Marty Adkins, both a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) and a Cisco Certified training instructor for CCCI, is well-prepared for the many questions and network problems that students bring with them to the classroom.
"People come to class with laundry lists, but I find that actually makes teaching more enjoyable," says Marty. "Instead of theoretical problems, you help solve real ones."
Marty has spent almost two decades analyzing and solving information technology problems. Twenty years ago, after receiving a B.E.E.E. from Vanderbilt University (later he earned an M.S.E.E.), Marty started designing digital circuits for Westinghouse. The 18 years he spent there gave him a very diversified technical background, including development of both software and hardware solutions. The years at Westinghouse also gave Marty a historical perspective on the development of LANs, WANs and the current client/server environment, as well as experience being a system administrator. Early on he helped set up and network the first DEC VAXs and handled the in-house support.
This wealth of experience is brought to CCCI's classrooms where Marty brings the experience to the courses he teaches, including Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting (CIT), Introduction to Cisco Router Configuration (ICRC), and Advanced Cisco Router Configuration (ACRC).
As much as possible, Marty tries to customize course content for the skill levels and interests of each student. That way each one gets more out of the course.
In one situation, Marty went out of his way to accommodate a group of knowledge-hungry students, wanting to learn more about TCP/IP. Because TCP/IP was not in the curriculum for the particular course, Marty held a "special lab" for the interested students after regular class hours.
Some students come to a course a little intimidated by the subject matter, fearing they won't be able to learn everything covered. But by keeping the classroom environment relaxed, and spending breaks and lunchtime with students who need extra help, Marty helps students leave with a solid understanding of the subject matter.
When Marty is not teaching, he's doing network consulting jobs. Recently, he was asked by a large pharmaceutical company to evaluate its network in regard to anticipated bandwidth/traffic problems resulting from planned imaging operations. The company was planning to invest heavily in a higher speed network and expanded server capacity.
Marty found that the imaging applications would not create significant bandwidth problems, but he did find inefficiencies in the company's Novell network. Without spending money on new technology, the company reduced traffic and also recovered capacity on their servers. Which role does Marty enjoy most -- consulting or teaching?
"I like both, and I think you need both," says Marty. "If you never leave the classroom to see what's happening in the real world, you become stale."