He was most likely referring to the CCNA-CCNP-CCIE path. CCNA is pretty much considered industry standard for networking fundamentals, and while it is certainly possible to do without it, having it shows a certain level of competency in the field, which can enable you to get a foot in the door.
And just for the record, these certs teach concepts that are valuable for working with equipment from other vendors as well. The only thing cisco specific is IOS, but even that translates fairly well to other hardware.
He was most likely referring to the CCNA-CCNP-CCIE path. CCNA is pretty much considered industry standard for networking fundamentals, and while it is certainly possible to do without it, having it shows a certain level of competency in the field, which can enable you to get a foot in the door.
And just for the record, these certs teach concepts that are valuable for working with equipment from other vendors as well. The only thing cisco specific is IOS, but even that translates fairly well to other hardware.