2023-July-19
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What Started as a Childhood Fascination With a Phone Cable
BY YU JIE LIM · TECHNICAL CONSULTING ENGINEER · MALAYSIA
3 MINUTE READ · 5 MINUTE LISTEN
I grew up with my grandparents, parents, and two brothers in Kampung Baru Kuala Kuang, a small village outside the city of Ipoh, Malaysia.
My grandfather was a truck driver, and my father worked as an assistant manager in a bank in Kuala Lumpur. He only traveled back home every one or two weeks due to the 200-kilometer (120-mile) distance from home. However, he made sure to phone us every night. Or at least he tried.
"Jie, please stop plucking out the phone cable! Dad couldn't reach us last night!"
That’s what my mother frequently instructed me, as I couldn’t help but play with the cable.
My father had brought a dial-up modem back home that connected us to the internet for the very first time. As a child, I was fascinated by how this thin and simple cable could connect us to others across vast distances, enabling people to keep in touch.
This fueled my curiosity, which became a passion for tech and internet connectivity. It eventually led me to study IT at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT). It was where I got to know about Cisco Networking Academy.
TAR UMT collaborates closely with the Networking Academy, and the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) curriculum is included in the diploma program. Instructors told me CCNA is a well-recognized certification by employers and the knowledge will always help in our IT careers — which turned out to be undeniably true!
The curriculum is challenging. However, the knowledge is essential to start a career in IT, especially in today’s cloud-enabled world.
In 2011, I was nominated to participate in Cisco NetAcad Riders. In this competition, students were challenged with CCNA-level networking knowledge and skills. I spent time with my instructors and friends who participated in the lab competition every day after classes to practice and prepare ourselves.
I managed to get a place to represent the Malaysia team and was recognized as a winner in the Asia Pacific Japan China (APJC) region!
As an APJC regional winner, my prize was to fly 8,000 miles from my hometown to San Jose, California — my first flight ever! The fully-sponsored visit to Silicon Valley, Cisco campus, and the labs with winners from around the globe was an unforgettable experience that opened my eyes to another side of the world. What a huge one it is!
Cisco was like a wonderland to me, and I felt like a child in a candy store.
The seed was planted. I told myself that I would work here someday.
After that, I started my career as a network engineer with networking vendors in Malaysia. I studied for my Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certification, which gave me the knowledge and skills to progress further in my career in supporting complex customer infrastructures.
With my work experience, knowledge, and effort spent on studies and countless lab practices during nights after work, I earned my Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification in 2016, one of my greatest achievements.
I remember how shaky my hands were as I read the CCIE lab result and my parents’ surprised faces when the CCIE plaque was shipped to me.
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."
I’d always dreamed of working at Cisco — the company that inspired me enormously.
After a few applications to Cisco, I was offered a job in 2019.
The dream finally came true!
Today, I am a technical consulting engineer at Cisco. I’m a trusted advisor to our customers and help them transform their organizations’ infrastructure and innovate for the future.
I could not have imagined myself working at Cisco if it weren’t for the Networking Academy. It was the spark that ignited the fire in my heart. Thank you for bringing me to where I am today.
For those who want to start a career in IT and aren’t sure where to begin, Cisco Networking Academy is a great place for you. It is challenging, but believe me: You will not regret it.
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