Network engineer : CCNP or Masters in IT/or Computer Science (Next move?)

evarney

I'm looking for guidance, maybe some of you more senior network engineers can throw in your two cents.

I am a network admin/engineer with a heavy background in Cisco switching and a little routing. I have my CCNP : Switch completed and need the ROUTE and TSHOOT but am slightly burnt out on cisco exams in general. I've done other vendors and bought a bunch of network equipment to play with. I also volunteer my networking skills for a local non-profit.

My question is, I have literally been in school for 8-9 years since I graduated highschool and I got my Applied Science Associates in Networking Administration and Support and a Bachelors in Applied Science : Information Technology from A&M, but I just felt like I got the inferior education and the CS people walked away with more timeless knowledge. Maybe I am mistaken but..atleast they took Architecture, Calculus and the discrete math. All I did was the practical hands on stuff that seems to change every few years. Sure the basics of Linux/Unix and Networking really remain the same but with the future of computing I have to say Networking is going to not at all resemble what it did when I first took Cisco in Highschool. This field is going to get really interesting when quantom computing takes center stage in the next few decades. I know that sounds a bit far off, but we live in exponential times.

what should my next move be? Should I just finish up the CCNP and say to hell with school? I'd have to take TRIG, CAL, Discrete math and some other stuff to get the pre-reqs and I am thinking I'd like to do that, but who really cares about degrees these days?

I feel like school can be a great enviroment to keep me sharp but I just wonder if I will be getting my ROI.

if I were to finish a masters from WGU or somewhere online I could avoid a lot of the BS i went through with regards to the logistics of getting from point A to B and the challenges of the schedule.

Only problem is my employer doesn't reimburse for WGU due to its six month session based semesters which sucks. They will pay for job related stuff like a class in Computer Architecture on a class by class basis.

The sad part is all the really good network engineers that I've known had no bachelors degree and they really really know networking...I am beginning to believe academia is essentially a scam and a religion that worships itself.

NOC-Ninja

If you are just starting then certs is good. However, you will get to the top which certs doesnt matter. You will find out that we are being judge on what we can produce.

I would say CCNP is the next move. Is CCNP enough ? IMHO no. In my experience, you need everything to connect the dots. Masters in IT will help you in management level. I dont see it helping you in network engineering. Look at cisco job openings. They want you to know RS, SEC side, sometimes wireless side and voice side.

networker050184

If you're already one exam down I'd just finish the CCNP off. It will definitely help you short term. Formal education would be more of a long term goal you can work on.

fuz1on

CCNP while you try to finish school. I feel the same way as you with IT education vs. Comp Sci. After I got an AS in Comp Prog, everything made more sense - like enlightenment. You need discrete and multi-variable - for sure! Maybe even some finite stuff - dealing with maximization/minimization. Data structures and programming paradigms were crucial as well. Also, it sucks that a Masters is the only way to upper management but it is what it is...

evarney

Well I was fufilling pre-reqs for a MBA but I personally believe now due to talking to people that the MBA program is generall worthless enless you go to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown, etc and you are connected. When I was younger I really had high hopes for myself but I am of the opinion that a Masters Degree does not really make you acheive greatness or even really make you a good leader. None of the great network engineers I know who have moved into managing great network engineering teams have sat on their thumb in academia for years.

Most of the MBAs I know are morons. The Business Majors where I went to school were all the stock high school jocks whose dad owned a dealership and totally hooked his son up. They all planned on working for their dad and spent the entire time getting drunk and trying to get laid.

Essentially my opinion of the MBA is that it would be worth something if it actually taught me something. Sure I'd like to someday move into management, but I also do not want to be a Douchebag. I am not aspiring to be a Lumberg.

That said, I wanted to really accomplish some cool stuff. I want to do it all. I really want to learn to hack, not get a certification in hacking. Be the guy that really saves the day by catching the buttholes who broke into Target, or the guy who busts the pedoassers and puts them away in 'federal pound me in the ass prison'. Hacks for a living and busts into N. Korea's networks and brings down a tyrant douchebag fatzo like Kim Jong Un etc. I want to have a career that's worth being proud of. Not being some douchebag who tries to save the company money by switching to one ply toilet paper...

bri88

For my first post I would like to say that last comment was awesome!

IIIMaster

You should be gunning for your ccnp and have your eyes on ccie.

aspiringsoul

Go for the certifications now. Later, you can pursue a Masters, possibly on your company's dime if you find an employer willing to pay for it.

rcsoar4fun

Take a vacation.

Buy two tickets to one of the all-inclusive Sandles resorts. Post an ad on craigslist asking for a female to accompany you on said trip. "Must be tall, fit, blonde, no drugs, etc".

You will look upon the world with renewed vigor upon return. Maybe.

GForce75

I would go the formal education route. I say that because it's something that doesn't EXPIRE and plus can help you with other jobs if times are rough. If you can, study on the side lightly on the certs. It's always possible. I just attended an 8 month US Army IT school and was working on my DBA at the same time. People thought I was crazy, but if you really want to get after it... you can even with the most false of motivation (key word is to be motivated one way or the other). Best of luck on your choice!

shodown

GForce75 wrote: »

I would go the formal education route. I say that because it's something that doesn't EXPIRE and plus can help you with other jobs if times are rough. If you can, study on the side lightly on the certs. It's always possible. I just attended an 8 month US Army IT school and was working on my DBA at the same time. People thought I was crazy, but if you really want to get after it... you can even with the most false of motivation (key word is to be motivated one way or the other). Best of luck on your choice!

