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2014 Q1 CCIE Job Statistics / Average CCIE Starting Salaries by Track The average CCIE earns $110,000 to $175,000 a year, with some earning more than that based on the CCIE they have, additional qualifications, and the location.
China, MI: Tue, 2/18/14 - 11:59pm View comments
Students often ask what they can expect to earn once passing their CCIE Lab. They ask about salaries based on track and location, and ask what the CCIE job market is like. In the past I would refer them to the Global Knowledge annual salary report. Every year, they release an annual salary estimation for various Cisco certifications. Last year (2013) - their report did not include the CCIE certification. They have also listed their "15 Top-Paying Certifications for 2014" report - which also did not include the CCIE certification. They've included the CCDA, but there's no mention of any of the CCNP or CCIE certifications - which doesn't make sense - especially if you're listing the top-paying IT certifications. Also, I believe their report doesn't accurately represent "starting salaries". There's a bit of a difference (sometimes upwards of 20%), between a "starting" CCIE salary (which would be more relevant for job seekers) and an "average" CCIE salary of someone who has been with a company for a while, and has earned annual cost of living increases over time (if that even exists anymore). The GK survey appears to represent more of an "average" salary - and not a true "starting" salary for a new job-seeker. Another issue I've had with previous GK salary surveys (that have had the CCIE listed, in past reports) is that they lump every CCIE track into a single generic CCIE category. This isn't helpful for students or engineers who may be interested in the broad salary spectrum that the various CCIE tracks offer in certain area of the country. I've always been a fan of the television show, Undercover Boss. For the past 3½ months I have been conducting an informal undercover analysis of the CCIE job market and the average salary for a CCIE position in the United States. I have taken an approach, similar to Undercover Boss. But it's more like "Undercover Employee". I have, over the past 14 weeks, communicated with almost 70 recruiters or hiring managers. I have either "applied" for their CCIE job postings with my personal resume, or responded to recruiters who have contacted me (or iPexpert, the company I own and manage) looking for potential CCIE referrals. Using this method I was able to collect a great deal of CCIE-focused job statistics data.
During the process I made a very large number of professional contacts, and was actually able to help a few of my students as well as understand this job market and the job seeking process much better. Through this experience, and discussions with the hiring managers and recruiters, I have been able to learn a great deal of useful information:
He remains the only recruiter with the distinction of being promoted by the Worldwide Channels of Cisco Systems as the only Cisco Authorized CCIE recruiter in the world. Since his main clients are the Cisco Channel Partners he deals with the companies paying CCIEs the highest salaries and in the most need of the certification. We are making him available exclusively to our students for support in their careers and to answer questions about their resumes and the job market. He will find you the career you're seeking, assist with locating companies providing Visa, and negotiate the best compensation package for you. Eman can be contacted at: eman@ccieflyer.com
CCIE Job Opportunities / Demand by Track Source: Wayne Lawson The CCIE R&S job market still continues to be the commanding leader in regards to opportunity, with CCIE Voice coming in second. Between the 2, they accounted for 94% of the posted job openings. Security was the only other contender, with most CCIE Security openings available in either NY/NJ or the Washington DC/Northern Virginia area. As popular as the CCIE Data Center track is, the certification is still very new. I did note that almost 25% of the CCIE R&S jobs available also required Nexus experience. Although Nexus is only a portion of the CCIE Data Center blueprint, it's something we may want to watch over the next few years. I believe the CCIE R&S job openings will be segmented into CCIE R&S and CCIE Data Center once the latter certification has been around for a little longer. CCIE Wireless had the fewest domestic jobs, which makes sense. CCIE Wireless engineers are very rare, and the certification seems to be sought primarily by Europeans or Cisco employees (per iPexpert's internal statistics).
CCIE Job Opportunities / Demand by State / City (Region) Source: Wayne Lawson As most could expect, NY / NJ had the most CCIE job openings during my investigation. Texas was a very close runner-up, with openings in almost every major city. Northern Virginia / DC Metro area came in 3rd (with most of these jobs requiring a security clearance for government contracts). California had multiple cities that had CCIE openings, and Atlanta topped off our top 5.
