Job paths after CCNA

as title sates what jobs one could apply with having just ccna - as doing research,i know its limited a lot by locations wise landing entry junior engineer roles or any type of entry network jobs - since most companies look with people having few years experience and some other certs.

So its obvious that having ccna isnt much of door opener what would be advise of those who already are in IT to get extra certificates if choosing to go different paths then networking alone.

I know unix lpic,and server management is in demand <-but such roles usually then look for something like SQL database knowledge,thus it sorta gets more certs needed situation.

Atm i see there lots of places looking for desktop support and it really doesnt look for much networking experience,more like being able to manage desktop applications,mac wondows,but dealing with customers and specially the hard kind that has little to none experience and doing walk troughs isn't my strongest point.

thus any alternatives someone can offer to get past the bar and get into different IT roles are welcome.Since asking thus knowing that someone who already does some IT job would know what qualifications are needed and what benefits/drawbacks it has.

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Comments

ITSpectre

So its obvious that having ccna isnt much of door opener what would be advise of those who already are in IT to get extra certificates if choosing to go different paths then networking alone.

Huh? Talk to anyone on here that has a CCNA. The CCNA is a door opener. But you have to actually learn the material and not just get it to get a different job.
Is networking what you really want to do? or do you just want more money? Do you have a Net+ if not I would start with that then get your CCNA. Working in IT is about finding something you want to do, and planning a path to get there....

ITSpectre

I wanted to ask....

Is this your first IT job? if so then its best to start with A+, Net+, Sec+ and THEN plot your course from there....

Most of people that work in IT started in Desktop support roles. People that qualify for network jobs at least need 3-4 years of experience, a CCNA, or another certification like Net+, Sec+ etc... (speaking for my area I live in)

pinkiaiii

CCNA is maybe door opener if one is already in IT job,thus to answer your question yes its my first IT degree im going for,but with that said and you mentioning same most jobs look for at least few years experience,and in most cases its not limited to having only ccna degree but other qualifications on top,only thing that comes to mind unless person is already doing network job and has ccnp and aiming above wouldn't need much expertise in other fields.

jerry557

So CCNA would be pretty much worthless unless you had 3-4 years of IT experience already? Not even entry level employers would find value in applicants that have it?

pinkiaiii

As mentioned in first post depending on ones geographical location jobs wary a lot,one could live near some business park with dozens IT companies and id imagine that would be door opener ,but otherwise in current economy theres not many entry level networking positions,even for many more regular IT jobs you have more applicants to compete for.

to state it clearly im not bashing ccna here,since its hell of certificate to get in the first place.But being realistic here since experience is hardest part to get,one might get his ccna,but if it comes to competing with someone with few years hands on experience its different ball game.

Im personally not really in IT crowd but just seeing people in my course who do ccna cert-already usually work in some IT job,thus seeing that not only they have networking under their qualifications.