2023-November-16

Did you know? You can share this story using the social media icons on the upper left. Use the hashtag #WeAreCisco. You can also rate or comment on the story below.

While Working Two Jobs, Randy Rae Was Ready for Change

BY RANDY RAE · ACCOUNT MANAGER · UNITED STATES

5 MINUTE READ · 7 MINUTE LISTEN

From first grade until a high school graduation that nearly didn’t happen, I was a terrible student.

I was a class clown who couldn't focus.

I can’t count how many times someone sat me down and told me I had so much potential I was not living up to.

My home life was unstable. My mom was a single parent working at a grocery store doing her best to raise two difficult kids. I spent most of my free time with the older kids in my neighborhood finding new ways to get in trouble.

When I was 11 years old, a new friend who recently moved across the street helped me build my first gaming computer. I fell in love with computers but continued to struggle in school.

When I was 22 years old, I was working two jobs landscaping and waiting tables. I was ready for a change.

A friend of mine was hired at Cisco after getting an associate degree in Network Management from our local community college, Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina.

While I loved technology, I was also intimidated by it. I was not confident that I could learn what would be required to develop a real career.

I stumbled on a free, self-paced Computer Science 101 online course at Stanford University. I decided to give it a try and was completely blown away.

Almost immediately, it tapped into my innate curiosity. The course demystified topics, such as how a phone call is translated from analog to digital and back again and how pixels on a screen know what color to be.

Building confidence in tech

Completing this course gave me the confidence that I needed to start my journey as a full-time Network Management student at Wake Tech. I would work as a landscaper during the day and attend classes in the evenings and online.

As I was starting classes at Wake Tech, my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world.

Becoming a parent changed me in ways I could have never anticipated. I immediately realized that I would do anything for this kid and that I wanted to give him the best life possible. I also realized that I wasn’t able to do that at the time.

Alongside unconditional love and joy was fear like I had never experienced before. The responsibility of providing for a family was staring me right in my face.

I became determined to find a way to make it work.

Finding courses that worked for me

I quickly realized that not all courses and instructors were created equal. Very few courses matched the level of engagement and clarity that I experienced in my free online Stanford class. I struggled to learn from many instructors and opted for online classes at Wake Tech wherever possible to save time on travel and find better resources.

My Network Management AAS degree program contained Cisco Networking Academy courses focused on the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Networking Professional (CCNP) certifications. I was pleasantly surprised with how organized and clear the content was.

During these Networking Academy courses, it quickly became clear to me that I was learning extremely valuable, marketable skills. For the first time in my life, I felt confident in my career path and ability to support my family.

Every day, I was excited to get home from work and start learning, often staying up late into the night completing labs in Cisco Packet Tracer.

With Networking Academy classes and some additional studying, I got my CCNA during the summer after my first year of classes. And after some extensive interviews, I was offered an internship at Cisco. When I graduated from Wake Tech, I accepted a full-time position as a Consulting Engineer on the IoT team and got my CCNP.

After a few years as a Consulting Engineer, I moved over to Sales as a Systems Engineer. Then I moved into my current role as an Account Manager serving public sector customers in Virginia.

This is my first non-technical position at Cisco, and, as always, I have a lot to learn. But I absolutely love what I do. I like to solve problems and help our customers make real changes to bring value to their organizations. I have a great opportunity to do that here.

Showing up and being of service

Throughout my journey I have struggled with imposter syndrome and the fear of being inadequate. There have been many times where it wasn’t clear what I should be doing or what direction I should go in.

During all these instances, the one thing that always guides me in the right direction is to just show up and be of service.

I am at my best when I am motivated by how I can help others. Whether it’s customers, teammates, my manager, or anyone interested in a career in technology, showing up and being of service has always led me in the right direction.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

American lecturer and writer Dale Carnegie once said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Related Links

• Our Impact - CSR & Time2Give
• Careers at Cisco

---

Connect everything. Innovate everywhere. Benefit everyone.