Cristian Mateiescu

Young Pioneer

Building a career with Romania's first home-grown data carrier

Being part of a pioneering enterprise is always an exciting challenge, particularly in a country undergoing radical change. Being equipped to face that challenge and profit from it is all a matter of preparation.

At just 22 years old, Cristian Mateiescu is better prepared than most. He now works for Group 4 Securicor as LAN administrator at one of their headquarters in Bucharest. He is responsible for a network of 60-70 computers: "I am ‘The IT guy - the only employee representing the IT Department in this building, and I'm there to help the other employees to successfully use our network resources," he says with pride.

Career networking

Cristian was looking for a job whilst enrolled at his local Networking Academy in Bucharest, Infoacademy, studying CCNA3 - a fact that would prove crucial to gaining his first job in the industry, as he recalls:

"I wrote my CV and applied to some jobs online. Prime Telecom, the first 100 percent Romanian-owned data carrier, called me and invited me to an interview, where they asked me what I knew how to do and what I had learned in CCNA so far. The next day they called me and hired me, so I've got my CCNA course and the NetAcad to thank."

Part of the programme

Cristian was amongst the 4,200 students of all ages attending one of the 150 or so educational institutions registered with the Networking Academy in Romania. "A friend was in the programme and told me about the benefits, and I was immediately curious to find out more, and to learn about networking the Cisco way."

From his first job with Prime to his new position at Network Administrator with Securicor, Christian is sure that his Networking Academy studies have helped him along the way. He recently finished CCNA 4 and is now preparing for his CCNA certification.

Tough enough

He is not worried by his constantly increasing workload, however. As he says himself: "The programme need not be so tough if you're prepared to dedicate yourself to a little personal study. A bit of ambition helps too," he adds.

As for his fellow Networking Academy students concerned about future employment, he has the following advice: "Don't worry too much about the job - just jump straight into the course and it should give you the skills and experience you need."

back to top