Newbie seeking career/ certification advice

Phillies8607

Hey guys,

I'm seeking some career advice and some guidance on certificates/ bachelors degree.

Currently, I do not have any certifications nor do I have a degree. However, I have been working for a major ISP for the last 10 years as a service tech/ installer out in the field. At first I strictly worked on the residential side, but for the last 4 years I have been installing commercial services in small to medium sized businesses. Since then I have developed quite an interest in networking and WAN and LAN technologies and recently have decided to change my career and pursue a job in networking/ IT. Additionally, I have enrolled at Wilmington University for cybersecurity this fall and start this spring. Its probably going to take me 4 years attending classes part time in order to finish my bachelors.

So my question is, should I pursue any certificates while I am studying for my bachelors? This way i cold get a head start and maybe get a new job while I am in school. And if so, which certificates would be advantageous? I was thinking of starting with Comptia A+ and N+ and then maybe CCNA. Not sure which CCNA yet...maybe R&S, Service Provider, or Collaboration. If you’re not familiar with collaboration, it is a new course combining video and voice.

Also, what about Microsoft certs? These certs sound more geared towards a computer repair tech rather a networking technician

Anyways, thanks for any input. It is much appreciated!!

thatguy67

Yes, I would get certs while working on your degree. The sooner you have your certs and degree, the sooner you can get a job and begin getting professional experience.

I would start with the CCNA:R&S. Routing and switching are the fundamentals of networking, so I would get a firm understanding of that before venturing off into a CCNA specialty track. . You can take a combination of Cisco exams #100-101 and #200-101 to get the CCNA:R&S, or you can take one combined exam #200-120. I would recommend the 2 exam method to make it more manageable. By passing the 100-101 exam, you get a certification already: the CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician). There are a ton of study materials available for R&S. Service Provider and Collaboration...not so much.

I wouldn't bother with the A+ given your experience. The A+ is probably most geared towards a computer repair tech. Network+ is somewhat equivalent to the CCENT. I believe you will have spent at least $700 for those two certifications if you pass the first time. I personally skipped the CompTIA stuff because money is very tight and I don't think they would have a good ROI. If you play your cards right with student discounts etc you can really save some money. I will have paid a little over $400 for my MCSA, CCNA and VCP because I was patient and took advantage of my student status.

Microsoft certs are not to be underestimated. You can get certified in Windows client or Windows Server. The Windows client cert is best for a help desk/desktop support role. The Server cert is for a system admin, working with Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, Hyper-V, etc. You typically don't get intimate with that stuff until you've had a bit of experience.

[Deleted User]

Answer to that question is YES!!! Study for certs while doing your degree. Don't go overboard as possibly grades/GPA could suffer. The concepts from the theory of class will mix with the real world view of certs like the CCNA. I would start with Network+ and then do Security+ followed by the CCENT then CCNA Routing and Switching. Those certs will cover around 70%-80% of your classes for networking/security material. I would not pursue SP or collaboration only because collaboration is more voice/video side of networking and Routing and Switching will be a better benefit in the long run. Also, if you are new to Cisco, it will be harder to pursue the specialization tracks without the foundation of R&S. Although they mostly require CCENT as the foundation, I don't believe that is the case. Ex: CCNA Security covers spanning tree concepts like RootGuard that you would only know if you did ICND2 studies. With only ICND1, it would be a lot harder to understand the material. For Mircosoft, I would say MCSA 2012. Don't pursue 2008 as Server 2016 is already in the technical preview stage and Microsoft will soon be developing certs for that OS and 2008 will be phased out I say by the end of 2016.

Phillies8607

Thanks guys. Really appreciate the advice. I will definitely it into consideration. I think I'll start with N+, then Security, then CCNA R&S