Some Questions about 70-680 vs. CCNA

[ibex333]

Not sure where to post this. Hopefully this is a correct place.

I am a Data Communications major, but a part of my program involves taking classes where we study Server 2008, Windows 7, Deployment, image creation and installation, etc.

I am enjoying this stuff a lot more than I do Cisco Networking and I would be happy to work as a server admin in the future. However, I am going to take a wild guess here, and assume that these guys are probably getting paid very little and it's very hard to find a job as a server admin. As I have found, the stuff that I tend to enjoy is mostly useless in the real world, and it's the boring, tedious, difficult stuff that is actually valued in today's job market.

Am I right to assume that? Is it worth taking and passing the 70-680 exam and possibly the more advanced ones on that particular track?

 

[drebo]

Actually, most places in the SMB range (5-50 users, sometimes up to 150 users) want their "Server Administrators" to be able to do everything. And by everything, I mean that they want the "Server Administrator" to be an expert in GPOs, Cisco networking, Exchange administration, Database administration, VMWare, and hardware. Obviously, most of the time, you get a guy who sucks at all of those, but may have once looked at each of them or read about them on the Internet.

This has been the trend in the last 5 years. Gone are specialty administrators in all but very large organizations and government agencies.

My advice? Do both.

 

[her209]

If you want to go into Windows Server admin, it certainly wouldn't hurt to get the MCITP.
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-windowsserver.aspx#tab3

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Windows Server 2008 Good luck my friend. Enjoy your career patching up buggy MS Operating sytems.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

Actually, most places in the SMB range (5-50 users, sometimes up to 150 users) want their "Server Administrators" to be able to do everything. And by everything, I mean that they want the "Server Administrator" to be an expert in GPOs, Cisco networking, Exchange administration, Database administration, VMWare, and hardware. Obviously, most of the time, you get a guy who sucks at all of those, but may have once looked at each of them or read about them on the Internet.

This has been the trend in the last 5 years. Gone are specialty administrators in all but very large organizations and government agencies.

My advice? Do both.

x2 to this one, find a Server Admin job on Monster or Career Builder and look at the qualifications they are looking for. It's like two or three different jobs crammed into one.

 

[airdata]

Not bad to get both. CCNA should lead to a more specialized job role working with cisco equipment and in most cases getting paid more.

70-680 would be good for a help desk type role. Would be good to have both plus a degree under your belt.

 

[Emulex]

yeah its impossible to find folks with ccna/ccda (ccda is a good next step after ccna since you need to design to sell/engineer).