CCNA qualified seeking next step advice please...

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Hello there

I am glad to be a new member of this forum and hope to exchange ideas and information with people .

I am seeking a career in Networking and have some work experience and qualifications in IT .
I was one of the students of Cisco Networking Academy here in the UK , doing the CCNA . I enjoyed it very much and was a head of my class scoring over 90% on all exams . I had also a very good opportunity to gain hands on experience during the lab sessions which contributed towards enhancing my techinical skills . I have passed my ccna recently scoring 902 on my first attempt .
I am currently working in Retail as assistant manger and I provide IT support for a charity as volunteer.
I have couple of other qualifications like the CompTIA A+ and City and Guilds Diploma in IT .
I have also one year of work experience working as IT Technician .

I would like somebody's advice on what to do next to get into the IT employment . I have some ideas like :

Should I try to get work experience related to my CCNA ? and where ? In order to get to lead me to job
Try to find a job in IT as help desk and then go up
Do further study like MCSA or MCITP
Get intouch with the one of those companies who provide IT training and guarantee job at the end

I would very much appreciate any help or advice regarding these points or above and if you recommend any people to try .

Many thanks

Hani

 

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First of all, welcome to CF. Glad to have you onboard.

Also, congrats on the CCNA; however, bottom line is that if you do not have in-depth experience of working with CISCO kit day in, day out, then you will struggle to get and (more importantly for you) hold down a job doing networking. If you put the CCNA on your CV and get called for interview, which will nomally involve a test of your 'real world' skills, then you could have real problems. Best to forget to mention it, and go in at the 1st line support level, to build up the basic skillset.

It's great that you've got the A+ under your belt. Now, given you know something about networking, try for the Network+. Then, have a look a the MCDST - the Microsoft exams 70-271 and 70-272. Then, with the right level of experience, as you progress into 2nd line and beyond, you can begin to look at other certifications, including renewal of your CCNA.

I would tend to keep away from the 'training with guaranteed job' companies. Many times, what seems too good to be true is, indeed, too good to be true.

Good luck!

 

Many thanks for your reply and concern to help and I appreciate your profesional advice very much .

I was thinking to try shortening the way up by applying for work experience related to my CCNA in some companies or Cisco partners as that might leads me to work in that field afterwards . Am i being over realistic?

The company that guarantee a job is JUSTIT .and according to what I heard , they provide a package of training including A+, CCNA 2 MCPs , work placements and then Guarantee job . I heard from somebody that they do locate people in jobs like 1st line support or similar

Many thanks .

 

Giddy, what do they do in these "real world" tests?

What areas of IT have you had exposure to in your work as a volunteer and as IT technician?

Moreover, what areas do you enjoy and want to work in? (presumably networking since you have certified your CCNA studies)

Also, stay away (IMO) from these places that charge money for packages of training and say they guarantee you a job

 

I am very gratful to everybody and for more information about me , I attach my CV here .

 

Hi Mate

Thx for your advice , I have done it .

 

Hi Daniel.

If you're only asking me about real world tests, I've seen interviews based on CV (never tell lies in your CV, and say you are a whizz on AD if you're not), and then do paper or physical task based testing.

So, a CCNA may look good, but can the person with it actually get a switch or router issue resolved, when the pressure is on in test 'real world' conditions?

If you're asking about my level of IT experiecne over 19 years I'm more than happy to share that with you too...

 

Well, there's really no "shortening the way up". The only way up the IT career ladder is by starting at the bottom and working your way up.

The CCNA has absolutely nothing to do with entry-level tech support work. Cisco stuff is higher up the career ladder, up around the network administrator job role. Typically, most people start out in an entry-level role, then work up to desktop support, then server administration, THEN network administration.

Take those job guarantees with a huuuuge grain of salt. The only company who can guarantee you a job is the company who actually hires you. Plus, who's to say that they'll give you a job doing IT stuff? or in a location you can commute to? or at a wage that you feel is fair? or with a company worth working for? and with employees/supervisors that you'll be able to get along with? Just sayin... there's ways to "fulfill" a job "guarantee".

Hope this helps.

 

So is the only difference between 'real world' and non real world the pressure involved?

 

I don't think it's always the case that you have to start off at the bottom and work your way up. If you look at Aldi's graduate management scheme, you can earn £40k with no experience in management and not have to spend years making your way up the ladder, yet you get to manage a store or area with massive responsibility.

Since you have worked hard to gain your CCNA I would try and get a better position than first line support because you won't use any of that knowledge and by the time you get to a position to use that knowledge the certificate would be out of date and you would have forgotten most of it. Gaining CCNA and going to first line is a step backwards, it's like gaining a Masters in Business and then going to work on the till at Tesco and work your way up to management.

I did the Cisco CCNA as part of my university course but decided not to take the exam until I had some work experience, I have forgotten everything I learned, even basics like subnetting, since I have never worked using this knowledge in a job or any network equipment.

It would have been better to wait until you was in a good position before you started CCNA, but now you have it, try and get a good position. What is there to lose? if you can't find a good place then try lower levels of I.T Support.

 

Not at all... real world does throw issues at you that no book or course can get you ready for... it's then your experience that counts. Those with the experience will have seen a fair few of the issues and will (hopefully) not get overwhelmed by the pressure.

 

ok, but having a CCNA, how does that stop you getting such experience in a junior role?

 

Working in a supermarket and working in IT are totally different.

No network manager in their right mind would let someone loose on their network and cisco kit if they do not have any experience regardless of what certs and qualifications they have. Some of brightest graduates I know are as thick as pig **** so being a graduate means nothing.

I suggest to the OP to try a few apps with the ccna on his cv but it will most likely lead to rejection letters so the next step would be to hide the ccna on the cv untill he gets more exposure.

When people talk about experience it does not mean practice at home or college it means in a job doing it for real, if you have none of this then it can be hard to start off in a good position.

 

^ if he applies to positions for someone with a year or two of experience he will get rejection letters. I would suggest he applies to junior roles, which will let him start from the bottom in experience terms, but having the CCNA will help him.

 

It doesn't if you don't show it.

Look at it as if you're the employer. You want someone in 1st line support. I send you my CV, and I've got A+ and CCNA. I've got no real world experience.

You'd hopefully be thinking will I stay (I am after all a CCNA and the jobsites tell me I can earn £37k pa and you're paying me £5.80 per hour), will you have any problems with me thinking I can fix any and all router and switch issues, do I actually know my a$$ from my elbow? Will I be prepared to listen, watch, and learn? As the recruiter, you may think "stuff it, I won't take the chance... NEXT!"

 

Junior roles with A+... spot on!

CCNA on CV... alarm bells ringing...

CCNA expires every 3 years anyway, so he'd need to be moving quickly (not saying you can't, but I've had friends/colleagues trying to get into Network Services for years... literally... and these guys/girls are good at what they do) to get working with the kit, or home study at night/weekends. Plus the employer may be looking for him doing MS stuff (XP and so on) so he may look to do MCDST or MCSA (over time) as he looks to move him to 2nd line and above. So, the CCNA side of things falls by the wayside...

 

+1 absolutely correct i think - doing stuff real world is totally differant. If u do have the knowledge though and you start at hepdesk role you may find yourself moving up the ladder quickly anyway.

 

I'm talking about junior networking roles, not helpdesk. There are plenty junior/trainee networking roles out there.

I agree CCNA isn't going to help you if you are applying for 1st line helpdesk stuff, but that's not where i would recommend him applying.

 

What employer?

I also don't see the relevence of your friends/collegues not being able to get a networking job?