Cisco certification or "Who Wants to be a CCNA?"

[bigd480]

I picked up the CCNA kit from buy.com when it was DOTD because I was always interested in finding out more about it...

For those of you who are CCNAs or know more about the certification:

How beneficial is it?
How long should I study?
Will I necessarily make more because I'm certified?
Is it difficult? tedious? worthwhile?

I am graduating next December from the #4 MIS program in the country. Though I am a hardcore tech person I want to go into the business side of Information Technology because I'm just as interested in that aspect and see more room for growth there. However, I know that to get to that side you have to do your time doing techy stuff, and I like hardware/networking more than programming (No, I don't suck at programming).

Anyways, share your rhoughts on the Cisco stuff or my job outlook in general.

Thanks,

Big D

 

[THELAIR]

there are somewhere around 50,000 CCNA's in existence. Its quite common. It is also considered an "entry" level certification in that unfortunetly ALOT of people have it. Your best bet is to couple it with another cert like say perhaps the MCSE or novel certs to make your self more attractive to an employer. If you have a strong underlying understanding of network topologies and protocols then the CCNA isnt TOO HARD, 1/3rd of it is "theory" so to speak, the whole OSI model and TCP/IP is tested strongly on this cert. They recently updated it to a new version, version 2 which includes some more WAN type information.

The CCNA overall is a tough exam if you dont have a very strong background in networking, alot of material is covered in this exam and you have to make sure it sinks in. However if you are competent in "Networking 101" so to speak, then this exam after you learn a dozen or so cisco IOS commands isnt that difficult.

Newbie: 3 months study time
Experienced: 2-3 weeks (less if you allready have cisco experience)

You can pass this exam with out ever touching a cisco router, however that is somewhat self defeating.

If you want to follow up on the cisco certification line, you are taken much much much more serioulsy if you pass the CCNP exams, and you are networking GOD if you get your CCIE

If you are getting into networking then the CCNA will DEFINITLY not hurt you.

hope that helps

 

[bigd480]

I've taken a networking class and am about to take another more advanced one so I am confident I will be able to handle the test.

MCSE is more time-consuming, and I don't want a networking job for long.

Basically I want to set myself apart a little bit from other graduates because half of the people in my MIS classes (chicks) couldn't tell a router from a USB hub.

Thanks for the help

 

[ATLien247]

There's a difference?

 

[Linh]

although i'm not in this field, most of my friends are. i know tons and tons of ppl with ccna and msce. i'd say you'd have to go as far as ccnp to set yourself apart.

 

[atomicbomberman]

What about for my purpose? I basically want to get this certification so I can pay for college. I think CCNA is.. gues you can call it.. a backup kinda skills to have, just so that I would at least be able to get a job rite after and during college.

 

[Vortex22]

I'm lucky. I get the whole 2 year CCNA course from my HS for free. They spent more $$ on my class then on anything else in the school. We have like 10 2500 series routers, 30 brand new 800 mhz Dells with Win2k and a big jacked up Cisco room with the ladder racks and everything

 

[Pyro]

TWO years for CCNA? come on! that is not worth it. I heard of it being offered in one of the high schools in my area, but 4 semesters for CCNA is simply a waste of time. Instead you can study CCNA books for like 3-4 months then take a 1 month course and then the exam. I can get the books for 5* bux and the course (with real switches and routers and practical experience) for 400* bux. I can complete the course in less than 6 months in my spare time.




* all in canadian funds

 

[Jal]

THELAIR summarized everything nicely.

As for 2 years in HS to pass CCNA, that is nutz. Someone got soaked on the deal.

CCNA just proves you understand the basics. Get the CCNA then work on the CCNP, then you have value.

You can easily pass the CCNA exam after understanding the Boson preexam questions.

Boson Exams

 

[Deicide]

Pyro:

I'm in that same 2 year, 4 semester HS cisco class that you say is a waste of time. I don't agree, since, like vortex, we have a big lab with a bunch of 2500 series routers, switches, hubs, workstations, linux and win2k adv. gateway servers and lots of other stuff. You may be able to get your ccna in 4 months, but it will be pure "paper," since you'll probably have minimal experience on actually setting up a network using the routers. The class isn't just a 2 year review of the ccna exam, it covers tons and tons of stuff about the hardware and networking theories. I think just reading a book, a braindump, and taking a crash course is a waste of my time, since I won't get a real understanding of the hardware and IOS, but to each his own. Plus, its free, can't go wrong with that.