This is one of the things that is so far from the truth that i don't even know if people think about it before they say it. If someone has a degree and they haven't used that degree in 5 years its pretty much lost the majority of its value. Of course if you are talking about check in the box jobs then it has a place.

Hammer80

Here is your problem, you think that getting an MBA automatically makes you a douchebag. The reason that there are so many douchebags in management with their MBA's is because people like you who choose not to get an MBA. The fact that you recognize that majority of the MBA's are douchebags already makes you more qualified. If we had more people like you getting MBA's maybe crap like Target getting hacked would never happen since you would recognize that hiring a felon to run your company network security is a very bad idea.

GForce75

Basically, yes it will act as a check in the block, but without it... you will be limited in some form. I'm working certs and college at the same time. Hammer80, your statement is confusing... but anyways, having an MBA along with the certs and management certs create a whole 360 perspective. Yes, even with losing value over time, if you took your degree serious, it really changes how you think and plan for a lifetime (that's what a degree should do for you, if not... well). For me, it has been great. I enjoy being an IT leader and I am successful because I understand how to incorporate the business side. Now I am working on PMP to tag along with the CISSP exam that I have passed. Having all this will make you a great CISO. Anyways, college will not get you everything. To accomplish the 360 you need:

1. College
2. Certifications
3. Experience
4. Networking other Professionals
5. Taking care of subordinates
6. Taking care of your peers
7. Taking care of your boss
8. Have a good reputation
9. Continue your education after you reached your goals (the day you stop learning is the day you become a box of rocks)
10. Don't listen to people who negatively advise you if they haven't accomplished themselves (others don't like you succeeding)

rcsoar4fun

The problem with the MBA degree is it tends to appeal to those that want to be the boss because they get to tell people what to do. Think Lumberg from Office Space. The MBA doesn't turn them into Dbags, it just attracts them.

GForce75

That's why when you show that you have other certs, experience, it compliments the MBA. An MBA solo with nothing else, yes I agree with you rcsoar4fun.

JeanM

rcsoar4fun wrote: »

Take a vacation.

Buy two tickets to one of the all-inclusive Sandles resorts. Post an ad on craigslist asking for a female to accompany you on said trip. "Must be tall, fit, blonde, no drugs, etc".

You will look upon the world with renewed vigor upon return. Maybe.

Hilarious!

Danielm7

shodown wrote: »

This is one of the things that is so far from the truth that i don't even know if people think about it before they say it. If someone has a degree and they haven't used that degree in 5 years its pretty much lost the majority of its value. Of course if you are talking about check in the box jobs then it has a place.

Yeah, it's a check box for HR that doesn't expire. If you do most certs but don't touch the material they are pretty useless to you too, not only that but they are likely expired and don't fill an HR check box.

rcsoar4fun

Danielm7 wrote: »

Yeah, it's a check box for HR that doesn't expire. If you do most certs but don't touch the material they are pretty useless to you too, not only that but they are likely expired and don't fill an HR check box.

HR having check boxes is a large part of the problem.

Danielm7

Sure, but it's likely not going away anytime soon, if anything it seems worse in the last decade.

GForce75

Danielm7 wrote: »

Yeah, it's a check box for HR that doesn't expire. If you do most certs but don't touch the material they are pretty useless to you too, not only that but they are likely expired and don't fill an HR check box.

Yep, you nailed it.

pevangel

I was in a similar situation and chose certifications because I found myself spending a ton of time studying for classes that didn't help me in my career. I will go back to school someday, but certifications makes more sense for me right now. That decision has helped me accelerate my career. I have less than 2 years experience in network engineering, and I'm doing things that I didn't think I'd be doing until I had 7-10 years of experience.

shodown

Danielm7 wrote: »

Yeah, it's a check box for HR that doesn't expire. If you do most certs but don't touch the material they are pretty useless to you too, not only that but they are likely expired and don't fill an HR check box.

If you want to work for those types of companies fine. I've interviewed at places that like to change the world, I have friends at those places, and I change the world a little bit in my current position. Those places typically don't have a a checkbox. But if thats what your after go for it.

techmunky

Depends on your goals, personally have only seen those benefit from masters in senior management or business roles, if you want engineering roles completing the CCNP would be a good option, especially if you're a bit light on the routing side.


As you've already completed Switch you only have the Route materials to learn to be able to complete both Route and TSHOOT exams to gain the cert.


With regards to certs expiring, as the TSHOOT is a hands on lab based exam I personally find this much easier to take and recertify than having to go back and memorize lots of material for the multiple choice questions in some exams plus you'd need to take something to renew your CCNA anyway.


Backed up with some decent real world experience the CCNP will help open up mid/senior level engineering roles and allow you a break from the cert chasing to flesh out your knowldege by reading some non-cert related materials.