Case Studies

NAME : Yiannis Kampanellis   NATIONALITY : Greek   UNIVERSITY ATTENDEND : Ecole Nationale Superieure de Telecommunications   DEGREE OBTAINED : M.Sc. In Computer Science (major 'System and Network security')   AGE : 26   JOB TITLE : Customer Support Engineer

 

Ever since I was a student and started getting fascinated by networks, I wanted to join Cisco.

 

Cisco knows networks better than anyone else. I thought that working as a TAC engineer would give me the opportunity to be at the source of networking, to deal with state of the art technologies, test very new products, learn in advance the changes that are taking place in the networking world and be part of the network evolution. Strongly motivated or just a dreamer, well, Cisco was there to fulfil both needs.

 

I remember when I entered the building for the assessment day I was feeling excited. I said to myself 'I wish I could work here'. The chance was lying in front of me, but I had to face a really challenging and exhausting day.

 

I was very impressed by the fact that the people who were giving the interviews were seeing the candidates as friends. They were all smiley and friendly, making you feel like you were already part of their own (Cisco) family. It was a day full of interviews and exercises. I had fun but in the same time I have to admit that it needed strong efforts to face the challenges.

At the end of the day I was feeling exhausted, but I realised that I wanted to join Cisco even more than before. I had to wait for the results, but I was thinking that even if I wasn't selected at least I had the opportunity to have such an experience and gain some knowledge! Yes, during the exercises I had learnt some new things!

 

In my first month at Cisco I had to follow the general bootcamp. During that time I got an overview of the technologies that Cisco covers and had training on the most important network technologies, protocols and services offered by Cisco. Being hands-on from day one was really exciting.

 

Furthermore, I was watching the trainers and thinking that these are the EXPERTS in the networking field. I was feeling happy I was part of this family, but I knew I had to make a lot of effort to prove myself. The courses were really intensive and had a lot of stuff to cover in a short time. However, this is one of the TAC engineer skills, to be able to learn as much as possible in a short period.

 

During the second month, as part of the security team, I had my second bootcamp focused on the technologies supported by the team. This was even more interesting than the first bootcamp, since it was the topic I wanted to work on and concentrate all my efforts. During this month I learnt about the network security solutions that Cisco provides to its customers and started seeing in practice things that I had only ever seen in books or in the lab!

 

The most challenging thing in the two months' training was the fact that I had to digest a large amount of knowledge within short period of time. You learn how to correlate things among different technologies, so that even if you have to deal with a topic that you are not so familiar with, you can always gain a good understanding of the main concepts you need in order to solve your problem quickly.

 

What is remarkable about Cisco is the fact that it has brought great innovations into the networking area, but it didn't stop there. Cisco always tries to lead the market and be a pioneer, while assuring high quality service and support to its customers.

 

In the coming years I would like to continue being part of the Cisco family. I want to enrich my knowledge in my field of interest and from that point move to other positions where more advanced knowledge and expertise is needed. Getting the CCIE certification is one of greatest challenges I will have to face, and I believe one of the greatest personal rewards I can get as a TAC engineer.

 

Being eager to learn, an interest in new technologies, love for networks and motivation to help people when they are looking for a solution are the main ingredients to become a successful TAC engineer. I definitely recommend that people join TAC, I have already recommended it to my friends!