Career Change: Getting ready for Icnd1 and 2

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

No worries man, it's clear based on what you have said you are committed to learning the right way. I was just trying to highlight why people had gotten the wrong end of the stick based on what you originally said.

As for a lot of the braindump stuff out there, quite a bit of it can look like legitimate material these days so it's not always easy to tell. GL with the CCNA sutdying btw!

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

I am Glad I discovered these forums to help guide me. I can appreciate the different opinions, and hold no animosity.
I just Wish I was as committed to learning when I was younger. I would not be starting over at 41 I have a BS in MIS that was wasted because I didn't learn the first time around... at least I can say I have a BS though

 

I'm not sure if other people are thinking the same as me, or will agree with what I am about to say, but I feel, if I am correct, that it's only fair you are made aware of this potential pitfall. So far you've stated what your intentions are and they're quite valid and sensible. One thing that is bothering me, however, is the fact you just said you're going to keep getting certifications the longer it takes to get employed. I have the following to say about "the longer It takes to get work, the more Certification studies I will do."

Firstly I feel this isn't a wise move. Your CV will be bloated with certifications and little to no experience at all to back them up. This makes me think, should I be the employer looking at your CV, as though you've simply powered your way through some five-day courses and grabbed as many certifications as you can, in an effort to shotgun your way into a job. Think of it like this, if you looked at the CV of someone who had a CCIE and no working experience in networking, you would likely think two things: you would firstly question the authenticity of their claim of having obtained a CCIE and, provided the CCIE is valid, you would question the methods used to obtain the certification. You would also wonder why on Earth they have no experience at all (are they trying to blind you with certification to cover up something else?)

Now don't get me wrong, I am not trying to put you off; I'm not trying to imply your intentions or methods are of questionable legality; nor am I saying it's wrong to get certifications, but gaining as many as you can to the point that they outweigh your personal experience could do more harm than good in my opinion. That being said this is just my opinion and not a professional one or even one based on experience - it's just how I feel personally.

The second issue is knowledge and the scope you apply to it. A certification, in a lot of circumstances, will be designed to teach you the basics. And that's it. They will go no further except to direct you to the next course or some online resources. The problem with this is the certification places you in a box with a limited perspective on everything outside of the certification's syllabus. Someone I know is blasting his way through lots and lots of certifications, thinking the knowledge obtained is enough to get by on. Well it's not. It's merely a basis from which to build the knowledge you actually need to get the job done. Take the Linux+ for example. When you've completed it, you're Linux Junior. So after two exams and your wallet becoming £240 lighter, you're only a junior. This is because you have to take the next step of using these skills outside of a certificate's syllabus and scope, and start using it in the real world to expand on it, meaning that you will gain what is needed to actually do the job because the Linux+, on its own, can't do that.

Also some certifications are designed to solidify your existing experience and knowledge. Let's look at my case here. I have my CCENT. I have a combined total of a year in the IT field. That's a single year worth of experience and a CCENT. Given my current job if I had my CCIE in three years time I would not be able to back it up with actual working knowledge because our network here, as it stands right now - it isn't of sufficient size or complexity to warrant the skills a CCIE would have. At best a CCNA, CCDA, CCNA+S and CCNA+V would cover this network and correctly detail my experience (even the CCDA could be a push, given that I didn't design it). The Linux+ and LPIC-2/3 would also do this nicely, but the RHCE would not because we don't have a single RHEL machine here, so what's the point? Perhaps an RHCT would be valid because I can take my Debian experience, coupled with my RHCT and my working knowledge of actually making Linux work for a business, as opposed to just making Linux work, and claim I can "do" RedHat.

I think you seem like a bloke who has his head screwed on correctly, not to mention being intelligent, so I just thought I would let you know how I feel in the hope it will guide you in a better direction. You're making the right choice with your chosen certification and the move to gain certification is equally as correct.

I hope I've helped and not made matters worse or just mouthed on about nothing :P

 

Mcrilly,
I can understand what you are saying about over-certifying with no experience. That isn't my intention. I really want to get a job as soon as I can. But I do realize that a job will not hop into my lap immediately, so while I look I want to make productive use of my downtime. That is all I meant by saying the longer it takes to find a job, the more certifications I will get. Does that make sense of what I was saying?
And I do feel there is much more to be gained from college courses and self study than a bootcamp.

There are some very thoughtful people on this forum, and I personally appreciate it . I certainly don't feel that you've Mouthed off about nothing. Those are very valid points.

Speaking of Linux+, does anyone have any advice on it vs or along with microsoft. I could study for it after the CCNA if I am not employed by that time. I can get half price on Comptia exams through the college I went to as alumni as long as the staff there knows me. Am I correct to say that a person who has dabbled in Linux for years and has a few college courses using Linux could study up for Linux+ faster than a Microsoft Certification. I took 2 Linux classes and ethical hacking in my Networking coursework at a community college. I also took Windows server and server security classes. I also have on hand experience on the routers and Switches at the cisco lab at the college I was at.
I did ask this in another thread so I apologize for repeating it, it just seemed to flow with what Mcrilly was saying.

Thanks
Brad

 

If you're looking to get into IT then it's best to play the percentages game. By far the biggest percentage of workers in IT use MS products. At entry-level it's even more skewed towards MS as a large proportion of Linux boxes are servers.

 

I think the Linux+ whislt it may be useful to have will be far less recognised than MS or Cisco certs. Having said all that certs have been devalued quite a bit in the last few years anyway. But I think it's more of a niche thing to go for. I'm sure there are some good jobs out there that require Linux experience, but they will always be far more thin on the ground compared to jobs requiring MS knowledge as an example.

 

Thanks for the sound advice.