 

[Jal]

Deicide I agree knowing and working with the equipment is the way to go. Paper smart is worthless.

Still, 2 years for CCNA training is way too much overkill. You could get CCNP Certified, with hands on, experience, and understanding, in 2 years.

 

[Deicide]

Jal,

Yeah, I agree with you on that. I wish I could go for my CCNP, hopefully the college I go to will have some sort of program for that.

 

[snut]

iam currently taking cisco networking at my school, but the time I gruadte Ill be cisco certify

 

[Vortex22]

I'm shooting for that CCIE lol

I've heard that you have to pay thousands of dollars just to register for the test, then you have to find your way to one of the 2 places that the test is offered in the US! The test has 2 parts, the 1st one consists of them locking you up in a room for like a day with a seriously screwed up huge router (I'm talking internal hardware problems, not just software.) You have to get it working in a certain amount of time to pass the 1st part. The 2nd part consists of a huge, nearly impossible written exam. I got this info from my teacher (Who is not a CCIE but knows how it works, I think.)

 

[DonaldDuck82]

Hey if any of y'all wanted to know your stuff on networking I would get an EE degree.

 

[Darein]

I was taking the cisco networking academy from school and I thought it sucked. It didn't really follow any logical order, jumping all around. I just got a book, read it all, and took the test. It was pretty hard, the give you questions that have answers very similar to eachother. CCNA can't hurt though.

 

[Subversal]

I looked at how much they were offering for a CCIE in my area... around $160-180K. Insane. I got that DOTD too but not working on my cisco cert's until I'm done my MCSE certs.



<< Hey if any of y'all wanted to know your stuff on networking I would get an EE degree. >>




That is way easier said then done. I went 2 1/2 years for a EE degree and it is not for everybody. Let say I don't have it yet nor will I ever have it.

 

[Cable God]

How beneficial is it? To me it was VERY beneficial when it came to salary and fringe benefits.

How long should I study? It depends on how much you enjoy it. It you like dealing with routing/switching/command line(telnet) type of stuff that's very technical, you will learn it much faster. I studied and did most of it hands on at the lab we have at work for experiments.

Will I necessarily make more because I'm certified? If your current employer doesn't raise you (a NICE raise), you could start to work tomorrow easily at another company making quite a bit more.I wouldn't walk in demanding a raise or act cocky like they owe you something. I look at it as &quot;covering my rear&quot; because CCNA/CCNP is in very high demand. It really depends on how much experience you have to go with the cert is what would determine your salary I think.

Is it difficult? tedious? worthwhile? It is not difficult if you enjoy it like I do. It does get very technical, at least my exam was a little harder than what I heard. It is VERY worthwhile if you're looking to move up into the higher salary range in the IT world.

 

[Cable God]

<< MCSE is more time-consuming >>



Maybe for some people. I think a lot has to do with how strong your will to learn the material is and how much you enjoy working with it. For the MCSE+Inet track, I studied for 3 weeks, scheduled 6 exams to span 6 days, 1 exam per day in a row and passed all with a score of 866/1000 or higher on all the exams, including the NT Server Enterprise exam. A lot of these cert exams are made out to be harder than they really are. I think a lot of people are intimidated by them because you have to pay $100 or more just to take the exam while they hear from friends how hard they are or how hard they heard they are. They're not that bad if you have a strong desire to learn it and how well you absorb information.

 

[Jal]

With a CCIE Cert today, you could right your own ticket.. You won't have to look for a job, the headhunters will be right on you.

Your resume only needs your Name, Phone Number, and CCIE Number. The rest does not matter. You can not be book smart with a CCIE.

 

[Cable God]

<< I've heard that you have to pay thousands of dollars just to register for the test, then you have to find your way to one of the 2 places that the test is offered in the US! The test has 2 parts, the 1st one consists of them locking you up in a room for like a day with a seriously screwed up huge router (I'm talking internal hardware problems, not just software.) You have to get it working in a certain amount of time to pass the 1st part. The 2nd part consists of a huge, nearly impossible written exam. I got this info from my teacher (Who is not a CCIE but knows how it works, I think.) >>



Oh yes, that cert is without a doubt the &quot;big daddy&quot; of them all from what I hear from my collegues. I heard that the first part is a written exam, then depending on how you do on the written exam (not multi-choice, or so I hear), they MAY invite you back to take the hands on lab, which consists of a cisco switched and routed, enterprise sized LAN/WAN. I think that's a little over my head now, so I don't think I will be attempting it for a quite a while. My brain has only so much disk space

 

[Cable God]

Jai, I totally agree with that. The people you hear about that get those huge, lucrative sign-on bonuses are the CCIE's. Maybe one day.......

