Update 6/6/2014 - 12:19am:
Email from reliable source: "Hi Brad, how you doing??.. FYI Indian CCIE rates have dropped by 50% over the last six months, companies were charging 12,000 AED roughly $3,250 USD and I just spoke with a very large customer and they recruited an Indian Cisco CCIE at a rate of 6,000 AED $1,600 USD. This is a real indicator on the true state of Cisco business.. Cisco infrastructure and services sales value!"
On November 13, 2013 Cisco CEO John Chambers stated:
"Across every geography, the impact of emerging market weakness was pronounced and accelerated to the backend of the quarter. Our top five emerging markets declined -21% with Brazil down -25%, Mexico down -18%, India down -18%, China down -18% and Russia down -30%. As we always had, we will continue to focus on emerging markets, investing through the challenges and expect to see return to growth in few quarters with all the appropriate caveats."
Here's my theory on why Cisco's emerging markets are so challenged:
The days when the "E" in CCIE meant expert are gone according to the lot who bemoan the depreciating value of the certification. The loudest of these critical thinkers seem to be from Cisco's emerging markets which according to Cisco CEO John Chambers, are quite challenged.
Areas that I am familiar with from my many interactions with CCIEs and those with CCIE as a goal are India, Pakistan, Middle East and Africa. These areas where the sales of dumps have taken the average salary for CCIEs down the toilet are also geographies where dumpers are making heavy sales.
Since the dumpers have become so bold as to post their names and CCIE numbers as part of their advertising, along with their successful clients also posting success stories about their achievement based solely upon the use of dumps, you'd think it would be easy to use the NDAs they signed to decertify them and stop the madness.
But policing this area seems to have attracted a blind eye from Cisco.
Consequently, for one example, in India average salaries for CCIEs which were at about $60k USD and higher a few years ago, are now at about $30k USD and higher.
The letter "E" seems to now have diminished in value to mean equivocator in sectors where Cisco can hardly gamble with the very people who should know their products best.
I am a firm believer that CCIEs, real ones, are not just professionals at the top of their games, but also the best representatives for growing Cisco sales. Those who know the product best are those most capable of creating a case for the purchase of the products when supporting a need in the enterprise of today.
When you are not an Expert but an Equivocator you will base expenditures upon the Pavlovian tail wagging response of bean counters and select the cheapest regardless of quality. As we all know Cisco solutions are not the cheapest; sales go where the Cisco Certified Internetwork Equivocator points the dollars or should I say rupee.
There is strong or at least circumstantial evidence in my opinion to prove this. The rise of Cisco sales in the heady days of the CCIE program in the USA seemed to have coincided with the growth of Cisco sales here. The growth in Europe was also quite coincidentally at its peak while the CCIE certifications were growing as a status of a network professional's unique abilities.
Yet the rules governing the association of the CCIE's digits, thus reduced wholesale cost to VARs, has driven the market for hiring Experts or Equivocators. In countries where immigration laws create an escape for the dumper to flee in search of recouping the investment in the written and lab exam costs, not to mention the price paid for dumps, a veritable Yellow Brick Road is open to them.
Like a cancer the spread of dumper equivocators then dumb down the DNA once prized to just rumors of how "CCIEs are dumber than our in-house network engineer. So why should I hire one for so much?" Well there's a solution for not paying too much for a CCIE which allows the Channel Partner to become Gold certified, hire the dumper!
Pay them the lowest wage you can because they're only worth as much as the discount they get you from Cisco anyway.
So, now we have a route of escape for the dumper from India to make a living wage and reduce the value of the CCIE. There is a real correlation to the proliferation of dumper CCIEs and the value placed upon Cisco products.
When a dumper takes a job regardless if it's Africa, India, China, Korea, or Europe the solutions they recommend will not be based upon the details and experience of a real CCIE, instead they will be based upon criteria they can understand, like cost, not technology they never mastered.
Related documents:
The Brain Dump Blacklist
View the Worldwide Cisco CCIE Count
More CCIE Water Cooler Gossip
Eman Conde's blog:
CCIE Flyer
Related stories:
The Economic Times: Cisco's India unit won't cut jobs in routers and switches business
How Cisco CCIEs can achieve higher pay
2014 Q1 CCIE Job Statistics / Average CCIE Starting Salaries by Track
Cisco CCIE Salaries
