Today we had a lot of discussions about careers, from career programs to early in career ideas. We were introduced to CSAP, or Cisco Sales Associate Program. This program allows college alums to get rigorous technical training on each of Cisco’s products while also building a network of field workers and virtual managers. This phase lasts for six months, after which participants are provided another 6 months to find a virtual position, which they will hold for a year. After that, they can move on to a field role. Networking is very important throughout both the process and wider careers because it allows you to leverage contacts to get to where you want to be. Another final takeaway I have is the wide variety of majors that come to CSAP and Cisco as a whole. There are people who majored in Communications, Electrical Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and even Chinese, who all ended up here. This goes to show that majors don’t define what you do in your career and that your passion is more important to follow.
-Price