Trainer Talks: Jeremy Cioara about Microsoft, Cisco, And Pizza

We had the opportunity to speak with Cisco and networking expert Jeremy Cioara at one of our Trainerpaloozas. He discussed a variety of topics for our Trainer Talks series. Jeremy talked about his frustrations with Microsoft, Cisco’s logic, and working for Pizza Hut during our conversation.
All the Trainer Talks interviews can be viewed on our Youtube playlist. We’ll keep it updated with more advice from SPOTO trainers.
I realize you are biased having done the CCNA training. But which company would you recommend to someone — Microsoft or Cisco?
Cisco. Easy question.
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I started my career in Microsoft, then moved to Novell and finally landed at Cisco. They were all amazing.
Microsoft is still fun.
Although I don’t mean to down Microsoft, it is an application with so much to it. It has so many moving parts and it reaches so far that it can reach so far that it can’t stop there. I didn’t realize how jaded I had become by all of that.
Microsoft allows you to reboot if you can’t solve a problem and no other solutions work. This will magically solve the problem. I was used to rebooting until I joined Cisco. Everything is so simple and straightforward with Cisco. Cisco has bugs, which is true, but the logic of Cisco is simple.
What does it mean that Cisco is easy? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
It’s not ifs and thens. If this, then that, and if that doesn’t work, then you are wrong. You must have done something wrong.
It doesn’t matter how much you try to deny it, because you are so smart. It is likely that you have done something wrong and rebooting will not solve the problem. That’s great!
If the problem persists after I reboot the device, I’m like “Thank you!” Thank you! It tells me it’s not a weird bug and that I need to upgrade the operating system.
You’ve made your case to Cisco. What about Microsoft?
I would say that Microsoft is the best option if you are looking for job security. There are many jobs available. If you want something simple and straightforward, it’s Microsoft. That’s Cisco.”
You stated that you went from Microsoft to Novell and Cisco. How did you decide on this path? How did you choose this IT career path?
You need to be aware of what is available to you. This is the biggest problem with IT. Many people follow a path of IT but don’t know everything that’s available. The number one thing I would recommend is to understand the IT paths.
My personal example is that I went to college to study computer science. Why? Because I loved computers as a child and my parents said, “That’s where I need to go.” You should go to computer science because it contains the word “computer”.
It was the worst time of my life, as I realized that I wasn’t built to be a programmer. I went to college, then I went to Pizza Hut, because I felt that this was not the right place for me.
Then I realized that Pizza Hut wasn’t the right career path for me. I ended up finding a career in IT that I didn’t know existed.
The question is, “How do I choose which path?” The first is to be aware of all the options available to you. You don’t just need a spoon, there are forks and knives and all the other things you can use.
You must know what’s in there. Don’t just take something down because it says “computer”.
Our certification can help you make informed decisions if you are still searching for your IT career path.