Looking for Advice

iggy05

Hello all! Been browsing the forums as a guest for awhile now but actually have a question now. First just a little background on what I do and what my goals are. For the past 8 years or so I have been working for an ISP company that deploys Fiber to the Home and the other side is a Wireless ISP. When I first entered into this I was just an installer but as time went on I became familiar and more into the whole networking side of things. As of right now I am one of the main admins and designer of the WISP side of things but I am also very much into a good part of the fiber backbone as well.

So right now I am at a point in my career that I am realizing that I really need to fill in the gaps on what I don't know in networking. I know switching pretty well. I actually am certified already for Calix since it saved the company money. Routing is more on the lacking side. I am not exactly looking for another job as I like my job but I like to keep my options open.

So what am I asking? Well I was originally looking at going the Cisco route. But we don't use Cisco at all and instead we use Brocade for the routing and Calix for the switching. We also run an IT service though the company and 98% of our customer base does not use Cisco either! The ones that do are branches of larger companies that have someone that takes care of that part already. So I ask myself should I go the Cisco route even though in the end I probably won't use there equipment anytime soon or should I take a different route like Network+ for starters and then jump into some of the more specifics on what I am working on. Thoughts?

TheFORCE

You can start with Network+, fill the gaps on the fundamentals that you might have. Then consider CCNA, even though it might not be relevant to your position now, you never know how the business will change. Business and money drives a lot of the decisions and contracts for companies. Having some exposure on different technologies will only make you more risielient to changes. The thing with Cisco is that it's everywhere and you will probably not have any issues if you ever consider moving. Brocade also over certifications as well, not sure if you have any of those.

paraspiral

I agree network + first to fill in fundamentals. Brocade has some certs also. You should do the one on the equipment you work on since it should be easier and you should know some of the material. Also it will make you more proficient for you current jobs. Then you might want to look at some Cisco related certs.

koz24

Skip Network+ and go right into Cisco. Look for a new job once you're certified. Profit.

BlackBeret

If you're lacking the basics there's nothing wrong with Network+, or even just studying the material for it and not paying for the certification.

The good thing about the Cisco route is that Cisco specific information is minimal, and it's mostly networking. I've seen a lot of networking jobs that request CCNA/CCNP, but aren't solely using Cisco equipment, they just want some sort of certification to show networking knowledge and experience. The Cisco certs are recognized more than most others as well. It's not a bad investment at all.