Its reflection time, 2014, was a mixed year for me, professionally and personally. The year started with a visit to the doctor, which ultimately ended up in me having surgery in June. This was not a good way to start the year. Thankfully, all went well, and I think I am better than before the surgery.
I attempted the CCIE v4 Route/Switch lab for the 4th time in May before my surgery, and well, I think anyone who has read my post on “What is the CCIE really worth?” can answer how I did on that attempt. It made me re-evaluate my outlook on my career. I have since dumped going after the Route/Switch IE. In my current career path, I do not see a need for it.
I became a more confident engineer and person. I had (and still have) the opportunity to teach/present to anyone who wants to attend my meetups over at the NYC Networkers group. This has proven to help me on a professional and personal level. Making me more confident in my ability as an engineer and presenter. I always hated speaking in front of people. At the first meet-up, only eight people showed up, and 4 I knew. The second one, 30-something, showed up! After I stopped crying in the corner, I rocked the house and gained so much confidence from both those experiences. I feel it has turned me into who I am today. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences that I was offered through them.
Around Thanksgiving, I was asked to join the Cisco Champions program. That is going exceptionally well, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a great (and brilliant) group of Cisco-centric folks. Over the last few weeks, I have missed a few things that they were doing. Once things settle down with everything going on in my life, I will be back at it with them 100%.
Work is work, and there is nothing much to say there. Working for Viacom, I get to play and touch a lot of cutting-edge hardware and networking trends. In 2014, most of my time was spent on cloud technologies, network virtualization, and replacing our WAN devices with carrier-grade devices. A lot is happening at Viacom, and I would love to document what is happening, but I have some news.
I resigned from my position and accepted a position with Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia, along with a new job. I am relocating my family down south, which is a welcomed change for us. We love New York and New Jersey. It’s time for a change and one that we are excited about. I don’t know if I will be able to talk about anything I am working on for them, but I still intend to keep the blog around and keep the focus the same, with some added and probably welcomed changes.
I will still use this platform to blog about things I am learning about. Whether it be through certifications or topics, I am learning on my own. I will try to keep this blog updated as much as I can. Some interesting facts about the blog, though. In 2013, I had 546 views from 178 visitors; in 2014, I had 7,714 views from 4,419. In 1 year to grow that much, I can not express how grateful I am.
I look forward to the challenges and opportunities 2015 will bring, and I wish everyone who reads my blog on the interwebs a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2015!