Advice for recent grad

Hello,

I recently graduated from college earning an Information Technology degree and want to pursue a career in the networking field. I currently hold A+, CCENT, and CCNA, CCNP certifications (along with a few Java certs that I studied for school). The problem is that I don't have any relevant working experience in the field, nor do I possess any help desk experience as well. I worked as data entry, telemarketer, and office admin while in school to pay off some tuition.

My question is where should I head next as far as certifications go? Many entry level jobs (1-2 years experience) whether it be Help Desk Support, or Network Admin, do not require Cisco certs (and only CCNA if they do) and the responsibilities in the job description barely mentions operating with Cisco IOS. I see lots of jobs requiring Microsoft skill-set rather than Cisco. Would it be more beneficial to diverse into MCSE, or dig deeper with Cisco?

Pay is not a factor to me, but IT related volunteer jobs are almost non-existent where I live, in Canada.

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Comments

sidsanders

greetings...

you meet any fellow students who are employed in the field who mught be able to help? any teachers? did the school offer any job assistence? dont give up looking!!

BradleyHU

um....u didnt need to say you hold a ccent & ccna IF you hold a ccnp....its already implied that you have the others...#imjustsayin

Bl8ckr0uter

BradleyHU wrote: »

um....u didnt need to say you hold a ccent & ccna IF you hold a ccnp....its already implied that you have the others...

Not nessesary. Some HR drones might not know that a CCNP is gonna have a CCNA. Some people only know CCNA and CCIE.

If there is truly nothin your area, are you open to move? Did you go through a cisco net cad, if so I would list that as cisco experience. I agree with you about the amount of cisco jobs vs ms jobs. The MCSE is getting dated and for you just starting out, you may want to go for MCITP series of certs. What types of jobs as you looking for?

BradleyHU

knwminus wrote: »

Not nessesary. Some HR drones might not know that a CCNP is gonna have a CCNA. Some people only know CCNA and CCIE.

i was actually talkin about in the post, just about all of us on here know the progression of cisco certs, if not, google it...i'm not talkin bout what you put on ya resume or cover letter....

Bl8ckr0uter

BradleyHU wrote: »

i was actually talkin about in the post, just about all of us on here know the progression of cisco certs, if not, google it...i'm not talkin bout what you put on ya resume or cover letter....

gotcha. I actually had a interview where the person did not know what a CCNA was (a Network Manager btw). He only knew the CCIE.

eten

Did my CCNP studies through books, a few 2950 switches with PT and GNS3. And regarding MCSE being phased out, I went on some popular job search sites, entered "MCITP" as a keyword and it returned probably 1/20 jobs if I were to enter "MCSE". Not sure if earning MCITP means you have a MCSE too.

And while passively waiting for job interviews, I would like to add some certs to my collection. Would you advice digging deeper into Cisco (Voice / Security, CCIE), or would learning a broader range of technology such as MCITP would be more beneficial? My thought is that my first IT job would probably be some help desk job and wouldn't be touching cisco equipment in years.

Dryst999

I would get your Security+ next since it is an easy exam, vendor neutral, and lasts a lifetime if you get it now. Other than that you are really set on certifications until you get some experience, maybe get XP or windows 7 certified for the MCP title on your resume..... unless you are wanting to do System Admin instead of Network Admin I wouldn't delve too far into Microsoft certs right now, you have PLENTY on your resume for an entry level help desk or NOC job.

earweed

eten wrote: »

Did my CCNP studies through books, a few 2950 switches with PT and GNS3. And regarding MCSE being phased out, I went on some popular job search sites, entered "MCITP" as a keyword and it returned probably 1/20 jobs if I were to enter "MCSE". Not sure if earning MCITP means you have a MCSE too.

And while passively waiting for job interviews, I would like to add some certs to my collection. Would you advice digging deeper into Cisco (Voice / Security, CCIE), or would learning a broader range of technology such as MCITP would be more beneficial? My thought is that my first IT job would probably be some help desk job and wouldn't be touching cisco equipment in years.

I've noticed that about the job searches not pulling up a lot when you search MCITP. Most job ads are written by HR people who probably don't even know there is a Server 2008 much less an MCITP: EA. If you're looking further down the road then you should probably go for the MCITP (Just my opinion)
Don't forget that even though you may not be touching Cisco equipment for a while to keep those current.
With the Cisco certs you currently have it should probably take you no time at your first IT job to be grabbed up for some hands on Cisco work.
Good Luck

someuser23

eten wrote: »

Hello,

I recently graduated from college earning an Information Technology degree and want to pursue a career in the networking field. I currently hold A+, CCENT, and CCNA, CCNP certifications (along with a few Java certs that I studied for school). The problem is that I don't have any relevant working experience in the field, nor do I possess any help desk experience as well. I worked as data entry, telemarketer, and office admin while in school to pay off some tuition.

My question is where should I head next as far as certifications go? Many entry level jobs (1-2 years experience) whether it be Help Desk Support, or Network Admin, do not require Cisco certs (and only CCNA if they do) and the responsibilities in the job description barely mentions operating with Cisco IOS. I see lots of jobs requiring Microsoft skill-set rather than Cisco. Would it be more beneficial to diverse into MCSE, or dig deeper with Cisco?

Pay is not a factor to me, but IT related volunteer jobs are almost non-existent where I live, in Canada.

I think the Cisco certs are a bit too high level for someone without any experience at all. I would use the A+ and maybe get the MCDST to try to snag some temporary jobs doing computer repair or field support.

My A+ did enable me to get some temp work doing field support, so it did help me.

CChN

Scott LaRock wrote: »

I think the Cisco certs are a bit too high level for someone without any experience at all.

So a lack of experience should thwart his interest in furthering his knowledge?

To the original poster, your skill set makes you more than qualified to interview for a position within a NOC. It's tough work, but a great way to launch your career. Focus your attention that way.