About to graduate with B.A. in computer science, please help

MatterSplatter

I would like to go into the networking field after school. The only certifications I know for sure that I am going to do right now are my A+ and my CCNA. Can someone maybe give me a sample roadmap of what certifications I should be shooting for?


I can probably pass my A+ immediately as I consistently pass practice tests with good scores. What should I go for once my A+ and CCNA are out of the way?

Webmaster

Welcome MatterSplatter,

Although you got a lot of options, if you want to go into the networking field, and you already decided to take the CCNA exam, then I would suggest going for the CCNP certification after that (4 exams), since 3 of these exams are the same as 3 of the 4 you need to become CCDP I would suggest you take the CCDA exam before starting with the CCNP exams.

CCNA --> CCDA --> CCNP--> CCDP and eventually maybe even CCIE (the ultimate cert in network certification)

You also might want to consider taking the Network+ after A+ and before CCNA although it is not necessary, you'll have a great deal of basic knowledge useful for further networking studies.

The Cisco certs mentioned above cover pretty much every aspect of networking but doesn't make you an expert in client-server networking. If your interested in software you might want to consider going for the MCSE cert... the best way to go would probably be to take them all (A+, NET+, CCNA, CCDA, CCNP and MCSE)

Also if you might want to look at the several specialist certs cisco offers, these focus on a single aspect of networking such as voice over IP, security WAN switching etc.

I hope this helps,

Johan

CrzyOne01

Like he said , but to add one more thing which is not that important but it does make a difference is I would suggest going with A+, N+, and then move onto the cisco certs just for the fact that the Cisco test are not just pass or fail like the rest of the Certs are , when applying for jobs and the like your employer(future or current) not can just see that yes you do have CCNA but can also check out your score to see if you just barely passed....just something extra to think about.