LIU019: Jason Gooley: The Godfather of Programmability

Jason Gooley shares his remarkable origin story, growing up poor outside Chicago on food stamps and government assistance with frequent evictions and school changes. At age 13, inspired by his best friend's interest in networking, he learned about Cisco certifications and the financial opportunities they offered, including the promise of earning more than the president as a CCIE. This single conversation became his North Star with no backup plan—a pressure similar to an Olympian's singular focus that drove his relentless pursuit of certifications starting with CompTIA A+, CNA, and eventually his goal of the CCNA and CCIE.

Jason's father, despite their poverty, invested $5,500 in a router kit from eBay when Jason was around 14-15, enabling him to build lab environments and pursue his networking passion. He got his CCNA while still in high school, then continued his certifications and eventually landed his dream job at Cisco. However, Jason reflects critically on the intense pressure and isolation of his certification journey—studying in a "dungeon" for extended hours, sacrificing time with family and friends, and creating unnecessary stress by putting his entire life into single goals.

When asked to write a programmability book with another engineer, Jason initially declined, not knowing the subject matter. But his wife's encouragement to "eff it" led him to accept, learning network programmability and automation to write what became the unofficial certification guide for what is now the CCNA Automation exam. This experience taught him that teaching requires breaking down knowledge to help others bypass the suffering he endured.

Jason discusses his two CCIEs and admits he wouldn't pursue the CCDE the same way again, having done so primarily because his employer wanted it rather than from personal desire. He emphasizes that while learning the material was invaluable, the lack of intrinsic motivation made it feel like torture compared to pursuing certifications he genuinely wanted.

On the CCST exam, Jason explains it fills a crucial gap below the CCNA for help desk and IT support roles, covering vendor-agnostic fundamentals like Windows, Mac, Android, networking basics, and practical IT support scenarios. It's more robust than CompTIA A+ for modern IT support while being more accessible than CCNA for entry-level technicians.

Jason emphasizes the importance of community in the certification journey, having formed deep study groups for the CCDE with people like Daniel Dibb and Nick Russo. He recently resigned from ShineOg (Chicago Network Operators Group), which he co-founded, because he realized spreading himself across too many directions diluted his impact. He notes the tension of being a Cisco employee advocating for a vendor-neutral conference when Cisco can no longer sponsor non-internal events.

He reflects on his six-month break from Cisco, during which he focused on writing multiple books and spent an entire summer with his kids for the first time since age 14. His former manager recruited him back to Cisco to build a new role modeled after his approach, suggesting that sometimes leaving enables a more impactful return. Jason addresses the cease-and-desist letter he received for owning cisco.ccie.expert blog and domain, forcing him to rebrand to Jason_Ghoulie across platforms.

Throughout the conversation, Jason stresses that the traditional path isn't the only option—he didn't attend college and kicked out of high school with a GED—but emphasizes that AI and rapid technological change now require everyone to continuously retool themselves regardless of background. He advocates for finding balance between goal-driven focus and maintaining mental health, warning against the isolation and trauma that can come from intense certification studying.