CCNA & CCNP doable in one year?
The Shadow
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in CCNA & CCENT
I just finished my MCSE 2003 certification, and I am so thankful to be done with it. It's been a long road. I've taken 12 certification exams this year (I failed several exams, and I failed one exam two times before passing it on the third time by just one question), and need less to say I am ready for a break. I just can't do any more studying this year. I am looking to do CCNA and CCNP next year; and I was wondering is this possible?
I little bit about my background, I have a BS in information systems, I've passed the CISSP exam (which was a major beast that I never want to have to go through again) and I am currently waiting to fulfill the experience requirement, I've been working with Server 2003 and Active Directory for the past 3.5 to 4 years; and I have good basic knowledge of networks.
I also got my Network+ certification this year along with the MCSE. I know there's not much you can do with the Network+, but my company wanted me to get it and they paid for it.
I little bit about my background, I have a BS in information systems, I've passed the CISSP exam (which was a major beast that I never want to have to go through again) and I am currently waiting to fulfill the experience requirement, I've been working with Server 2003 and Active Directory for the past 3.5 to 4 years; and I have good basic knowledge of networks.
I also got my Network+ certification this year along with the MCSE. I know there's not much you can do with the Network+, but my company wanted me to get it and they paid for it.
Comments
That sounds like a rough road, but it's not necessarily impossible either. Depends on you.
I think about doing CCNA before end of year, but right now I am enjoying some much needed rest. I figured if I do 1 exam every 3 months (and do the 642-892 composite exam), then I'll have CCNA and CCNP by the end of next year.
It might be possible, but only if you do NOTHING but study. One day off from studying and you'd be lost.
CCIE Progress - Hours reading - 15, hours labbing - 1
Why do you need to set a specific time period to finish those certs? I would suggest taking your time and really learning the material. I don't remember much from my MCSE because I rushed it, not a good thing.
Im yet to sit for INCD2 an start CCNP but i wouldnt be so harsh
Of course this schedule requires that you take your studies seriously, but i would like to think that this is definately doable.
Doable? Yes... Reccomended to get a job?
I don't know about everyone else here but to go from Net + to CCNP in a year, I would not hire you because you do not have the life skills necesarry to be a qualified CCNP. Sure, you may have the certs, but you do not have the life experiences that come with it.
One thing I have learned is that unfortunately, networks do not follow the books. If they did, our job would be so friggin easy...
IMO, I would take it slow, master the material, and then go for the CCNP. One thing I have learned from studying for Cisco exams is that they have little to nothing to do with Microsoft, so knowledge of Microsoft networks and AD help very little....
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
And "i wouldnt hire you if you did CCNP in one year" is bull also imo... Of course its very nice if you have massive work experience etc, but you make it seem like studying for CCNP in one year is somehow worse and not studying is better. I would say 1 year for CCNP is very reasonable timeframe, its not rushing.
If you do CCNP in one year , you are rushing it, plain and simple, unless you dedicate 6 to 8 hours a day for studying.
5 tests if you add CCNA, so he would have to study and pass for 5 tests, with only having Network + or MCSE certs, neither of which will help you too much on the CCNA.
If he had a few years networking experience, then yes, I will find it believable, but he has been working with Microsoft systems and AD, and not routers and switches.
If he wants to go for it, that sfine and dandy, but I am going to stick with my guns and say he will not be as good of a CCNP as someone who took their time and mastered the material rather than rush through it to pass a test every 2 months.
I think this is where the term "paper certs" was coined in the first place.
CCIE Progress - Hours reading - 15, hours labbing - 1
Well, he has also passed CISSP (which is very tough test) and he said that he has good basic knowledge of networks and that network+ is not something he "values" that much... I think he is perfectly capable in doing CCNP in one year. Maybe for you its rushing but for someone else it isnt.
On this point we will agree to disagree, the CISSP is easier than CCNA/CCNP for one reason and one reason only... No hands on experience is necesarry. Anyone can memorize a bunch of facts, not discrediting him at all, the CISSP is a major accomplishment, I just feel it is easier because you do not have to use learned hands on skills in order to pass the test unlike CCNA/CCNP.
