New CCNA. Where do I go from here?

El G Man

Like many, I'm a college grad (C.I.S.) with not too much experience and I'm now a CCNA. Seeing that the job market is tough right now, I'm trying to make myself a little more marketable. What I want is a job in IT and I would like one before I get desperate and join the police department.

I've looked at getting an A+ or a CCDA certification. Of the two, which one do you think will help me out more? Is 6 weeks enough time to study for A+ (I have good study habits).

I've also looked at getting an MCSA, but I have cost and scheduling issues. How important is Microsoft certification?

Any advice?

El G Man

The_Network_Engineer

Ah well if i were you id get my A+ then and then try to intern for some expernce. Because ask the guys here without some expernce the employers mosty look you over. So A+ then some basic expernce but hey nice job on the CCNA.

Webmaster

CCNA --> A+ That's like getting your CCNA after you passed the CCIE exams...

CCNA and A+ are two completely different topics, and on a completely different level. Do you want to be a networker or a PC technician?

Assuming you want to work in the networking field, you could go with either more Cisco certs (i.e. CCDA, CCNP, CCDP, CCIE) and/or MCSA/E.

According to salary surveys MCSE does more for your salary than most Cisco or other certs. If you are going to complete a Cisco track, such as CCNP or CCDP, MCSA might look very good. You won't be an MS specialist, but a Windows server (which there are in most networks) won't give you a hard time when you are designing a network (CCDA).

Unless you are interested in getting a good basis for the topic 'security' (security+) I would suggest you forget about CompTIA.

kicker22

yeah i agree with webmaster...

here is my path if this will help you to get a clue of what to do..

1. CCNA
2. MCSE
3. CCNP
4. CISW
5. Network Security
6. CCIE BABY!


morad

The_Network_Engineer

yea well what makes you more valuable to a company, being able to be the tech and the network engineer or just being soley one? Sides it can give u infomation on the necessaties to repair a single computer problem and all. I would just take it for good measure.

cheeblie

The only reason that I might get A+ if I were you is because most companies overvalue the A+ certification. Most employers seem to view it as the holy grail for technicians. I'm guessing this is due to lack of knowledge on their part. However, it is very easy to acquire and is not very specific in any areas. I was very disappointed with how easy the test was, and it made me feel as though I had achieved nothing. Microsoft and Cisco tests are far superior in the knowledge that you'll gain, and although they are vendor specific, you can apply a lot of the concepts on a broader scale. Since employers seem to want it, I guess A+ might not be bad to get. Also if you have limited knowledge of computers and hardware components, then maybe you should get it anyway.

(By the way, I don't mean to put down anyone that has A+. I've been using computers since I was 2, and I pick up new concepts very quickly. A+ just didn't challenge me the way I had hoped it would.)

Cheeblie

El G Man

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your advice. I've decided to work on an MCSA certification and I start Win2K server on Wednesday.

Cheeblie I agree with you that some companies overvalue the A+ certification (I'm not saying it's not good). I really hate it when a human resources guy with no IT experience is demanding that I have an A+ certification, even though I can do what an A+ tech can. I sort of wish that I've gotten it first, but I guess it's time to move on.

Gracias,
El G Man