experience then cert?

Hey guys,
Im about to do my CCNA, near finished my IT degree. hard getting a job round here since i live in the middle of no where, but im hopefully moving to london after i graduate. so i am left with a couple of options and would like to hear some suggestions from some people with the same interest and some good advice/experience! My lecturer recommended goin for the CCNP, I am still convinced that you need experience to really get the full value of it and im afraid i might just look like a paper chaser with all certs and no experience, correct me if im wrong please! however i really do enjoy the telecomms/networking side of things and would like to continue on learning new things and gaining certification. If theres any other certs anyone thinks i should consider doing before the CCNP or i should just look for work, just throw them out there! looking at voice n wireless too but just not sure what to do! above all i want to learn and gain experience. ! Cheers!
Im about to do my CCNA, near finished my IT degree. hard getting a job round here since i live in the middle of no where, but im hopefully moving to london after i graduate. so i am left with a couple of options and would like to hear some suggestions from some people with the same interest and some good advice/experience! My lecturer recommended goin for the CCNP, I am still convinced that you need experience to really get the full value of it and im afraid i might just look like a paper chaser with all certs and no experience, correct me if im wrong please! however i really do enjoy the telecomms/networking side of things and would like to continue on learning new things and gaining certification. If theres any other certs anyone thinks i should consider doing before the CCNP or i should just look for work, just throw them out there! looking at voice n wireless too but just not sure what to do! above all i want to learn and gain experience. ! Cheers!

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Comments
The NP will probably take your around a year (give or take A LOT depending on many factors), so there's no reason to not start working towards it. If you obtain it before you find a job and feel that it looks odd on your resume, given your experience, just take it off.
Welcome to the forums and good luck
If I were you I would do all that I can to find a related job and continue your study. Notice the related part, a helpdesk job fixing print issues will not compliment a CCNP very well. I have noticed the best place to start is with an ISP. A lot of my fellow engineers worked their way up from the NOC monitoring circuits.
Just keep looking for a job and keep up the study and you should do fine!
Dont' touch the CCNP until you have a year or more under your belt, dont' wana be a paper tiger, assuming yuo can even pass without real world.
The only CCNPs we'll even look at for a job who don't have any experience are University recruits or recent graduates. And even then we look to see if they did any kind of campus job, internship, or summer job where they may have used and developed some of their skills. But a lot of times we'll toss out the resumes with the professional certifications if we're just looking for someone to fill a rack 'n stack entry level position.
Your degree should give you an advantage in a job search against other new CCNAs who don't have one.
Continuing on with the BSCI and/or BCMSN exams while finishing up your degree and starting your job search could be an option. Finishing an exam or two should keep your knowledge and skills sharp for job interviews and could give you another advantage over other CCNA candidates.
You probably want to get that first job after graduation and start racking up some useful experience before you worry about completing the CCNP.
Don't forget to check out the Cisco Partner Locator to get an idea where the Cisco Business Partners are located. Getting a job with a Business Parter is one way to get a lot of good experience in a short time.
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I don't agree with that. Studying for an getting my CCNP has helped me a TON with my new job at an ISP and I have someone to compare myself with that had just gotten their CCNA.
Another guy and myself got hired at the same time for the same position. Our differences are that he was previously a field tech working out west and had just gotten his CCNA and I had just gotten out of school and gotten my CCNP.
He is really struggling to grasp some of the concepts that I learned while studying for the NP. It has also been extremely helpful because we are rolling out and supporting a new MPLS network.
I would also say that it is very possible to pass the NP without real world experience, just takes a **** load of studying.
So what do you do?
Concentrate on getting experience first, certifications second.
Whichever way you look at it, experience is paramount. I would prefer to have 6 months experience in IT than zero experience and 5 certifications.
Next concentrate on becoming a master at getting the work you want. This includes:
job interview skills
resume and cover letter writing (or get a service to do it for you)
Soft skills
etc
+1
the same goes for Microsoft partners, Sun partners, IBM partners...etc, depends on what you're interested in.