Meet the Trainer: Lalo Nunez
In his more than 20 years in IT, Lalo Nunez has gone from mastering his craft to teaching it. Growing up watching his parents work tirelessly, Lalo set his sights on a career that would open doors and allow him to turn hard work into success. He’s walked the path many learners are on now, as a former CBT Nuggets learner himself. Working his way up from tech support to network administrator, he eventually became a senior voice engineer before becoming a CBT Nuggets trainer in 2020.
At CBT Nuggets, Lalo specializes in creating courses on Cisco and Microsoft Collaboration, guiding learners through the tools they need to succeed as collaboration engineers, systems administrators, and voice network specialists.
Lalo’s approach to IT training is simple: learn by doing, don’t fear mistakes, and keep moving forward. Keep on reading to get to know more about Lalo’s story and the impact he’s made at CBT Nuggets.
What attracted you to technology? What inspired you to pursue a career in IT? What attracted me to technology was that there was no limit to what you could do with it. Technology has advanced to the point where almost any idea you envision can be transformed into reality with the right tools.
What inspired me to get into technology was knowing that I could get into a career field that would allow me to use my problem-solving skills. My parents worked long hours and multiple jobs in factories. The work was hard and tiring. I knew that if I could get into technology and polish my skills, I would be able to achieve what my parents believed I could accomplish.
What do you hope your learners take away from your courses beyond just technical knowledge? I hope the takeaway people get from watching my content beyond the actual training is that you can accomplish anything. With the right work ethic and drive, anyone can learn technology and become a professional or expert.
Sometimes, I meet folks who tell me they can’t do it, it’s too hard for them, or maybe they failed a certification exam. I try to explain to them that it’s a marathon and not a race; you will have tough days and days where you feel like a failure because you make mistakes. We must keep our eyes on the goal, and on the days we fall, we must always get back up and keep going.
My wife and I have two beautiful little girls who sometimes get frustrated with their homework or after-school activities such as gymnastics and dance. I constantly remind them that when they were babies and they first started to learn how to walk, they fell all the time. Instead of giving up learning how to walk, they immediately got back up and tried again; that’s the attitude we should have in life, especially when learning new technology. Some of the most intelligent people I know have had the same hardships and trouble along their paths or journeys; at the end of the day, it made them stronger.
What motivated you to become a trainer? I wanted to give someone the same experience that CBT Nuggets gave me. That experience increased my skill set and allowed me to gain confidence, advance my career, and achieve my life goals.
The best part about being a trainer is… I love knowing that I can reach people all over the globe to help them improve their skills, advance their careers, achieve a certification, or get a promotion. That is what CBT Nuggets did for me when I was a Learner, and I hope I do the same for someone out there.
Do you have any fun anecdotes or stories from your training sessions? Some fun times are when I do demos in my content, and things go horribly wrong—even though I follow documentation or configuration guides to a T. Sometimes, I encounter bugs, errors, or some variable that makes my scenario different. These are all things that many of us encounter in our production environments.
I'm passionate about IT training because…It can help you improve your career and provide a better quality of life for you and your family. There are excellent career opportunities in many different fields of technology. With the proper training and work ethic, the world is yours.
What have been some of your favorite moments or feedback from learners? My favorite moments were meeting people at Cisco Live over the past few years, shaking their hands, and listening to them share their stories. I also love feedback from learners when they tell me they got a promotion or a new job, and I was part of the journey; it was so awesome.
What is your general advice about learning IT? My advice about learning IT is to practice concepts in the lab environment. I’ve always had a lab environment as my playground where I could practice concepts or deploy specific scenarios. There were times I would break my lab accidentally, and that forced me to fix my problems. There were also times when I was on an outage call, and I was able to resolve the issue because it was something I went through, sometimes with frustrations, in my lab environment.
Random fact about you: My actual name is Geraldo, not Lalo. I have a brother who is a few years younger than I am. When we were little, and my brother started speaking, he could never say "Geraldo." When he attempted to do so, he said "Lalo." The name stuck with me for the rest of my life.
When I'm not making CBT Nuggets videos, you'll find me… I love to spend time with my family. Some activities we enjoy are playing card and board games or spending time in our pool. I enjoy watching sports and am a huge Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears fan. Life is too short, and tomorrow is never guaranteed; therefore, enjoy every second with the people you love.
Train with Lalo Nunez
Cisco Advanced Call Control and Mobility Services (300-815 CLACCM) v1.2
Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate (MS-700)
Connect with Lalo on X and LinkedIn!
If you’ve ever doubted your ability to begin a career in IT, Lalo is the trainer who will convince you otherwise! He knows the sting of a failed cert exam and the grind of late-night labs, but he’s also the first to remind you that true success comes with its fair share of obstacles—it’s all part of the process.
When you’re ready to strengthen your Cisco collaboration chops, plug into Lalo’s courses on call control and contact center. Who knows—master these skills, and you might find yourself teaching and inspiring the next generation of IT pros, just like Lalo.
delivered to your inbox.
By submitting this form you agree to receive marketing emails from CBT Nuggets and that you have read, understood and are able to consent to our privacy policy.