But whatever he decides , good luck... and I hope he keeps us posted on his progress.
hehe, i would say that the fact that you have to memorize a lot of facts makes the exam harder
But maybe you should also ask if it's advisable....
Do you get to touch any Cisco routers and/or switches at work now?
Will you get to touch any Cisco routers and/or switches at work once you get your CCNA?
Will you actually get to use any of the Cisco skills and knowledge you'd acquire studying for the Cisco exams anytime next year at your current job?
You would also definitely have to study like crazy for all those tests. I would say start with the NA first and go from there. You can knock that out by the end of the year. You might rush and pass all the tests but all of the stuff wouldn't sink in. IDK, but I would rather absorb all the technologies slowly than rush it and let some of the topics slip out.
Oh, congrats on your MCSE cert! WTG.
No offense, but how would you know? Going by your cert list you don't have a CCNP or CISSP. How can you compare the difficulty level of two certifications that you haven't taken the tests for?
If they pass the "quiz" for hiring, then you've got one heckuva candidate.
I have extensively studied for both, and taken courses for both through the U.S. military. I have an extremely difficult time with tests, so my certifications do not match my skill-set at the moment, I am slowly trying to rectify this, but seeing as I am in the military for 8 more years, and certifications expire after 3, I am in no hurry to certify and recertify 3 years later.
So yes, not wanting to brag, but I have a skill-set that probably equals CCNA/CISSP certs, just haven't taken the actual tests yet.
If you want to test me, let's chat and you can quiz me....
You do not need to recertify....
Pass the CCNA it is good for three years, pass any professional level exam, (1 of the 4) required for CCXP and as you pass each one, the NA counter resets for another three years. Complete the CCXP certification and pass another professional level exam (1 of CCIP, CCDP) extra, and XP counter and NA counter resets for three years.....
You only need to completely recertify if your certification expires without passing one more exam in a three year period.....
So get busy working on the certs.....:D
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Fair enough, I don't know much of anything about the CISSP so perhaps your assessment was correct.
I have no interest whatsoever to quiz you or anyone else, I tend to take people at their word on this forum unless they have admitted to cheating or say conflicting things. To me quizzing someone else is basically like calling them a liar and telling them they have to prove their self to me, which is incredibly offensive in my opinion.
But, if you are a family man or juggling school or work, then you'd need a bit more...
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That's just all the E numbers. And we were told they were bad for you !!! Enough E numbers and your brain is wizzing so fast, study takes half the time.
If I were in a position to hire you, would I? For a job that required experience, it would depend on previous work experience. If all you had was a CCNA and CCNP, then absolutely not.
For an entry level position, yeah, you'd get at least a phone interview.
My advice would be to get your CCNA, get an entry level job, and then work on your CCNP. Networking is not a game you can brute force your way into with certs.
Some people could, most people would struggle unless they studied nonstop and worked daily with Cisco gear.
I think what the other posters here have been hinting at is this: The CCNP is an advanced certification. If all you've dealt with at work is simple LAN setup or a little bit of troubleshooting on larger networks, the CCNP is going to look like a paper cert to an employer.
If I was in a hiring position, a CCNP without real work experience to back it up would more or less mean nothing to me.
For example. As a hiring manager, would you be impressed with a 24 year old college grad with an MBA, so much so that you would hire him into a management position? Of course not. Why? Because he has spent the past 6 years in school with no real world experience.
I realize it's a different scenario, but it relates closely with the message we're trying to convey here. Try to keep your certs just a little bit ahead of your skill set and what you're actually working with.
If you can do it, do it. It's not going to hurt you at all, but it also may not help quite as much as you think it will. And speaking from personal experience...unless your knowledge is already well beyond that of Network+ material, or you're simply gifted and a very fast learner, you are going to find this material difficult, because it just is.
My 2 cents.