CCNA - most popular cert!?

Anyone else notice that the CCNA forum has the most activity?

What are your reasons for going the Cisco route apposed to the Microsoft route? (For those that are just studying Cisco atm)

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networker050184

Well I am a true believer in getting certified in technologies that you are already experienced with and not the other way around (certs to try and gain experience). I started working with Cisco and continued to work with it for some years so I decided to get some certifications. Maybe one day if I get more involved on the Microsoft/Linux side of the house I'll get some certifications to go along with that experience. For now I'm more than happy working with and studying primarily Cisco.

sprkymrk

Anyone else notice that the CCNA forum has the most activity?

Well, not that it's a contest, but I wonder if the same thing could be said if you eliminate all the "what do I need for my home lab" posts in the CCNA forum.

I enjoy cisco technology too, it's just not my primary interest.

mrj

Which Microsoft cert?

The MCSE/MCSA track I assume, which has almost nothing in common with the CCNA.

Most of us have a networking cert (JCIx/CCNx) and a "systems" cert track, such as MCSE, Redhatwhateverprofessional etc.

There are probably very few of us who have just a CCNA and don't plan on getting an OS cert. That's rather limiting, whereas a mixture of both is a good one-two punch.

silentc1015

I'm a very experienced UNIX admin trying to move into the networking side of things. After 7 years, admin work is beginning to bore me. I see what I believe to be far more interesting and fulfilling work and possibly better pay in the networking field. I also want to be diversified in my skills. So, I'm working on my CCNA and going down the Cisco track. I'm also getting my employer to train me so I can do that kind of work as well as Unix administration and get the experience while I simultaneously work on the certifications.

itdaddy

Hey guys

I see so many post of guys say I am bored need more money and need more certs?
But these guys have 20 certs (exagerating) but many big certs. It just seems there is no
end. My goals are to atleaset be an MCSE equivalent and CCNP and finish my BS in computer
science. which i am almost done with my 4 year degree in CS. But I see you guys
with tons of certs. What are some of the reasons to get so many?

1. too much brain activity?
2. bored genius
3. charmed life daddy takes care of me?
4. wife making me do this to get more money??

just playing but kind of serious....how much is enough?and are all you guys who have tons
of bigs certs instructors?

I figure you guys who have tons of certs in cisco and tons of mcse certs should be making 100K a year for all that hard work am I right or do you have to have 20 certs in cisco and MS to make 70 K a year? This confuses me..

Can anyone shed some real light on my question. I bet some newbies would ask the same question. Help from the Vets would be nice.

Thanks

silentc1015

itdaddy wrote:

Hey guys

I see so many post of guys say I am bored need more money and need more certs?
But these guys have 20 certs (exagerating) but many big certs. It just seems there is no
end. My goals are to atleaset be an MCSE equivalent and CCNP and finish my BS in computer
science. which i am almost done with my 4 year degree in CS. But I see you guys
with tons of certs. What are some of the reasons to get so many?

1. too much brain activity?
2. bored genius
3. charmed life daddy takes care of me?
4. wife making me do this to get more money??

just playing but kind of serious....how much is enough?and are all you guys who have tons
of bigs certs instructors?

I figure you guys who have tons of certs in cisco and tons of mcse certs should be making 100K a year for all that hard work am I right or do you have to have 20 certs in cisco and MS to make 70 K a year? This confuses me..

Can anyone shed some real light on my question. I bet some newbies would ask the same question. Help from the Vets would be nice.

Thanks

I'm not sure if you're referring to me, but I'll do my best to answer.

I really love learning about IT, and I've reached a point where I nearly completely understand operating system concepts in general and Unix specifically. There are minor details and some software I haven't mastered, but I can quickly figure them out with google, man pages, etc... The big "ah ha!" moments stopped occurring years ago, so the profession is beginning to bore me.

I have a big gap in my knowledge when it comes to Networking. I understand the basics, but I really want to master it to the extent that I have Unix administration.

It isn't really about a nagging wife (I'm single) or more money (I make enough). It's just curiosity about an unfamiliar field. I also plan on entering management at some point, and I bet that a general familiarity with all technology and potential solutions will be really useful to have. Making more money is some additional incentive, though. Financial security is important. I also like to have as strong of a list of credentials as I can, because I know I can very easily find another job. This is important, too. When you know you can easily find another job you put up with a lot less BS at your current one. This is really relaxing, and ironically I find that I work better in this kind of situation.

I'm rambling a bit. There are a lot of reasons, and a thirst for knowledge is the biggest one.

dtlokee

Boredom...

r_durant

networker050184 wrote:

Well I am a true believer in getting certified in technologies that you are already experienced with and not the other way around (certs to try and gain experience). I started working with Cisco and continued to work with it for some years so I decided to get some certifications. Maybe one day if I get more involved on the Microsoft/Linux side of the house I'll get some certifications to go along with that experience. For now I'm more than happy working with and studying primarily Cisco.