 

[EmperorNero]

<< You can not be book smart with a CCIE. >>



do you mean that a person cannot just read books to be able to pass the test? if so, what other skills do you need?

and with enough time to study for the CCIE, can anyone get it?

 

[Cable God]

yes, you can't just be &quot;book smart&quot; and pass the CCIE, but it IS theoretically possible. I wouldn't want to blow the chance and waste thousands of dollars in the process. So, no, I don't think you could pass by just reading books. You need a deep understanding along with the hands-on to pass it from what I've heard.

 

[THELAIR]

Heres the deal on the Cisco CCIE certification
(Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)

Cisco generally says that it takes 6 years of experienve before you have the proper backend knowledge to successfully pass the stated requirements for this cert.

There are 4 &quot;specializations&quot; of the CCIE cert

CCIE Routing and Switching

CCIE SNA/IP Integration

CCIE ISP Dial Up

CCIE WAN Switching

Then there is the CCIE design cert

Regardless of what track you decide to follow, you first have to pass a 2 hour 100 multiple choice question exam. Then and only then, depending on if you pass or not, are you invited to one of 11 locations around the world where there are labs setup to handle this test. The two in the US are in San Jose and the other is in North Carolina, for Canada its in Halifax.

After you pass the gruelling 100 question test in under 120 minutes, you then get to do the lab.

The lab is 2 days, and costs a 1 thousand dollars per attempt.

Day 1 consists of you being taken into a room, shown a table full with a few million dollars worth of network equipment, a box in the other corner full of rj-45, fiber optic and other cabling, then a sheet of paper outlining what it is they want you to do with all that stuff. You have all day to complete the outlined task.

Depending on how well you do on the first day, they may or may not let you continue with the 2nd day. Then 2nd day is when things get fun On the 2nd day, a cisco rep will walk into your beautifull network creation that you spent all day setting up, configuring and tweaking to make it work just right and fsuck it up! could be anything from takin a hammer to a fiber cable or formating a few routers routing tables or any number of numerous things!!

However what they WONT TELL YOU is that before you get a chance to a) find out whats wrong and b) correct it back to its previous working state, the test lab will send in an allready certified CCIE and time him to see how long it takes him to find `n fix the problem. When you go into the lab you then have to come within a certain percentage (+/- 30-45 mins i think) of that guys successfull resolution of the problem. If you take WAY to long, you fail.

you must achieve 80% for all tests, and they are EXTREMLY PICKY.

There are just over 3,000 CCIE's, half of which are in the US. The majority work for Cisco or cisco gold/silver/platinum member corporations.

The only other networking exam that comes CLOSE to trying to pull off what cisco has done is Red Hat with their RHCE cert (Red Hat Certified Engineer), you have to take a lab in order to get their cert.

There is also alot of talk of adding a lab requirement to the CCNP exam as well, i wouldnt be surprised if its implemented later this year.

IF only microsoft required one of its core exams to be done via a lab, the MCSE certification would carry alot more weight than it does now. For win2k why dont they make em take a computer, install Win2k Server, setup active directory, create a few users, make a tree or other OU's, setup a lil firewall and be done with it? Let the person only have 3 chances, have to wait 3 months between each chance... i mean every major testing center that is listed with sylvan or pro vue HAVE COMPUTERS, cuz they dont make their money off of hte percentage they get on teh 100 bucks per test, they make their money training other people, so why not make every testing centres requirement to be a MCSE testing center to have one or 2 spare systems dedicated to a MCSE lab exam requirement. You could setup a 2nd system to fake a larger network, i mean IT WOULDNT BE THAT HARD TO DO, but microsoft wont do it. This is one reason why i have no desire to upgrade my NT4 MCSE to the Win2k MCSE.

So when i say the CCNA is an 'entry' level cert, i mean that in comparison to the CCIE. The CCNA is 'okay' but its just that, an entry level cert, but everyone has to start somewhere right?

BTW to pass the CCIE exam you need NOT be a CCNA or a CCNP, however no one that i nkow of has passed the CCIE without hvaing gone through the other 2 cert processes hehehe

hope that helps those looking at taking hte cisco course.

If your into networking there are other paths

Citrix, Novel, Security (CISSP, SANS GIAC, Checpoint CISA etc) of course cisco, but novel also has their own cert process, same with intel and 3com. There are others i just cant remember.