PASSED CCNA - what next!?!?!

Discussion in 'General Cisco Certifications' started by mentman, Apr 27, 2009.

  1. mentman

    mentman Bit Poster

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    Hi everyone,

    I passed my ccna last week, very happy! (self studied - 2-months)

    Now im wondering what to do next.

    I only have a the CCENT and CCNA in terms of certs, Im working part time as a helper in the IT department of a large college, getting hands on with pcs, wireless and if im lucky a bit of cisco kit! Theres no chance there of me moving up into full time as there department is full.

    Should i step up now and go for the ccnp and try and get a network related job after that? Or should i pick up A+ and N+ (which should be a easy) and go for a entry level network/desktop support role, gaining experience?

    At the end of the day I aiming to work with networks and want to be a CCIE R&S and Security, im 18 years old at the moment. So either way im in need of a job to fund CCIE the treck.

    Thanks ppl!

    MENTalMAN
     
    Certifications: CCNA, CCENT, ITE, 642-812 BCMSN
    WIP: 642-901 BCSI
  2. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    IMO, find a full-time/part-time job in IT, by starting to send out your CV/application forms now.

    To be honest from the sounds of it, it doesn't sound as if you're dealing with Cisco kit alot, let alone installing, configuring and troubleshooting converged local and wide area networks with 100 to 500 or more nodes. So go for the entry level IT jobs, build up your experience and remember the CCIE certification alone is not what gets you the big money, it's the experience that the CCIE reflects that does :)

    -ken
     
    Certifications: MSc, PGDip, PGCert, BSc, HNC, LCGI, MBCS CITP, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCE, A+, N+, S+, Server+
    WIP: MSc Cyber Security
  3. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    You should be going for experience and the lower level certs.

    We have had people on here before without much experience who have had certs like the CCNA and they have had to hide the cert on their cv to get interviews because certs like the CCNA are supposed to show your experienced with cisco kit.

    A+ and N+ imo and entry level position.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  4. Richie1888

    Richie1888 Byte Poster

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    honest opinion step up to ccnp whilst the ccna stuff is fresh in your mind. I live in Scotland and the CCNA gets you nothing up here don't know how much of a difference there is down south. not to disagree with greenbrucelee but I would go for A+ or N+ if you have a ccna, I don't think A+ is up to much at all and the N+ I would have thought would be worthless with a ccna.

    if you can get the ccnp then you would be in a position to go onto things like voip and security which would make you more attractive on a cv but I do agree with GBL in so far as employers looking for expericance to go with certs.

    I have always been told and have read that if you can get a ccna then your are atleast at MCSA level difficulty wise.

    just my opinion anyway.
     
    Certifications: See Sig
    WIP: Security+
  5. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    In my humble opinion, I'd just go for your CCNP purely based on what certs our network team have. The A+ and N+ would have been useful prior to your CCNA but since you#ve already skipped ahead to a cert thats considered to be a higher level, I'd carry on down the Cisco path. As a few of the guys have said however, without experience your certs start to look suspect. If it were me I'd apply for every job I could and try your hardest to get your foot in the door and gain hands on experience with routers etc.
    Its a terrible market to get into at the minute due to the recession but it can be done. If you don't get taken on I'd deffo consider doing the MCDST qualification as whilst entry level, is well recognised and will help you get that first position. Best of luck
    James
     
    Certifications: VCP4, 5, 6, 6.5, 6.7, 7, 8, VCAP DCV Design, VMConAWS Skill, Google Cloud Digital Leader, BSc (Hons), HND IT, HND Computing, ITIL-F, MBCS CITP, MCP (270,290,291,293,294,298,299,410,411,412) MCTS (401,620,624,652) MCSA:Security, MCSE: Security, Security+, CPTS, CCA (XenApp6.5), MCSA 2012, VSP, VTSP
    WIP: Google Cloud Certs
  6. morph

    morph Byte Poster

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    Agree with the above comments about getting your foot in the door, because believe me changing switch configs or router configs at home is very differant to doing it in your corporate network - i compare it to dj'ing, doing it in your bedroom is one thing - standing in front of 1500 people is very much a differant kettle of fish - but go for the job dude, hands on experience is where its at, the last year for me has been a rollercoaster, but i've picked up alot, this weekend i'm changing configs, WAN settings etc.. for a whole call centre - sort of by myself ;)
     
    Certifications: Network +, ITIL Foundation, CCENT, CCNA
    WIP: server/ccna security

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