New member with questions.........

Hey I'm looking to get into networking and I am considering taking the A+, and ccent/ccna. I already have a bs in electrical engineering technology, but i'm trying to break into networking as the company i work for has a lot of IT job postings on a regular basis. I'm am already familar with pc hardware and software and some minor networking stuff like protocols, wan, lan etc. My question is what materials are best to study for these exams, and how long does it usually take to study for them. Thanks in advance.

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mikem2te

Murder after Midnight wrote: »

Hey I'm looking to get into networking and I am considering taking the A+, and ccent/ccna. I already have a bs in electrical engineering technology, but i'm trying to break into networking as the company i work for has a lot of IT job postings on a regular basis. I'm am already familar with pc hardware and software and some minor networking stuff like protocols, wan, lan etc. My question is what materials are best to study for these exams, and how long does it usually take to study for them. Thanks in advance.

I don't know anything about A+, for CCNA CCENT check out the CCNA FAQ in this forum. There is a couple of book recommendations in this thread-

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/13749-cisco-newbie.html

Timings, depends on your existing knowledge, look at 3 to 6 months I guess.

blackninja

I've got an A+ & didn't open any doors for me.

I'd go for the CCENT or if you know a bit about networks go straight for your CCNA, this what I did.

The CCNA took me 6 months of part time study.

Murder after Midnight

blackninja wrote: »

I've got an A+ & didn't open any doors for me.

I'd go for the CCENT or if you know a bit about networks go straight for your CCNA, this what I did.

The CCNA took me 6 months of part time study.

what study materials did you you for the six months?

mikej412

Check out the CCNA Forum FAQ. There's also an additional post with possible links for a future FAQ update that's also worth checking out.

Back in the "old days" the 640-801 exam was popular, since it did cost less than the 2 exam option (INTRO/ICND). But now there is no cost difference (640-802 CCNA exam vs the ICND1/ICND2 exams) -- but for doing more questions and and taking an extra trip to the exam center, you can get the CCENT certification for passing the ICND1 exam.

Depending on your experience, motivation, dedication, and desire, you can do the CCNA in anywhere from 1 month to 1 year. The more hands on lab work you do as part of your preparation, the easier the exam(s) become -- and the more you'll remember after you complete the exams.

blackninja

Murder after Midnight wrote: »

what study materials did you you for the six months?

I used The Official CCNA books, CBT nuggetts & Chris Bryants CCNA study guide.

I would certainly recommend getting the CBT nuggetts for CCNA.

And of course I have my lab.

Kaminsky

go Network+ then CCENT. A+ will not be as good for you as Network+ if you head toward networking.

Bl8ckr0uter

Murder after Midnight wrote: »

Hey I'm looking to get into networking and I am considering taking the A+, and ccent/ccna. I already have a bs in electrical engineering technology, but i'm trying to break into networking as the company i work for has a lot of IT job postings on a regular basis. I'm am already familar with pc hardware and software and some minor networking stuff like protocols, wan, lan etc. My question is what materials are best to study for these exams, and how long does it usually take to study for them. Thanks in advance.

I'd say do CCENT and CCNA, then CCNA:S (while picking up exp). If you want to be more of a generalist throw in some MS and possibly some linux in their and branch out from there.

A+ did help me out some but the company I was working for at that time wanted A+/N+ for its senior tech support folks. I did earn A+ and that (along with 4 years as a quasi developer/db admin during high school) help me land my second and 3rd tech jobs (currently on job 4 in about 3 years). Network+ did less for me but it did help me stand out from my fellow techs at my 2nd job. CCNA has directly benefited me by helping me land my 4th job. My CCNA:S studies have helped me out at my current job and (along with my newly gained exp) help me out for my next job (I am hopping to land a job I am looking at, closer to my house and would really be interesting to do).

What did I use:

A+: I busted computer that I could take apart, label, put back together, and make it sing; I also used the current Mike Myers gold book for A+ (1 1/2 month of study)

N+ A router and Mike Myers gold book for N+ (2-3 months of study)

CCNA: Todd Lamelles study guide, cisco lab gear and time (probably about 5 months light-moderate study and 1 month of really intense study overall)

EDIT: My advice to you is to be flexible and focus in on what you want to do. The job market sucks right now and is flooded with people with a lot of certs but can't/don't/won't live up to their resumes. This is my main reason for not going after the NP level networking (despite people around me at work saying just go for it) and instead rather master the NA level networking domains. When someone comes across my resume and they see oh you have CCNA:Security I want to be able to say confidently that I understand security concepts, practices and implementation at or above the CCNA:Security level (and the same goes for all of the certs I have and will obtain this year). I don't want to be paper certified, nor do I want my resume to be bloated with certs with no backing. Right now I work in a company where I work with a whole lot of cisco (and I am about to work with a whole 'nother side - - call manager but that is another thread) and some of the guys here are NA's, NPs and IEs. I actually sit between a NP and a MCSE who is working on his NA. Many of them don't have NA level knowledge IMO (including some who have several years of exp) and I am making sure I set a firm foundation for myself before I move on to the big leagues (NP, SP ,VP and beyond). I know I am rambling (been up all night and I will be up all day) but I want to make sure that I say this to you: Don't hyper-inflate your resume with cert after cert without making sure you can back it up. If that means that you do the MCSA/MCITP:SA instead of the MCSE/MCITP:EA then so be it. If that means you stick around the NA pond before you do the NP then so be it. Most customers aren't going to ask what certs do you have anyway, they are going to ask you can you get their problem solved.

My 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you decide.