Embarking on Network journey.......

iwannaknowIT

I recently gained employment in the IT dept at my employment and look to reach beyond "as far as the eyes can see" into the Network field(CCNA and specialties). Read that it best to get certified with the basic(CCENT) and start my foundation from there. I'm the type who hates spinning my wheels and would like to know am I tackling this pursuit correctly? Please don't flame me if this is a stupid question(lol).......

peanutnoggin

The first question would be... how much experience do you have in the IT field? If you're brand new to IT, you may want to focus on some of the CompTIA certs to lay a solid foundation of vendor neutral, general IT knowledge. If you know that you will be dealing with only/primarily networking gear, then maybe jumping straight into the CCENT wouldn't be too bad! If you'll have the gamut of IT responsibilities (servers, networking, client support, etc...) then I'll reiterate the CompTIA certs. CONGRATS on the new job! Good luck! HTH.

-Peanut

networker050184

I'd say skip the CompTIA stuff no matter what your experience level is. If you want to further your career with Cisco then start out on the CCENT/CCNA.

ehnde

I studied for CCENT this past summer but never took the test (felt like I'd mastered all objectives except subnetting). Now I'm studying Network+, going to knock that out, then do CCENT/CCNA. These are the two certs you should consider from an entry level, brand new to networking perspective.

Network+ is vendor neutral and broader than CCENT. There are things covered in Network+ that I did not learn while studying for the CCENT. Network+ is probably easier than the CCENT (ICND1) exam. Just my personal opinion. If you factor in cost, Network+ is more expensive...vouchers from the "Exam Vouchers" link on techexams.net are going for $215. I think the CCENT will cost you $125.

If you are not sure which way to go, stop deliberating and just do one! Get that out of the way and then you can decide if you want to take the other.

rogue2shadow

iwannaknowIT wrote: »

I recently gained employment in the IT dept at my employment and look to reach beyond "as far as the eyes can see" into the Network field(CCNA and specialties). Read that it best to get certified with the basic(CCENT) and start my foundation from there. I'm the type who hates spinning my wheels and would like to know am I tackling this pursuit correctly? Please don't flame me if this is a stupid question(lol).......

There are no stupid questions. The CCENT is definitely a great start in terms of establishing a general networking foundation. I'd look at the roles and responsibilities of the network positions at your work and probably try to "buddy buddy" with one of the techs; maybe they can give you some information as to how they got where they are now.

mikej412

Do the certification(s) that will help you keep your job and do it better. Then work on the certification(s) that will help you get your next job.

If you don't mind spending the money, then the Network+ is a good place to start. The better your foundation, the easier the certifications down the road will be.

There will be some overlap between the Network+ and CCENT, so skipping the Network+ is an option if you don't want to spend the money -- or you want to save some time.

cisco_certs

Skip network + and CCENT. I recommend that you go for CCNA since you said you hate spinning the wheels. I took the CCNA test without network + and CCENT. However, I have 2 years experience in school pertaining to networking, OSI, switches, routers, linux/unix, and some IT experience that doesnt directly deal with switches and routers. You will have a hard time and might fail CCNA but if I can do it then you can also do it!

VAHokie56

cisco_certs wrote: »

Skip network + and CCENT. I recommend that you go for CCNA since you said you hate spinning the wheels. I took the CCNA test without network + and CCENT. However, I have 2 years experience in school pertaining to networking, OSI, switches, routers, linux/unix, and some IT experience that doesnt directly deal with switches and routers. You will have a hard time and might fail CCNA but if I can do it then you can also do it!

If you have very little Cisco experience I would highly recommend the two test route(CCENT --> CCNA) rather then just taking the comprehensive CCNA test.

cisco_certs

VAHokie56 wrote: »

If you have very little Cisco experience I would highly recommend the two test route(CCENT --> CCNA) rather then just taking the comprehensive CCNA test.

I agree with him. Even if you A's the multiple choice but you dont have extensive experience/lab then you will surely fail.

iwannaknowIT

You guys have really cleared my view and I'm gonna start my foundation upon CCERT first,but my goal is to soak up every/any/all info available and as I see,the sky's the limit...............thanks again guys(soon to be fellow techs!!!)

peanutnoggin

iwannaknowIT wrote: »

You guys have really cleared my view and I'm gonna start my foundation upon CCERT first,but my goal is to soak up every/any/all info available and as I see,the sky's the limit...............thanks again guys(soon to be fellow techs!!!)

Good on you... Good luck in your studies. Although some people will recommend skipping the Net+, I'm a firm believer in the concepts you'll learn. In my environment, I always have our "new guys" start with Net+. It teaches so many fundamentals about networking such as ports, protocols, firewalls (intro), operating systems, etc... I'm not sure if the CCENT will provide that info to you or not. Whichever path you choose... best of luck and let us know if we can help!

