Welcome to me!!

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 all,

Just wanted to welcome myself to Cisco section as just begun my OU course on the CCNA after having got my N+ 2009 last month.

I'm 2 weeks in and loving it so far! Starting off with stuff I kinda know already while getting some hands on using their own virtual "packet tracer" software to practice on real network set ups.

The best part of my course is the 4 day schools we get at intervals over the next 8 months, to work on real equipment, connecting together etc. which I think is the best part and hopefully using that experience and then going on to pass the CCNA will hopefully get me an entry level networking job fingers crossed although I know theres no guarantees! Like life!

But here we are, will defo keep you posted on my progress over the coming months and hopefully use the forums for some much needed advice from you all )


Cheers guys

 

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.

Glad to hear you are liking it! Definately keep us updated on how it is going. I have this on my list of OU courses (I am doing the ICT Degree), and would love to hear from someone who is actually taking it. Best of luck.

 

Good to hear you're having fun with it. It's makes it a lot easier to learn if you enjoy what you're doing. The CCNA isn't intendid to be an entry-level certification. Good luck in the studying and your career overall.

 

Interesting. What is an entry-level networking job?

 

Thanks Boson,

I suppose that was a little noobie of me! Well, I am looking to get a foot in the door into the industry and as i have heard countless times, they need experience! But how are you supposed to get experience in something unless you do it!

I know it is a little stupid me thinking I can get a job off the back of the CCNA, but I cannot help but wonder why I would have to be a 1st Line helpdesk support advisor for microsoft products when I am studying/learning how to configure Cisco products, surely this is not the only way into the IT industry?


I have read the employment forums on here but still find myself struggling to find any positions that would have Networking involved in it without doing helpdesk work!

I suppose I will have to persist in this vain and hope that studying hard for 9 months and paying £1000 to learn a new career it will not go to waste being something that is worthless on my CV without job experience!

If you could advise the best way for me to tackle this initial entering in to the industry that would be great.



Cheers all

 

By starting out in an entry-level position like help desk, then moving up to desktop support in a domain environment... where you can shadow the server admins until you get enough experience to get a proper server admin job... where you can shadow the network admins until you get enough experience to get a proper network admin job... where you can shadow the security specialists until...

...I'm sure you get the picture.

The question is backwards: Why are you studying/learning how to configure Cisco products when entry-level techs aren't hired to administer Cisco gear?

My point exactly. Networking jobs are typically entrusted to people with experience. Not because you can't do it and not because you haven't studied to do it... but because there are techs out there looking for work who have already "been there, done that".

If you were an employer, who would YOU hire to administer your network? Someone with experience or someone with certifications but no experience?

On the other hand, who would you hire to do help desk work? Someone with experience or something with no experience? They don't need experienced techs to do help desk work... and as such, that's a great starting point for an IT career.

Plus, no matter how much you learn in a classroom or from a book, lab environments aren't the same as real-world environments. You'll learn *so* much in your first IT job.

I'd recommend getting entry-level certifications, such as the A+, Network+, and MCDST. That said, you don't HAVE to have ANY of those certifications to get into IT... they simply make you more attractive to entry-level employers.