Expand general knowledge or take a specialized path?

CaptainL

Hi I'am currently a CCNA, and I don't have any experience in a any networking field. Lately I've been browsing the job ads and there's one thing I noticed in our area is that there is a limited networking jobs available and sometimes one of their qualifications is to also know some system administrator skills(which I lack). So will it be better to study some technologies for system administrators? or go straight for CCNP which I think I'am specializing in networking if I do that.

I'm still undecided which area should I specialized since I haven't study any system admin tehcnology and I'm planning to take my specialization depending on the job I would get. any advice?

BioHunta

I think there are a number of factors to look at in a decision like this.

Probably the most pressing would be your current job situation. Are you currently employed, and working in the IT field? If you're looking for your first position, or just any position so you can pay the bills, I would do what would help you get a job in the field the quickest. Sounds like in that case, you would look to diversify your skill-set.

Another huge factor to look at is what interests you? What draws you to networking when, as you've said, you don't have any experience in it? My advice (for what it's worth ) would be to try to generalize for your first couple of years in IT. I think that by being exposed to everything there is (virtualization, security, networking, servers, etc...), you will automatically begin to develop a good sense of which parts of IT you like most. Maybe you thought security sounded really cool, but after working for a couple years, you began to get cold-sweats every time a security-oriented project came your way. etc... Or maybe, you might find that you enjoy being a jack-of-all-trades more, and that specializing in one field of IT was too narrow for your personality/mind.

One other thing to look at, and I think you'll find this thought echoed a good amount in the TechExams arena, is that a CCNP without real-world networking experiencing doesn't add a whole lot to the table over a CCNA in the same boat. Now, I'm definitely not saying it's worthless, as it isn't. However, a CCNP without any experience would raise a couple eyebrows. I can't imagine it would vastly improve your odds at being hired for even a CCNA level position, as I think most IT managers would higher a CCNA with experience over a CCNP without. I truly believe you would do yourself a favor by starting to learn about other areas of IT. If you are dead set on networking, I would to look at becoming more familiar with Linux. Linux and Networking tend to go hand and hand, not to mention that Linux stands in its own right as a very valuable IT skill.

Good luck on the job search!

CaptainL

BioHunta wrote: »

I think there are a number of factors to look at in a decision like this.

Probably the most pressing would be your current job situation. Are you currently employed, and working in the IT field? If you're looking for your first position, or just any position so you can pay the bills, I would do what would help you get a job in the field the quickest. Sounds like in that case, you would look to diversify your skill-set.

Another huge factor to look at is what interests you? What draws you to networking when, as you've said, you don't have any experience in it? My advice (for what it's worth ) would be to try to generalize for your first couple of years in IT. I think that by being exposed to everything there is (virtualization, security, networking, servers, etc...), you will automatically begin to develop a good sense of which parts of IT you like most. Maybe you thought security sounded really cool, but after working for a couple years, you began to get cold-sweats every time a security-oriented project came your way. etc... Or maybe, you might find that you enjoy being a jack-of-all-trades more, and that specializing in one field of IT was too narrow for your personality/mind.

One other thing to look at, and I think you'll find this thought echoed a good amount in the TechExams arena, is that a CCNP without real-world networking experiencing doesn't add a whole lot to the table over a CCNA in the same boat. Now, I'm definitely not saying it's worthless, as it isn't. However, a CCNP without any experience would raise a couple eyebrows. I can't imagine it would vastly improve your odds at being hired for even a CCNA level position, as I think most IT managers would higher a CCNA with experience over a CCNP without. I truly believe you would do yourself a favor by starting to learn about other areas of IT. If you are dead set on networking, I would to look at becoming more familiar with Linux. Linux and Networking tend to go hand and hand, not to mention that Linux stands in its own right as a very valuable IT skill.

Good luck on the job search!

Thanks for your reply. I work right now in a software company as a software tester. After reading your opinion about this I'm now leaning to study other technologies and maybe I would find which specific technology I would be enjoying most. thanks again!