Experience & Direction

WarDoctor

This is my first post so forgive my ignorance. I've worked at Verizon for 21yrs, installing and repairing anything from POTS lines, DSL,ISDN,VDSL, FiOS, VoIP phones, routers & switches in residential and business environments. My current role is a FiOS installer & trainer. I am currently studying for the CCENT exam and I was wondering...

1.When I obtain the CCNA certification (particularly to resume standards), could the 21yrs of experience at Verizon correlate as routing & switching experience?

Granted 98% of the routers & switches I've worked with were not Cisco or Juniper type routers, POE or otherwise. I ask only because I believe that IMO, experience goes such a long way over just having knowledge over a subject. It's not always easy to find particular job opportunities that would relate to 'field experience' in any industry, let alone a position that pays at least the same as my current role.

And this next one is a bit of a personal question for those who wish to answer.

2. How did you decide the direction that you took when it came to the study path?

I enjoy the understanding & complexity of networks, the purpose of security, the reason for the back-haul, and everything that is yet to come to fruition. My current path beyond the CCNA certification is uncertain, but the definitive search for a better understanding will always keep me motivated.

Thanks for the ear!

JDMurray

You will notice in the CCNA study materials that you see Cisco routers and switches and not those from Netgear and Actiontec. The CCNA R/S is more of what the NetOps people in the NOCs do and not what the installers of CPE do. Start thinking like a NOC engineer and not a field service tech.

Shoot for the CCIE R/S, but realize that Software Defined Networking is the wave of the future--especially in Cloud data centers. Ignore SDN and you will become irrelevant very quickly in all but the smallest of network environments.

TechGromit

Plugged in a consumer grade linksys switch, is not the same thing as configuring a commercial grade Cisco switch. Unless your experience includes configuring interfaces, Vlans, access lists, NAT, etc, than no you experience in installing isn't the same experience, at best your experience is equivalent with someone with network+ certs / experience.

WarDoctor

I appreciate the positive feedback gentlemen.

You're both absolutely right when it comes to working experience on commercial grade Cisco routers. At best, I've been around them and plugged in a few devices but haven't configured a single one. For that particular reason, I am starting off studying for the CCNA exam.

JDMurray
I believe that my only dilemma is direction. Getting a certification is just a single step, but at the moment, choosing which path to take isn't so easy.

Neil86

I also did field tech work for almost a decade for various telecom companies in the south: Verizon, BrightHouse, DirecTV, working with coax, fiber, POTS, etc. Learned a lot about small networks and the basics. But like said above, it is much different working with commercial-class equipment. I am also pursuing my CCNA at the moment. Starting off there and then branching out seems to be a good idea. Get to it!