Certification Paths?

crrimson

Hi, I have been considering studying for the CCNA for a while now, I took 2 of the classes as requirements for my college degree but didn't deem it necessary to get the cert at the time. Now I think it would help me out, but I found this on wikipedia:

CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate (Retired November 6, 2007)

Replaced by:

CCNA Security: Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security
CCNA Voice: Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications
CCNA Service ProviderImplementing Cisco IOS for Service Providers
CCNA Storage Networking Implementing Cisco IOS for Data Storage
CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate

So, can you not get the CCNA anymore, do you have to take a specific path? Or can you get the general CCNA and then specialize? I hate to narrow my career choices down by choosing a certain specialty without knowing exactly what I want to get into first.

Thanks.

Daniel333

Wikipedia... shudder...


http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html

crrimson

Thanks for the quick response, I did already take a look at the Cisco page your link points to, which is why I came here to ask some people who know their stuff. I'm assuming then that you can still get a general CCNA cert. and then a more specialized one if you want?

networker050184

Correct.

Daniel333

crrimson wrote:

I'm assuming then that you can still get a general CCNA cert. and then a more specialized one if you want?

Exactly right. What are your goals?

crrimson

My goal is to get the CCNA to reinforce and (re)learn more about networking, and to have a certification that is pretty well respected to help me get higher paying jobs. I enjoy studying technology anyway I might as well get something to show for it.

Slowhand

One thing to keep in mind is that the specialties are designed with progression in mind. The CCNA Security, for example, is designed to give you an overview of what you'll be encountering on the CCSP path. After all, there was a time when the only certification Cisco offered was the CCIE, the CCNA and CCNP were created to be stepping-stones for individuals who either didn't need/want to dig that deep into networking, or those who wanted to have definite steps on the path to that coveted number.

I wish you the best of luck on your study-path, and with the CCNA exam(s). Figure out what interests you, take the "regular" CCNA, then decide where you want to go from there. Oh, and stay away from Wikipedia.

astorrs

Daniel333 wrote:

Wikipedia... shudder...

I marked the article as proposed for deletion so it should be gone in 5 days. I suggested it be merged with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_Career_Certifications which I also cleaned up a little bit in the Associates area.

Highspade

The CCNA link on the page /Cisco_Career_Certifications refers back to the page you have marked for deletion. (sigh wiki)

astorrs

Highspade wrote:

The CCNA link on the page /Cisco_Career_Certifications refers back to the page you have marked for deletion. (sigh wiki)

It will get fixed once they nuke the other article, Wikipedia makes ALL CAPS words URLs - nothing I can do (at least nothing I know of).

Daniel333

Best of luck with your CCNA.

dave0212

crrimson wrote:

Thanks for the quick response, I did already take a look at the Cisco page your link points to, which is why I came here to ask some people who know their stuff. I'm assuming then that you can still get a general CCNA cert. and then a more specialized one if you want?

Surprised nobody pointed this out but a standard CCNA is a prerequisite before you can certify at the specialised level