Hello Folks

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.

Hi Everyone,

found this forum by chance while searching for training providers, luckily before I decided on the cerco route!!

Thankfully I've had a closer look & now looking at using Harbrook training & consultancy to gain CCNA etc.

I'm a qualified mechanic but have knackered my back, luckily my previous employer is paying for the retraining.

So the big question is - "Is Cisco the correct choice?" I'm not looking for a super mega paying job, that would be nice though, I just want something to tide me over - comfortably

I'll try to contribute but probably be asking a lot of questions first.

All the best

Dave

 

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.

Yes, but not at this stage in your career. Even with a Cisco certification, companies won't hire you to administer a network with Cisco routers without experience. If you're like most people who start out in IT, you'll probably start out at the bottom, then work your way up: help desk/level 1 tech/PC repair > desktop admin > server admin > THEN network administration.

I'd recommend that you start out with the A+, Network+, and MCDST. But don't wait until you're certified - start looking for your first IT job now. When you get a certification, add it to your CV and keep looking (and studying for the next). Once you've gotten a job and a bit of experience, you can start planning for other certifications.

You don't need a training provider... you can get certified through self-study. I have yet to take a training course, and I've managed to collect a hundred letters after my name.

Welcome to the forums! Are you a gamer? Console, PC, board, card, other?

 

what he said ^

Welcome

 

Thanks for your responses thus far.

Basically I need to be in a job by the end of Feb 09, I'm currently still under contract with my current employer, albeit off sick.

Self study may be ideal for some but at this stage I need to get in & blitz it then look at self study.

So far I've setup a pain in the backside network at home with 2 desktops, 2 laptops & 2 phones with a software switcheable hub for peripherals. Also made a few sites including this one; http://www.thegamekeepersshed.co.uk

Needs a few tweaks & eventually a shopping cart on it but it's getting there.

So basically, I have a few options;

1. Drive a lorry all day & night.
2. Fill myself full of pain killers & go back to turning spanners.
3. Work for Vosa annoying the truckers.
4. Retrain & go down IT route, whichever path.

Decisions decisions.

 

you could self study faster than doing a course but just to reiterate what BM said. CCNA is for people who actually work in a job administering CISCO switches etc

Having the CCNA and not the appropriate on the job experience can damage your employment prospects rather than enhance them.

A+,N+ and MCDST and no further certs until you have on the job experience related to those certs and you wont start in a networking job you will have to start at the bottom.

 

The course for CCNA is 10 days, that would be a hell of a lot of cramming!!!

 

The CCNA in 10 days, I highly doubt this is possible without either the people on the course having a lot of experience or that the course provider is handing out cheat sheets or braindumps.

 

This is who I plan to use;

http://www.harbrook.net/training/index.php
It's in there somewhere, need to have a dig, I've been sifting through it for ages.

 

Regardless of whether you can do the CCNA in 5 days, 10 days, or 60 days, the CCNA will do you more harm than good at this stage. Employers with CCNA-level jobs won't hire you due to lack of real-world experience, and employers with entry-level jobs don't need someone with a CCNA - they'll view you as either a braindumper, too expensive for the position, or not likely to stick around at entry-level for very long (so they'd have to find, hire, and train someone all over again).

You can be in a job NOW, even without certifications. Certifications do not automagically make you qualified to do a job. Certifications simply make you look more attractive to employers. A good interview can be just as helpful!

Keep in mind that your first IT job will likely be the hardest. Competition for entry-level IT jobs is intense. Don't give up! If you've got any friends who are currently in IT, they will be your absolute *best* source for job information... jobs that aren't necessarily listed in the paper or on online job search sites... and thus, not bombarded with applicants.

 

Hi there and welcome

Please listen to what you have already been told, forget the CCNA, you won't need for quite a while yet, concentrate on the A+ first and go the self study route and save your self a lot of money.

 

I do appreciate your comments folks but to be honest the courses that are available to me are pretty limited.

They range from builder, plumber, electrician, sports diver, pub runner, air con courses, driving(hgv etc), cisco courses, "cerco" courses, crane operator, Nebosh, NVQ assesor, Iosh, A+ /CCNA (IT Network Technician), CompTIA + 3 'H' Units to HNC/HND, IT Systems Administrator, MSc IT for Product Engineering, PRINCE2, Itil, rov pilot, fitness instructor.

I'm looking at something that's going to let me live comfortably & that's not going to give my back anymore grief. Plus to be local (sick of commuting - used to do 900 mile a week)

 

Well, then, I don't really know what to tell you, because only the A+, Network+, and MCDST are going to do you any good starting out in IT. But the training centers aren't going to tell you that... many of them simply want to sell you the most expensive package they can.

It sounds like you've already got your mind made up, but you really don't need a course.

Please don't buy into the stories that training centers tell you about starting out making a ton of money in IT - it's simply not true. IT isn't a career where you start out "living comfortably". In time, that's certainly possible - you can end up making good money in IT... but not right from the start. Ask any of these fine people who are currently at the beginnings of their IT careers, and they'll tell you what they started out making.

 

Hey and welcome to CF! i understand you are getting funded to take any of the above courses but the advice already given is all you need to know at this stage. A+ then N+ then MCDST. Taking the CCNA will hinder more than help like the guys have said. If you are serious about a career in IT you will have to start from the bottom and work your way up. It takes time and perseverance. You are also looking anywhere between £10k - £20k depending on several factors with the relevant one being location. I wish you the best of luck whatever you decide to do though

 

£10k - £20

I expected drop but not that much, I could get more dragging a trailer round the country. Surely it's more than that??

 

But dragging a trailer around the country, what are your prospects for the future? Likely not much better than you start out with. And what job satisfaction will you have? If you love technology, IT jobs provide a great sense of accomplishment.

IT is a career... not a get-rich-quick job. Like I tried to explain in my first reply, the money will come... but it will take a little time for you to build some real-world experience before you can start making good money. I'm not talking decades, mind you... but it will take time.

The reason entry-level IT jobs don't pay much is because anyone can get an entry-level IT job - it takes no experience. With experience comes better jobs and higher pay. You *can* become a network administrator... but you can't become a network administrator overnight by taking a few classes. It just takes time. If you're willing to put in the effort to work your way up, it **will** happen.

 

I may have to look at something else then, as stated I expected a slight drop but no thank you to that small amount.
It's a case of needing to maintain close to current standards, mortgage, current highly excessive fuel & rate costs.

Certainly if you start this career choice at the outset it will be beneficial but it certainly isn't when it comes to someone who has to retrain or enter into it after already having one career. At those rates I would have to take a 2nd job & there goes the time for self study/courses.

 

!!!!!!

 

We had a user on here a while ago who thought he would start of on a good wage in IT he thought 30k. 10 - 20k for your first role the average is 14k.

You can't expect to earn good money in any job without having experience and knowing what you are doing. You say you are interested in CISCO no IT manager in their right mind is going to let someone with no experience loose on their network regardless of the cert they have.

And I might add if you are only in IT for the money then you are in the wrong job because it can take a long time to reach a decent level of pay.

 

I hate that I was a bearer of bad news, but it's better for you to know the "going rate" now, before you've shelled out several thousand pounds, than to find out the hard way afterwards.

IT is a very rewarding career choice, so if you can somehow find a way to make ends meet with a lower salary for a bit, you won't likely regret it.