account manager

regional account manager

senior developer

sales manager

sales director

Cogent Communications

Working as a Network Planner Engineer at Cogent Communications has been a deeply rewarding experience. The role gave me the opportunity to collaborate with a talented team and tackle challenging projects that pushed me to continuously grow in the field of optical network planning.

The company’s dedication to innovation, combined with their extensive global infrastructure, allowed me to work on cutting-edge fiber optic network designs and contribute to large-scale projects that directly impacted the efficiency and reliability of global communication systems. The work environment fostered collaboration and continuous learning, which was a perfect fit for someone like me who is passionate about staying ahead of technological advancements.

My key responsibilities included designing and optimizing fiber optic networks, working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure the seamless integration of new infrastructure, and delivering comprehensive network plans that met both technical and budgetary requirements. I also had the chance to develop my skills in network modeling, project management, and problem-solving, thanks to Cogent’s emphasis on professional growth and mentorship.

In addition, Cogent provided a great platform to work with leading-edge tools and software, which enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of network planning. This helped ensure that the services provided to clients were of the highest quality, reinforcing Cogent's reputation as a leader in the telecommunications industry.

Overall, my experience at Cogent Communications has been instrumental in shaping my career as a telecommunications professional. I highly recommend this role to anyone looking to be part of an innovative and fast-paced environment where you can make a real impact in the networking world.




IF YOU NEED MONEY, THEN WORK AT COGENT. They pay you a decent salary but the expectation is that most will leave within six months. The salary is the only way people will start the job. Then they realize the actuality of the place and simply disappear to go elsewhere.

Try not to put it on your resume because some other companies think you don't know what you are doing because you worked there -- and won't hire you. It's like being covered in some kind of dust they all recognize.

In order to build up a book of business at Cogent you have to depend on others leaving. When they do the senior members on the team get the leads. After awhile the bottom layer leaves and is replaced by others who will also leave. It's like working with vultures you know will attack when they get the chance.

Revolving door in Miami -- one guy lasted a single morning - left before eleven am.

The system is the same companywide. There are several top performers who have been there for years and have inherited everyone else's books of business.  They make LOTS of money. You never will because the system is set up so you will fail and those on top will stay there.

It's a soul sucking system -- if you value yourself get out of there as soon as you can afford to do so. Because trust me, you will get a PIP pretty quickly and the honeymoon will be over. 

They start by telling you will make all this money in commissions + a base salary, However they don't tell you that 90 % of the Company is not hitting Quota and that most of the employees will be replaced in a little more that a year. If you are getting into the industry and want to learn the ropes I would say they have a good training program but if your hoping to have a future with this company good luck. Managements expectations are unrealistic and very one sided. Now remember they don't tell you this and its up to you to read between the lines once your there, you will learn how to understand the reports and to ask the right questions in 9-12 months when you will realize this to be fact. Total waste of time for someone hoping to make commissions and a future with Cogent. Working 40 hours a week to update there CRM with future prospects is the name of this job, Most have 3 year contracts so the only way you will make a sale is if your lucky that someone you contact just so happens to have their contract with their current carrier expire and if someone has not already harassed them to the point of hating this company.

This company seemed to be a great company, however, there were some gaps when entering into the company. 
Some items were not disclosed until you already excepted the position and began onboarding at their corporate office. I specifically recall asking management during my interview, what is the typical timeline for an associate to build their book of business and begin seeing a positive turnaround on their efforts? I was told 9-12 months, which is typical considering you were not provided any accounts, it was all aggressive prospecting, which I was fine with. 

The part were I felt a bit cheated is during onboarding training they tell you, you only have 6 months to implement a pipeline and if not you will be let go from the company. This just didn't sit that well with me, however, the solutions they are selling seem to have a positive impact on companies all over the nation, and it was a great learning opportunity for me. Wish them all the best!!

encouraged to "challenge" each other’s accounts, which creates a cutthroat, mistrustful environment. The VP in the west is notoriously ineffective, more focused on control than support. Training is almost nonexistent — you’re thrown into the role with little product understanding, and no one actually knows how to close a deal. Despite how they pitch it, this is not data center or enterprise sales — you're selling glorified internet connections.

