Certification - October 2008 - (Page 33)

that lies on top of that [allows them] to add on many applications,” Ng said. A Foot in the Door “The base knowledge that [a VoIP technician] needs to have is at least a basic understanding of routing and switching [and] the standard networking technologies,” said Fred Weiller, director of marketing for Learning@Cisco. “From there, they can specialize and have a more targeted career.” Weiller explained the importance of a solid foundation in voice by comparing it to the way a university curriculum is structured. “[Let’s say] you want to be a history major,” Weiller said. “Before you can really dig deep into the history, you need a good foundation of English because you’re going to write a lot, and math, because you’re going to process a lot of data. And then you can move into [actually] studying history in-depth. “Similarly, before you start doing a really strong specialization in voice or other specialties, you need a good foundation of routing and switching knowledge,” he said. However, candidates just entering the field aren’t the only ones who require this type of training. “Historically, voice used to be analog systems, and there are still a lot of people who have been trained originally in voice technologies,” Weiller said. “But as companies are migrating their analog systems to Voice over IP, it’s not just about new people entering the job market — it’s also about people retraining in the new technologies [such as] routing, switching and Voice over IP to be able to continue their role as voice specialists inside the company they’re already working for.” It’s also not uncommon for voice technicians to stay in this job role for only a few years, according to Ng. “Those who have much more interest in the engineering, designing [and] the implementing of new gear start developing a skill set and an interest in moving up to a professional level [such as] CCVP (Cisco Certified Voice Professional),” she said. “Ultimately, there’s a pretty good conversion rate to the CCIE Internet expert voice track.” Ng said Cisco recently rolled out a new entry-level certification at the associate level — CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Voice — that serves as a solid starting point for candidates who want to specialize in voice. The candidate will first be required to take the routing and switching foundation certification on the CCNA, and by taking one additional exam, the CCNA Voice, he or she can specialize in the VoIP technician job role. All in a Day’s Work A typical day on the job for a voice technician consists of a blend of technical challenges, according to Ng. One aspect of the job requires VoIP technicians to interface with the users on a network. They often work with people on outward facing that includes adding phone numbers, modifying people’s information and keeping up with their mobility needs. “They’re typically not going to be given tasks to actually go into the network to modify it, [but they can gain] exposure by working with GUIs, or graphical user interfaces, to help configure and add people,” Ng said. Another essential component of the job requires soft skills, especially given that they spend a significant portion of their time working internally with network engineers and senior voice specialists. “[In this job role, you] need to have a blend of both [technical as well as soft skills] much more so than other tracks like security,” Ng said. “I see that soft skills are more prevalent on the voice track.” October 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le37/le65/learning_certification_type_home.html http://www.cisco.com/ccie/ http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification - October 2008

Certification - October 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead Elect IT: Technology and the Democratic Process Managing Relationships in the Nonprofit Realm Interface VoIP Technician: Answering the Call of the Network Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.