Gone CCNA instead of MCSE.. advice needed

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I have been on the forums a while and was recently studying towards MS based cert (70-270 atm) hopefully getting MCSA/MCSE by the end of it.

I felt however that I am more of a hardware hands on type and so have decided to go CCNA. A colleague has just finished and managed to secure a job elsewhere (lucky sod) so that has given me extra encouragement. I am doing the N+ 1st tho to give me a bit of extra networking knowledge before cisco posesses my mind

sooooooooo

I am currently working on a helpdesk supporting mostly MS products and basic server stuff (backups, restarting processes etc).

but have to say it does my head in as I feel so restricted and know for a fact I will struggle to move forward in the near future as things stand. I have no doubt I could pass at least MCSA and already have a lab setup with server2003 with AD, dns, dhcp etc all working nice and sweet, it just isnt for me.

would it be worth getting the CCNA and maybe taking a couple of MCP's aswell? or do CCNA then move onto CCNP?

I am 34 btw and recently changed from being a chef into IT (8 months now) massive career change but IT/Networks and pc's are for fear of sounding sad - what keeps me going and gives me a buzz

I have gone with a training provider as I know for a fact I need to have that kick up the backside to get it finished and by paying for it the missus and kids will leave me alone a bit more :P


I also have no false impressions of guaranteed jobs, salaries and so on but am on a shite wage atm so anything more is a bonus. If I can finish this in 12 months and earn 20k p.a I feel it would be justified.

any extra tips/advice would be appreciated, do I need a hardware lab or is there any alternatives?

thanks in advance

Steve

 

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Thats cool that you decided to go with ccna, I did it at a school and its pretty interesting but it is tough so it requires a lot of work. But MCSA/E is different from CCNA. In my experience because I work with both, from the the beggining its better off to get N+ then MCP then become an MCSA. Having this base is very fundamental because not only is the knowledge applies to cisco but also provides you with Operating Systems knowledge. This knowledge in combination with cisco is very powerfull.

Anyways good luck with the studies and if you need help just let us know.

 

I have to say I have been umming and aahing over what to do and just felt that the MS side of thigs isnt really me. I have no doubts I will get MCSA aswell eventually. Theres no reason why I cant knuckle down to CCNA and also keep topping up my 70-270/70-290 (if as and when i get the 270 lol).

Luckily I work nights week on week off so i have plenty of time to learn while i earn so to speak.

I guess theres no right or wrong way to go aslong as you do what you feel is best for you and hopefully earn an honest crust in the process... thats my plan at least

I want to be earning 30k+ in 5 years time and if that means putting a bit of extra effort in now then so be it. Just wish i had been in the position to do this 3-5 years ago lol.

 

I understand and respect that, you know whats best for you, so if you say you can do it in that order well then you are right.

Good luck buddy

 

in all honesty the proof will be there in 18 months or so time when I am either CCNA and on my way up or still where I am now lol

got to be in it to win it so to speak, I guess I am slightly swayed to this route due to my friends recent success

quite a few at work sort of talked me out of MCSE as they felt it isnt as beneficial as experience (I know a fair bit already and am continually improving on my MS side of things anyway), whereas N+ & CCNA will hopefully add an extra dmension to my knowledge and therfor employability

time to start hitting the books!!!

 

well I am now cracking on with it, N+ 1st, hopefully wont take too long. I have to say thanks to certforums as i have been reading every thread going for links etc

I now have lots of extra tutorials, links and testing software (legit as my mate had it from his N+/CCNA escapades)

now I must study instead of playing pro evo or albatross18 online looooool

 

I noticed you mentioned that your more of a hardware person
the CCNA is not very hardware based to be fair, just because cisco make there own kit, doesnt mean you will ever do much to it
Cisco skillsets generally revolve around the software configuration of the devices and very very little on the hardware aspect

Good luck

 

www.proprofs.com is a good site for comptia material gibs

 

Absolutely sound advice. You're much more likely to be involved on the hardware side of things if you get a job as a result of a Microsoft cert than you are with a Cisco one.

Also, you are aware that the CCNA is the lowest cert that Cisco have? If you were looking towards getting the MCSE, then you should be aiming higher than the CCNA. Although there's no strict way to correlate the two, the CCNP would (or SHOULD) be the equivalent of the MCSE.

