Gaining experience?

new2net

Hey all

New to forums

Wondering about how to go about gaining some practical experience. I have been prepping for the CCNA and my only experience consists of the (basic/cheap) equipment I have purchased and configure all the time during my spare time at home. I have a thorough knowledge of ICND1/2 material, and just waiting to book my exam after I practice some more. I am a student so I don't have time to apply for full-time jobs just to gain experience. I figure the only way I can gain the experience is to keep messing with my own equipment so that I can tell employers I have hands-on experience.
As I work part-time, I was thinking of asking to shadow with Network Admin personnel. Are those types of things available? Or are people not really allowed to shadow with network admins? (Don't know what the environment is like). I guess I am wondering if those types of jobs are kept away from unofficial employees due to confidentiality reasons. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a place that hires part-time network techs. I'd love to apply to a part-time entry level job just to gain experience- it's just hard to find them!

MikeO5422

A shadow/internship/part time for free job is a perfect way to gain experience. You do deal with sensitive info for jobs like that so if you do get one you will probably just sign some kind of confidentiality agreement. Based on my experience, when you look for unpaid work you can be pretty selective as most places are more than willing to have some free help! Just find a place you would like to work at for free and give them a call. I'm sure many places would be happy to have you.