Average CCIE Starting Salaries by Track Source: Wayne Lawson Here's what everyone is going to focus on. Please note that these numbers are based on salaries that were initially disclosed to me. Quite often, companies will pay a bit more for the "right" employee. Also, it's a bit difficult to present this report in a fair manner. Stated salaries ranged quite a bit, based on additional skills required, the amount of travel, and responsibilities.
Top 5 CCIE Paying States / Metro Cities
 Source: Wayne Lawson These statistics aren't too surprising, and the overall statistics explain a lot. I had assumed that California and New York would come up #1 and #2, respectively, due to the cost of living, however NY / NJ came in #1. Most of the high-paying jobs in NY / NJ, and Washington DC / Northern Virginia are due to the need for a security clearance. The highest paying CCIE jobs are currently Security and Data Center, and the Greater DC Metro area had multiple job openings for these tracks. The state of California came in 3rd, and Atlanta came in 4th due to quite a few CCIE Voice job openings. North Carolina came in 5th, with a majority of the positions being R&S, with a few Security and Voice jobs also available.
CCIE Technical vs. CCIE ManagementOne of the interesting things that became apparent very quickly (as I applied for these jobs, as if I were seeking a management position), was that the title "CCIE NOC Manager" paid the lowest of all of the job titles. Not only did it pay the less - but it paid MUCH less than an "average" CCIE (technical) salary paid.The average, regardless of location, was $110,000. Quite frankly, I was absolutely shocked. These positions require less hands on ability but require a greater depth of understanding and skills that come only with time and experience. All of these available jobs required or preferred the following:
CCIE Resume TipsI had a lot of fun with this section of my analysis.On the 3 primary job sites that I used, I created an account. I then uploaded my "resume", which was a scaled down version of my LinkedIn profile. I stated that I would relocate anywhere in the US, to cast a wide net. During this process, I would "tweak" my resume and test different resume styles. As I learned more about what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for, I was able to fine-tune my resume for nearly every job posting that I found. Initially, I was flooded with recruiters seeking out a CCIE. I collected information on the job openings, and then asked them what they found interesting in my resume. At least half of the recruiters who contacted me were, in all honesty, generic IT recruiters. They didn't appear to know too much about the Cisco industry. These recruiters couldn't even say the acronyms correctly - in fact, one kept saying "CIIE" instead of "CCIE". In several of the cases, these recruiters were seeking a CCIE Voice, or Security, when in fact - I'm an old, outdated CCIE R&S (#5244). However, during these discussions, I was given some valuable information. Note: When I mention, "recruiter", I'm referring to outside headhunters. People who are paid to find you, for their client (the hiring organization). When I mention, "hiring manager", I'm referring to the actual manager you'd report to within the company that's hiring.
So here are my 7 CCIE resume tips:
Websites to Use When Seeking a CCIE JobWhile working on this analysis, I used the following websites / communities:
CCIEs Beware of Cybercoders (cybercoders.com)I noticed something strange during this fact-finding mission. A company called CyberCoders appeared to have a CCIE job in almost every single major city. I attempted to apply and connect with their recruiters, but didn't receive a single response. As I looked into the validity of these guys, I found this:
SummaryThe CCIE certification is still the best-paying IT certification on the market, by far. It takes the average candidate anywhere from 9 to 24 months to pass their CCIE, 3 attempts, and approximately $3,000 to $10,000 in costs. Once you achieve your CCIE, there are countless opportunities in most of the major cities in the US.
The average CCIE earns $110,000 to $175,000 a year, with some earning more than that based on the CCIE they have, additional qualifications, and the location.Although the CCIE is extremely difficult to achieve, it's one of the very few IT certifications you can earn which will nearly guarantee financial, and job security. View more CCIE Water Cooler Gossip. Additionally, view the updated worldwide CCIE count. Related blog: Related stories: Cloud architect top technology occupation with $151,500 salary How Cisco CCIEs can achieve higher pay Eman Conde: Cisco CCIE salaries in India have plunged -50% IPexpert founder Wayne Lawson looking for job
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