
Football
Learning more about AI
What does having a Cisco Certification mean to you?
"Cisco certifications and the material for certification are of high quality and always give you the right information and background knowledge that you would need, even if you work with another vendor. It’s recognized by the market and the IT community.
Even if the employer doesn’t have the product itself, they will ask if you have CCNP. They’ll ask if you have CCIE and know that you will understand how other products work. I haven’t seen anyone who finished their CCIE and is not currently working in a great job. Give it time and maybe after six months you will be hired in the right job.
Yasser Auda
What would you tell your younger self?
Be confident in yourself. When you are doing something, do it right. Do it with quality. If you are studying, study with quality. Even if you practice, practice with quality. For sure, this will lead to a good ending.
What would you tell a friend?
Don't wait until after your bachelor’s degree to get your certification. You should do it during those four years. You need to have some time management and finish CCNA, CCNP, or some other Cisco certificate for sure. It will give you a strong advantage when it comes to hiring.
Yasser's journey
Career path
Current role
Network security architect
Network security architects identify and prevent potential cyber threats to an organization’s network and systems. They conduct penetration tests and risk analyses on local area networks, wide area networks, and virtual private networks. They also assess routers and firewalls to ensure their effectiveness against cyber attacks.
Technical Program Manager
Cisco Certified Instructor
Certification path
Most recent certification
Cisco Certified DevNet Professional
The Cisco Certified DevNet Professional certification builds the specialized skills you need to work with applications that use Cisco platforms as a foundation. It proves that you can scale and secure infrastructure, from initial software design to diverse system integration, as well as automate testing and deployment.
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is the first step toward a career in IT Networking. The CCNA exam covers networking fundamentals, IP services, security fundamentals, automation and programmability.
"Cisco certifications are food for my brain. Cisco is known to have difficult exams. I could pass an exam from some unknown vendor, but it wouldn't help me. Plus, just having a Cisco certification opens doors."
Has earning a Cisco Certification positively changed your life or career or both? Do you think your Cisco Certification story it would help encourage other people to earn their Cisco Certification? If so, we want to talk to you!
