CCNA enough to get foot in the door?

Vincestradamus

I'm looking to pursue a new career and was wondering if CCNA alone would be enough for me to land an entry level job. After CCNA I would then look into CCNP. I live right between San Francisco and Silicon Valley so the opportunities are endless.

I currently work in a sort of but not really similar field as a Xfinity technician. I also have an AS degree in an unrelated field (firefighting).

PCTechLinc

I would expect in that area for a CCNA to either be expected at entry-level, or just above. I'm in the middle of moving from the Lodi/Stockton area to the Monterey area, and I can say that a CCNA in the Central Valley would get you between $20-25/hr. Due to the cost of living in the Bay Area, I would expect the salary to be a little bit more. However, it's been almost 10 years since I've lived there (born and raised in San Lorenzo). CCNP would definitely give you a better edge.

jrisbrook

The question is entry level what? Network engineer, helpdesk, desktop support etc... Depending on what you are trying to would enable ppl to better answer your question. I know where I am an A+ is preferred for alot of entry level jobs because most of them require support of equipment. Ccna is heavily focused on cisco equip and Ios. Not too mention unless you have some sort of tech experience as a hobby , you wouldnt really be prepared for an entry level job. Setup a home network lab and push for the A+ and the ccna . Learn active directory, and break everything you can in your lab and fix it back. That will prepare you for anything entry level.

Vincestradamus

I'm interested in eventually becoming a network engineer.

DatabaseHead

If network engineering is your goal, the CCNA makes all the sense in the world. Then moving onto the CCNP. I've heard of worse plans.....

TechGromit

DatabaseHead wrote: »

I've heard of worse plans.....

You been listening to Trump again haven't you.

tmtex

I would think so. Where I work the helpdesk staff have zero certs, get paid 24.xx per hr. I was part of the hiring team and didn't agree with the hiring manager on most of them.

DatabaseHead

tmtex - Agreed most help desk folks I worked with didn't have certs, to be honest the super motivated ones usually had one certification to set them apart, usually A+ or Dell / Lenovo (usually took those folks months if not years to get one). I remember a gal on the desk, it took her 4 tries to get A+. She would come in in tears after the fails. When she finally got it she was soooooo excited. (A much different snapshot than you get from these forums). ***I may start a post about this......

In regards to in-line promotions from the help desk to other positions I recall these...

Help desk to Network Engineering team after the completion of his CCNA (This was very common, if you could complete that certification you were guarnteed a job at least in the NOC if not with the network engineers. (This is probably why I am so pro CCNA). This wasn't the only environment I have witnessed this either. From a pure promotion angle the MCSA / MCSE didn't have the teeth in regards to getting promoted as the CCNA did. I worked for Monsanto now Bayer, a corrugated box company (high revenues) and a health care provider. All 3 were very similar, if you have the MCSA/MCSE this didn't guarntee much if anything. If you had the CCNA you could very easily find your way to a networking position. All 3 of these environments it was the same. (found that interesting).

Help desk person passed the N+ and applied for the NOC and landed a level two spot there

These are the only two certification related promotions I can remember while working on the help desk.

plviet

More than enough