Unless you're bringing in relationships from your last company, your first year here is pure luck. I got two sales in my first year, both entirely due to timing — most reps get none. You’re just waiting for a prospect’s current vendor contract to expire and hoping they pick up the phone. Leads are recycled and round-robinned to death, often called three or more times before they get to you. The base salary is mediocre, commission is a long shot, and the job is more about treading water than actual selling.

There are definitely worse jobs to have but the company overall is not good.  Your day is spent sending emails, cold calling, and prospecting which is not bad, but can be very boring.

VP will use people that have been in the company for 5+years as an example for you to build your accounts.  Constantly states that it takes 2.5-3 years to reach that this level, but pushes people out at the 6 month mark.

Set up for failure as our group did not have a manager for 6 months, and then when we finally got someone that knew what to teach, was wanting to push us out.  They talk how finding the right accounts takes time (which it does) but they want it right away instead of giving the proper time frame.

High turn over, people are either pushed out or they leave out of frustration.  Almost 50% of all sales team members have less than 1 year at the company.

Leadership runs with the mantra of, "do as I say, not as I do-- oh, and I play favorites." 
Leadership's most notable quote, "I love me some me."
Leader always thinks it's in command and control. 
They are convinced that employees who don't want to work 60-hour workweeks are slackers.
It puts all its energy into making certain that the numbers come up right, even if it means changing the numbers.
Think of themselves as the star performers who can fix any problem by yanking back authority and responsibility.
It takes the credit when things go well and points the finger when things go poorly.
Zero support.  Leadership goes between GA and FL, but only actually works 2-3 hours per day.  Comes in late, leaves early for flights.  Never available for questions

Avoid 

Very, very, very hard to make a sale. If your pipeline collapses, you are in a world of hurt.  

You won't earn a lot of money here. No one was hitting quota in my office, You will make a gazillion cold calls. No IT manager, finance manager wants to talk to you. The company does no marketing, so every customer account gets routinely called dozens and dozens of times. 

The last week I worked at Cogent I was told "what part of no don't you understand" at least two times. It is a call center run by immature people who drink too much and go crazy on the weekends. 

The telecom biz is over-saturated. Buying internet is no different that going to Sam's Club and see 100 different brands of toilet paper. You buy the cheapest brand because they all do the same thing. Some toilet paper is comfortable and lotion scented. Cogent is like the lotion scented ISP of the telecom industry. Nice to have, but most people will do without it.

Cogent is a dominant player in the network services market. Cogent has been growing in market share for many years because of a very intelligent CEO with tremendous foresight. Cogent's market share has grown so high that it's very difficult for salespeople to find new companies to prospect which is exactly what they are hired to do. Salespeople have to work very hard just to keep their job. About 5% of the sales force is at quota. I believe the company keeps the quota almost unattainable for leverage over the salesforce. As you might imagine, the turn-over is extremely high with over 50% of the salesforce having less than one year of tenure at any given time.

Terrible.  I never worked less than 10 hours a day.  The culture is to skip lunch breaks and lie about it to HR.  They make you travel to company events with $25 a day food allotment in major cities.  The CEO himself stated "I don't understand why everyone wants to use their PTO if they're not already well past their quota" on my first ever conference call.  Absolutely zero training for those unfamiliar with their product suites......the only training are hand holding "sales" training events where they attempt to teach you to sell like a used appliance salesperson with fresh faced acne who may or may not be old enough for a drivers license.  In all fairness the base salary is competitive.....although the commission is terrible, especially while every other office poaches your clients.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Account manager 18 salaries reported	$81,111 per year
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Sales director 1 salary reported	$130,000 per year

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