If you, or someone you know, is technically skilled, and is unemployed or looking for a new career..

[Xithras]

I spent most of the morning today sitting in a meeting discussing telepresence and video conferencing with representatives from Cisco and a few other companies, regarding a large scale purchase and installation for distance ed program we're working on here at the college.

Toward the end of the conversation, the question was raised about "technicians" to support it. The Cisco rep recommended that we hire unskilled people and have them trained "because we're installing thousands of units in hundreds of locations and companies across the country, and the few technicians who know this stuff are well out of your price range. It's so new, there's no technician pool."

He then went on to say that, if we know anyone who is unemployed and looking for a new career path, we should suggest this to them. The discussion even went into the possibility of the college putting together a new certification program just to train people for the field, because it's starting to explode and there is a real dearth of people with the skills to support it. He described the current situation as being very similar to the web market in the 1990's, where companies and headhunters are literally poaching technicians from competitors, because it's the only way they can get skilled employees. As an added bonus, the field is also highly resistant to outsourcing.

So, if you or someone you know is looking for a job, look at the Cisco (and competing) Telepresence market, and the certifications needed to get employed there.

Just passing it along. Hope someone finds this useful.

[Capn Sunshine]

1. Any suggestions where to look?

websites and stuff? I know lots of techs , mostly network guys who are casting about for something.

[Xithras]

2. If they're network guys, they're already on their way.

AT&T, Teliris, and Tandberg all have products in this sector, but Cisco is exploding and looks to become the 800lb gorilla ruling the market. Networking guys should already be familiar with the Cisco networking certification programs. The Telepresence certification programs are run under the same umbrella.

They'll have to look for the others. I personally talked to the Cisco/Tandberg reps about this, but wasn't able to broach the subject with the guy from Teliris. Anyone looking to get into the field is going to have to research it a bit anyway.

An example of the current situation, though: Kaiser, a big west coast healthcare company, recently threw many millions of dollars at Cisco to install a telepresence solution throughout most of their system. As it was nearing completion, they placed ads looking for technicians who could maintain the video network, and didn't get a single application. They reposted the ads again at a much higher $$ rate, and again had no takers. Eventually they just hired a bunch of regular network guys and sent them to Cisco boot camp, because it was the ONLY way they could get employees into those positions. HALF of those employees had were poached out by other companies within months.

I don't know enough about the field to offer you any specific "Do A, B, and then C" to get a job. I'm simply passing along the discovery that there IS a new field that is hiring, and that you can get employed in without having to go back to college for a new degree. That's a pretty rare thing in our current economy, so I thought that some might find the information useful.

[Duer 157099]

3. Thanks for posting this. Why is this field resistant to outsourcing though?

I'd think that tele-anything would be very prone to outsourcing.

This sounds like something I would be interested in. :hi:

[KamaAina]

4. Sounds like these techs are physically installing the equipment

of course, they could just fly them over from Bangalore, I suppose. :eyes:

[Xithras]

5. As KamaAina said....

These positions are generally hands-on. Not just for installing the equipment, but for performing the regular scheduled maintenance that these devices require. We're talking about everything from encoder scheduling and disk array replacements, to minor tasks like cleaningt the lenses on the cameras. There are positions for people who are interested in both installing and maintaining these systems.

The massive bandwidth required between the capture and encoding devices means that much of the equipment must be physically located on the customers site, so it can't just be farmed out to a consultant or to a backoffice sub in India.

[Duer 157099]

6. I would love to find a position where they'd train me

I totally have the aptitude and background for something like this, but it's not the field that I'm officially trained in, so it's hard to apply for such things.

[eShirl]

7. kick

[KG]

8. how bout these companies hire and train the techs themselves?