I agree with Networker here...I prefer to get the cert while i'm experienced in the field and get the paper (proof) to compliment my experience...One could go into an office and BS the interviewers into believing you're God's gift to Cisco, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating....
I still do Microsoft stuff and have been for many years, but I made a personal decision to focus on networking, since I prefer the networking side...so I don't plan to do any (more) MS certs just for the fun of it...I don't hate Microsoft, but it's not the path I want to go...If my company insists I have to get MS certified, then maybe I will...

I also don't have a problem with a guy having a page full of certs, once he has the experience to back it up...like networker said, not have certs to gain experience...

dynamik

I personally want to end up with a page for of certs because I enjoy learning and working with new technology. I chose IT as a career because it's perpetually changing, evolving, and as a result, challenging. I don't see myself as having a stopping point.

I don't think there's a problem with focusing on one discipline, and there's a lot to be said for someone highly skilled in one area. You don't want to spread yourself too thin. The quote, "Jack of all trades, master of none," comes to mind.

snadam

since the company I work for and my experience is in Microsoft, I decided to go that route. I just had too many resources/exp/mentors NOT to go that route. Cisco is fine; I dont HATE or exile any technology, because youre only hurting yourself if you do that. I figured after my MCSA/E track, Id take a whack at the CCNA, as I see many jobs require many flavors of certs.

freetech

I don't have that many certs, but I love to learn. I, too, love those "aha!" moments where I applied something that i have learned. It's not boredom, it's curiosity, personal fulfillment and giving value to the people who pay me $xx/hr to fix their IT stuff.
Just my 2 cents.

silentc1015

I think there's another reason why the CCNA is so popular. It's a really "hardcore" certification. I mean, there's a huge section on electricity! I, for one, really admire and like that. You're learning real application of scientific principles. If there is a cert that will fill in my knowledge gaps with general useful information, it seems to be the CCNA. Even if I decide I don't want to enter the networking side professionally, I see great value in learning the CCNA material. It will help me become a much better "technology expert". That's really just the kind of geek I am. I love mastering whatever I'm working with professionally - the theory, the application, the software, everything... If I had taken up farming instead of IT, I would be driven to learn everything about seed germination, photosynthesis, weather, etc...

dtlokee

The only problem with the approach of getting certs in the areas you already have experience is if you add it all up, your experience will typically be 10% of what you need for one cert and 25% of what you need for another cert and 30% of what you need for yet another cert. Let's face it, many certifications encompass what the vendor thinks is the required skill set, not necessarily what employers ask of their employees. The typical case is you have experience with some of the topics on a required certification and the process of studying for the certification helps you learn the other areas the vendor requires. If the certifications are purely experience based, you could call TAC or Microsoft product support, have access to Google and there would be no need to study, because in the production world that is what most people do when they have a problem and they don't know the answer.

It's a chicken or egg question, and there's no correct answer.

EJizzel

Speaking for myself I find networking to be much more interested than anything else. I provide desktop support to about 150 users for windows 2000 and XP (1 Vista box), I tried to sit and focus for the 70-270 but was BORED

. When its study time for cisco its fun (not exactly fun just more exciting).

Turgon

Just to put in my 2 cents here.

I actually don't think it's a bad thing to chase a cert in something you are inexperienced in. In fact it can open a lot of doors. Too many admins are locked into the technology around them at work. If you want to learn Lotus Notes or Cisco or SuSE Novell or HP Openview and you don't use it at work the next best thing is to learn something about it through self-study and take on an introductory certification in whatever it is you would like to learn more about and ultimately do.

Case in point.. When I studied for my CCNA in 1999 we had one small 1700 router which we didn't even support. Post CCNA I moved on to a cisco shop and never looked back. Just make sure you study extra hard and don't bluff it too much when you get that interview! By the time I had mine I was wading through the Cisco WAN technologies guide most evenings (beyond CCNA level) and it came across in the interview with the technical director. This was a company developing FX transaction software for banks in New York and across the world.

They gave me a shot and I threw myself into their Cisco infrastructure and my studies in the evening which was often work related. Inside two years I had designed and reengineered the LAN/DMZ's and WAN networking for the whole company across London and New York. This included three entire site relocations and a serious new datacentre for development and testing environment running hundreds of Solaris servers/Oracle DBs and Java applications.

And yes, years later Im still learning it!

mikej412

sprkymrk wrote:

Anyone else notice that the CCNA forum has the most activity?

Well, not that it's a contest, but I wonder if the same thing could be said if you eliminate all the "what do I need for my home lab" posts in the CCNA forum.

I've said in the past that "Voice is Hot" -- or maybe it was Paris Hilton, but it must be true -- we have almost as many Voice Home Lab threads this year (so far) as we have CCNA Home Lab threads