Hi people - should I quit

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Hi everyone.

This is my first post so please be gentle. I currently work in a helpdesk, 1st line support role and am studying towards my CCNA. After reading posts on this site, ive realised that I may be wasting my time with the CCNA and should wait until Ive got a bit more experience. Ive already completed CCNA1 and am almost finished CCNA2. Should I just quit and save myself money or continue and hope for the best?

Help!?!

thanks

 

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No!!

Stick at it!, Finish the course! How will it look to a future employer??? That you quit your course half way through??

Besides the more certs you get under your belt the more advantage you will have other the other millions of candidates going for that position you have applied for!

 

Hi Welcome

Since you have started I would finish it, but if you start to find it difficult because your more qualified than your experience level (which what counts at the end of the day) you could always hide it on your cv when applying for jobs.

 

you should never quit, your aim should be to get experience

Grim

 

If you've already invested money in an educational program, I wouldn't recommend quitting...just realize that attaining a CCNA isn't an automatic pass into a good job in IT. The information itself is still quite valuable and if you are comprehending the course work and retaining the knowledge, it's a good basis on which to build your understanding of IT infrastructures in general.

That said, do you have any particular educational and career goals? As far as IT is concerned, there are a lot of different directions to take.

 

Thanks for getting back to me.

Yeah, I will finish it, I was just feeling a bit down after realising that Ill prob not get a job in networking simply with having the CCNA but I suppose it will teach me networking concepts and troubleshooting that can be used day-to-day in a user support role.

im currently working for a large newspaper group on their helpdesk and am surrounded by desktop/network technicians. Do you think it'd be a good idea to ask one of them if I can shadow them after I finish just to get a feel of what they do and the 2nd/3rd line role?

 

I think it's a great idea. Go for it.

 

I concur with counsellor Trip there!

Go for it - what have you got to lose?

 

I guess I'll be the lone potential dissenter. Whether or not you should continue depends on what it will cost you financially to continue, and how much is left to complete.

The CCNA will not help you get out of the help desk. Sure, the knowledge is useful... but how much will you have retained by the time you actually get to work on Cisco gear? And how much more difficult are your CCNA studies without a strong foundation of knowledge that is gained through real-world experience and studying lower-level certifications?

A few years ago, I was training to run a marathon. As I trained, I started running longer and longer distances. No matter how long the distance, I willed myself to keep going, to never stop, to never take a break. Then, one day, I read that it was actually *helpful* to walk, not run, one or more minutes out of every mile. I thought, "What? That can't be true! It's not logical that walking can speed you up!" But I tried it... and my time actually DECREASED. I could go farther in a shorter amount of time.

I guess what I'm saying is this... sometimes, you need to slow down and do the "easy stuff" (like A+, Network+, MCDST, etc.) so you can go even *faster* through the "hard stuff" (CCNA, CCNP, MCSE)... and over time, you'll have progressed much farther by doing so.

 

That is true... if getting the CCNA means it's going to cost you another £2k and take you... I don't know... 12 months plus, then you may be better picking up A+ and Network+ now, getting those certs under your belt and then picking up the CCNA again in a little while.

Depending on your experience, you could possibly sail through the A+ quickly, and move onto the N+ which (given your exposure to CCNA already) you could probably get done in little or no time as well.

That may well then give you that little bit of impetus, spark or whatever you want to call it, as well as extra knowledge to push you through CCNA2 and beyond.

 

Additionally, the A+ and Network+, along with a little experience, might be enough to help you get a better job. The CCNA, on the other hand, won't be useful until later in your career.

 

I would also hit Ebay and ciscokits.com and get a home lab set up. Really hard to explain to a potential employer (even if that employer is your current one) that you have your CCNA but don't have any hands on experience.

Once you can take a few routers and not only make them talk to each other, but also sing and dance with each other, then you're ready for your CCNA exam.

STUDY ON!!

 

thanks for all the replies. Ive already paid about £650 to the course so still have about £650 to pay. Its in a uni so i have access to all the labs and kit that a guy can want. I really do wish that I went down the A+ and N+ path but I suppose you have to learn from your mistakes. I think i will see the course through to the end and then maybe go for the A+ and N+.

I kinda feel a bit angry towards my uni because they dont really advise you on what course to pick, they only seem interested in getting your money. There's 16 people in my class, only 2 have a networking job, the rest are either like me or are doing the cisco course as they see it as a means to a career change. Suppose it'll teach me right for not looking into this further.

 

Since you've already invested the time and money there's no point of throwing it away. So I think you've done the right thing based on your current situation. Saying that, I agree with some of the earlier posts, going for the Network+ would have been the better choice.

What's done is done. So if the opportunity to shadow a 2nd/3rd level support person is available, jump all over that! If it means you have to work extended volunteer hours (incl. weekends) I'd still do it to gain experience, and possibly advancing to a higher position.

 

I think you should stick with it, but you if do bail out you may have covered a large part of the Network+ course already. So maybe taking the Network + exam and gaining a useful cert would maybe an option.

 

I was thinking. Ive still got 6 months to go of my course and have only completed ccna1. Rather than fork out another £650 on a course that isnt going to really get me anywhere, would I be better to do the A+ and N+ over the next 6 months instead? Self Studying. Ive got a few old PC's to destroy and might put them to good use. I know it seems like a waste but I really feel that id be better to do this in the long run and the ccna is something I could do later. At least Id then know what im letting myself in for

 

With so much good advice coming at you from both sides of the 'stick with or go for the A+/N+ debate', it is going to be difficult to make that decision; only you know how well you really feel you are getting on with the CCNA course.

Based on the further info you have given, my personal opinion is that, if the course is something you can go back to at a later stage with no time limit on completion or forfeit of any money, then A+ and certainly Network+ will give you the certifications (possibly quite quickly) to go with the experience you already have. This makes you that bit more marketable and who knows? You may eventually get into a role that allows you access to CISCO kit, or the opportunity to go for the exams whilst learning more about the kit on the job...

 

That was my advice.

What you have learned in the CCNA thus far won't totally go to waste... when you decide to pick up the CCNA again in the future, at least the concepts won't be completely foreign to you. And you can do the CCNA by self study as well!

 

Hi there and welcome to CF