HTH.

-Peanut

gosh1976

For someone just starting out on their IT career/certification journey I would also recommend the Net+. The thing that reinforces this for me is my experience in my first CCNA course this fall. There were a number of students who were just starting on their IT career/cert/learning path and despite the extremely SLOW pace of the course they were constantly trying to catch up. I know you don't want to spin your wheels but the firm foundation will be invaluable. You don't necessarily have to take the Net+ but that's probably a good idea too. I would at least get a good foundation with doing some studying with maybe the rofessor messer videos and the mike meyers book. You may feel like this just slows you down but consider the fact that in my class while I was playing with the lab equipment setting up vlans and router on a stick some of my classmates where still trying to figure out what happens at the layer 2 of the OSI model!

and congrats on getting your foot in the door in the IT world! This is not an easy thing to do these days.

networker050184

peanutnoggin wrote: »

Good on you... Good luck in your studies. Although some people will recommend skipping the Net+, I'm a firm believer in the concepts you'll learn. In my environment, I always have our "new guys" start with Net+. It teaches so many fundamentals about networking such as ports, protocols, firewalls (intro), operating systems, etc... I'm not sure if the CCENT will provide that info to you or not. Whichever path you choose... best of luck and let us know if we can help!

HTH.

-Peanut

Of course everyone should learn the basics, but that has nothing to do with what certification exam you take. No point spending over $200 on a N+ when you can just go ahead and get the CCNA with much better ROI. At least thats the way I look at it.

peanutnoggin

networker050184 wrote: »

Of course everyone should learn the basics, but that has nothing to do with what certification exam you take. No point spending over $200 on a N+ when you can just go ahead and get the CCNA with much better ROI. At least thats the way I look at it.

Ahhh... I'm tracking you now... I can agree with you on that!

-Peanut

veritas_libertas

networker050184 wrote: »

Of course everyone should learn the basics, but that has nothing to do with what certification exam you take. No point spending over $200 on a N+ when you can just go ahead and get the CCNA with much better ROI. At least thats the way I look at it.

Agreed. The CCENT will easily teach you all the Net+ concepts and more.

iwannaknowIT

Thanks for all the replies.......Will constantly check for more suggestions b/c you "tech" guys are liquid info for the "sponge " brain(lol)....Thanks again

ehnde

networker050184 wrote: »

Of course everyone should learn the basics, but that has nothing to do with what certification exam you take. No point spending over $200 on a N+ when you can just go ahead and get the CCNA with much better ROI. At least thats the way I look at it.

You've just convinced me to just go for CCENT. You're absolutely right. The cost of Network+ by itself is almost as high as the ICND1 and 2 combined. CCNA is more respected than Network+. Seems like a no-brainer when you look at it that way.

iwannaknowIT

Well guys,I've started on course of study,evaluated all input from forum(s),and decided to shoot for the CCNA.From the initial start of vid(s) and book(s),I've gotten comfortable with the concept of OSI in conjunction with TCP/IP.My position will mainly concentrate on networking(Cisco equipment) and since I'm using MY funds,i'm gonna give myself 6 months of repetition reading/vids and take that Cert test for my Christmas present!! just wanted to say thanks and will update later............

iwannaknowIT

Learning with Chris Bryant and I have to say so far,I'm feeling good about my chances of being CCNA cert.....Just touching upon routers used in conjunction with switches......Can't wait to dive into practice labs (of course I'm gonna repeat this process continually until November until all I see in my sleep is IP-Collisions-Broadcast Storm Nightmares

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But I'm feelin' it anyway)......Updates coming as I progress

Sounds Good

How much harder is CCENT compared to N+?

seekrit

Instead of theory, it's practical use of the technology. It's not harder, it's more difficult because it reduces theory from a fundamental understanding to specific application.

impz

CCENT is much more fun studying for than the Network +. When I first configured RIPv2 on 2 routers connected via a T1 cable to the DSU T1 ports, I was like "ahhhhhhhhhhh thats so cool" - i was struck in awe for a few seconds staring at the terminal program on my computer screen showing a successfully ping.

iwannaknowIT

Just finished watching Chris Bryant's video and I have decided to ease into the world of Cisco by shooting for my CCENT first b/c it's quite a bit of info to digest at once.But my interest in the Cisco field has really heightened,especially when my fellow co-workers and I are touring the facility where VoIP is being intergrated and I know exactly what 255.255.255.0 means,oh I'm sorry, I meant /24..............I feel like my brain is thumping,but knowing that all this protocol language and ip adressing are no longer Greek to me makes it worth while......Well,just wanted to update and now back to watch video(s) again...........Later