Across the World with Cisco: From Pupil to Intern to CX Consulting Engineer

After I was in college, doing a Bachelor of Science and IT, I began excited about including networking, too. Then, I discovered a level program in Australia at Griffith College in Brisbane, Queensland, that allowed me to do all of it. As I started to find out about networking, that’s once I found Cisco.

Whereas I used to be engaged on my programs, I used to be additionally looking out for alternatives that may give me extra expertise and data within the IT discipline. I signed up for e-mail updates concerning internships, and got here throughout the 4B Internship, a collaboration between Knowledge#3, Girls in Digital (WID), and Cisco. I knew it was an incredible alternative — a possibility to intern at Cisco!

The experiences all through the internship formed me in a number of methods. Being a girl in IT might be intimidating, and my college courses consisted largely of males. This internship — made up solely of girls — gave me insights into the business and the arrogance to see that I can do it, too. We had been launched to professionals of all ages and genders, and so they every had a unique story of how they received to the place they’re now. The publicity to actual folks contained in the business gave me an entire new perspective.

As a double main, I hadn’t set my thoughts on a particular path, however I at all times envisioned working in Science, IT, or each mixed. The internship launched me to roles I hadn’t even thought of earlier than, and I used to be capable of work together with professionals from digital advertising, authorized counsel, human assets, provide chain, and elements of IT that had been unknown to me. An instance of this was Buyer Expertise (CX) inside Cisco, which, after studying extra about, felt like the place I belonged. I found that inside CX, as a consulting engineer, you get to work together with clients to be taught and perceive what they want, in addition to go into the technical elements of IT — it was excellent for me.

As my internship was ending, I may really feel that any worry I initially had about working in IT disappeared. I had created a powerful, supportive skilled community. It may be really easy to suppose that it’s a must to deal with and know every little thing your self; nonetheless, this internship actually confirmed me the significance of a group, and I’ll at all times have help and assist. Whereas I’ll not meet each qualification in a job description, probably the most useful expertise of this internship was how I considered myself in an IT profession and the way my confidence elevated. It was the most effective introduction to working in IT and gave me the arrogance to go for it.

When Cisco started posting open positions, I began making use of. I made it to the subsequent rounds of interviews for options engineer and consulting engineer positions in Cisco Norway for the Cisco Buyer Expertise (CX) graduate program. Residing in Australia on the time, I needed to do the interviews at night time, but it surely was value it — the consulting engineer graduate placement was an awesome match.

Since September, I’ve been a part of the CX graduate program and have loved exploring the completely different focus areas and getting data and expertise from a number of areas at Cisco. We deep-dive into the areas we have to find out about for our roles, take Cisco certifications, and work in the direction of changing into a full-time consulting engineer, which I shall be by the point you learn this. I actually admire the group and my managers. Everybody may be very supportive and there’s a lot to be taught from them.

What I actually love, although, is what introduced me to Cisco within the first place — the corporate’s world attain. There are solely two of us within the Cisco CX graduate program in Norway, however there are folks throughout Europe in this system engaged on the identical sorts of issues. All of us met in Poland and know we will attain out to 1 one other every time we want help. This world community got here full circle once I went again to Australia, reconnected with somebody from my internship, and labored from the Cisco workplaces whereas I used to be there. As I transfer ahead with my Cisco profession, I’m excited to proceed constructing this world community and see the place the longer term and its world of alternatives will take me.

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