I think the fact that you have equated the CCNA with the MCSE as equal aspirational certs just goes to show how worthless the MCSE is nowadays. It should be the blue ribbon qualification for working in the IT industry with M$ products. Instead, the cert that I spent 18 months sweating blood and tears to achieve is now equated with the entry-level Cisco qualification that it took me two months to study for and pass first time...

 

You choose a hard track. But if you try best to do, nothing is impossible ^^

 

Hmmm, it's only equated like that by people that have not attained the MCSE. Unfortunately, that is the majority of people

 

every cert has its merits, I went ccna as I felt I was diversifying to much with MS stuff and found it hard to concentrate on specifics relating to the actual requirements.

with regards hardware its something I enjoy but as a career is not exactly going to earn top dollar, with 3 kids and mortgage I want to enjoy my job but also want to be able to pay the bills comfortably.

as I use MS every day and support it at work I know enough to perform this job competently. CCNA (or any networking) will hopefully open a few extra doors for me when certified, I will still do a few MCP's I am sure but not yet, with VISTA not long away and other exams undergoing a revamp (A+ for example) it seems a time of change as regards what to study and what not to study.

I am a realist and know that I am only worth as much as I know and can do. I certainly wouldnt expect top money just for having a cert but would like to hope that 2-3 years down the line I can be earning substantially more than at present and be competent enough to be an asset to a company as opposed to another payroll number.

anyway I am doing the CCNA now so that that hehe

thanks for links and advice folks, you lot are grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat (Tony the tiger impression)

 

Hey Gibbo, you're about 10 mins away from me (I live in Hitchin )
If you are looking for a bit more money, pick up the CCIE cert too. Seems a lot of higher paying employers are looking for this cert. (i've seen Network Consultant with that cert offering over £100K)

 

If only you could just "pick up" the CCIE..... life would be so much easier......

Unfortuanelty the CCIE is for people with years of experience and are router / network experts.

At least 6 exams and a written paper to get there.... so i wouldn't get anyone's hopes up

 

I also think that there are only about a hundred of them in the country, and aparently most of them work for BT.

 

not sure where you got that info from
the CCIE has two required paper exams, the 'CCIE written' is just a multi choice exam like the CCNA, not an actual written paper, on top of that you need a valid CCNA

the killer is the CCIE LAB exam, 8 hours in a datacenter in brussels configuring a multitude of devices across the product line in configurations that are somewhat limitless in imagination, it costs 1000 quid to sit, 90% of people fail it the first time, and 75% of retakes never pass at all
there are just over 10'000 worldwide, over 1350 of whom reside in the UK at last count

the written is actually the easy part, but you have only 18 months to do the LAB after that before it expires, I passed my CCIE Written back in '02 but could not justify the LAB exam off my own back and have not worked for a company significantly involved in the cisco side to warrent sending me back on the course either

I would say to whoever wants to 'pick up' a CCIE, you will spend a bucket load of time, sweat, blood and money attaining it, and to think its that easy is a bit disrespectful to those highly skilled individuals who have passed it

by the way
sure you can pick up 100k a day perm if your REALLY lucky (ive seen some twats offering 40k for CCIEs), but as a contractor you will earn 800 - 1500 a day as a good CCIE

 

Yeah sorry my bad...

My thought process has always been go for the CCNA and CCNP to progress towards CCIE...

So if you go that route it 1 for CCNA and 4 for CCNP before even starting on the CCIE stuff....

 

And its a cracking route to go mate, i too went that route, my point was the NP is for whatever reason, not an actual requirement for the CCIE, go figure!

It was mainly to highlight the process of becomming a CCIE, no beef with your post mate apart from the odd numbers

 

Yeah i was bit sleepy this morning

I did a quick count of 1 for CCNA, 4 for CCNP and 1 lab for CCIE to make 6 plus the written.

I might aim for the CCNP over the next few years, maybe starting next summer once i've delved into wireless and CEH a bit more.

So much to do, so little time!

Makes the day go quicker tho!

 

I apologise. I didn't mean it was easy by saying pick it up. I meant its a good idea to attain it (if you can). 1500 a day? Holy christ. Thats 300K for working just 200 days a year. WOW. I'm going to work towards that. I'll let you know how it goes ^^.

Where did you see such figures?