Would getting my CCNA after obtaining juniper associate be a good idea?

kwrigh17

I have just earned my first entry level juniper associate certification. I have studied a few semesters of computer science a few years ago, but never obtained my degree, and don't work in the IT field, but have an opportunity for an interview with a fiber  company a friend who works for them got me.

Moving forward, is there anything else or any other suggestion anyone would have that I should do to better help me hit the ground with my feet running? I've used junipers tools like v-labs and essentially taught myself the necessary requirements to pass the exam in under 10 months so I am just wanting to continue learning and enabling myself to enter this industry and succeed. 

I appreciate anyone's insight on anything that may have helped them in this type of situation. I was thinking that even though the company I plan to start my career with uses juniper routers, obtaining my ccna wouldn't be a bad idea.

yoba222

I haven't logged into a Cisco device in 5 years. When I was studying for CCNA, I'd do so on a daily basis. I left that job about 75% of the study journey into CCNA. At the next job, I obtained CCNA, but it was a bit of an uphill journey since I was on my own and had to rely on virtual labs for the last 25% of learning.

I think for CCNA, it is okay to obtain if you don't work with Cisco gear regularly because of all the fundamentals to learn. Not CCNP though. It might be wiser to wait and get a feel for the environment of the potential new job, but then again there's no guarantee for sure you'll land it. Studying AWS when your're about to go work at an Azure shop I think there's probably better things to learn, for example.

bigdogz

@kwright

In short, YMMV. It depends.

It depends on what positions are open in your area. Look to see if there are more Cisco than Juniper positions available. With Covid around you may do work virtually so it may not matter where you are in the US or world as long as you work in their local time zone(s).

I would get both vendor certifications to help you in the case there is a need for a position that uses Cisco devices.

E Double U

CCNA is good material for anyone with a desire to learn more about networking, routing, and switching. 

matt333

yeah I think the CCNA has more fundamental networking concepts then Juniper. Juniper certs generally focus more on how Juniper is different and syntax. Go for your CCNA and try to get as much hands on experience as possible. Hands on experience will help to what you have read stick in your brain. 

JDMurray

When I was working as a NetSecOps analyst, I used more information from my CCNA on a daily basis than I did what I learned from my CISSP. I had to read logged events from Juniper firewalls, but I never did go for any of the Juniper certs. I'm sure it would have helped me if I had.

bigdogz

I have both Cisco and Juniper certifications. We use various technologies including Juniper and Cisco because I work for an ISP. I have found that the Juniper certifications have helped me with their technologies. I guess I am not bias and can tell you that I have learned the foundations from Cisco while still understanding the nuances of Juniper of the years.

kwrigh17

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I really appreciate your help. I've recently started listening to some networking podcasts as well. I'm still a little undecided on what to do, because my friend explained that no matter what, you run into Cisco products, but working for his company, becoming more certified within Juniper will also be very beneficial since they use their products and the associate was the requirement to the provisioning job. I'm trying to build my resume and prepare myself for my interview process. This is a great opportunity that I've worked hard to achieve, so again, I thank everyone for your feedback!

JDMurray

kwrigh17 said:

I've recently started listening to some networking podcasts as well.

I recommend Packet Pushers!