Looking to make a career in networking. Have some Q's though.

kschaffner

First of all thank you for taking the time to read this.

So, after much thought I decided I want to make a career in networking. I have been working as a Technician for about 3 years now (Mom and pop type store but 3 locations in the same city) and just want to step up in the world.

I have been looking at getting my CCNA (along with Cisco Network Specialist Technical Certificate of Credit from my local Tech School, probably useless ), A+ (just because some HR departments like/require it). I was wondering if having the 3-4 years of work experience would be good experience to help possibly get a job. I know that the experience I have doesn't correlate with network scenarios besides basic home routers/switches/modems.

If anyone has any insight or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

ehnde

Congratulations on your decision. Now the challenge begins!

The Cisco classes in your community college probably will not be enough to pass the CCNA exam, regardless if you go the 2 exam route or one exam. It can certainly help you, but you need multiple study sources to pass and lab work - that could be where the Cisco classes come in handy (school lab).

The A+ would help you get an entry level job. With your experience don't expect to learn anything significant that is new to you. It's expensive....then again if your school is a CompTIA education partner you can get vouchers VERY cheap.

These two books could get you started with Cisco for any self-study you intend to do:
Amazon.com: CCENT/CCNA ICND1 Official Exam Certification Guide, 2nd Edition (9781587201820): Wendell Odom: Books
Amazon.com: CCNA, (640-802): Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide (9780470901076): Todd Lammle: Books

If you get your CCNA, you've earned it.

Forsaken_GA

The best way to get a job in networking is to know people. The years of experience will certainly help, depending on what they're years of experience in.

Make as many contacts as you possibly can, certainly go for your certifications. If you've got network guys at your current job, get friendly with them. If they've got maints when you're not working (or if they have some when you are, and you can get away with it), see if you can tag along and clip some cluepons. Endeavor to learn as much as you possibly can, from the book side and the practical side.

And document what you learn, especially if it's not in a book.

getting beyond being a basic ticket and phone monkey takes alot of drive and work. Companies are reluctant to let folks who don't know what they're doing put their paws on the pipes, because these days, the results of downtime can be quite severe. Making contact with people who are doing what you're doing and exploiting the hell out of them as a learning resource is probably the smartest thing you can do for your career.

Dakinggamer87

Great decision to go into networking!!

Good luck with your studies

fslima0

ehnde wrote: »

Congratulations on your decision. Now the challenge begins!

The Cisco classes in your community college probably will not be enough to pass the CCNA exam, regardless if you go the 2 exam route or one exam. It can certainly help you, but you need multiple study sources to pass and lab work - that could be where the Cisco classes come in handy (school lab).

The A+ would help you get an entry level job. With your experience don't expect to learn anything significant that is new to you. It's expensive....then again if your school is a CompTIA education partner you can get vouchers VERY cheap.

These two books could get you started with Cisco for any self-study you intend to do:
Amazon.com: CCENT/CCNA ICND1 Official Exam Certification Guide, 2nd Edition (9781587201820): Wendell Odom: Books
Amazon.com: CCNA, (640-802): Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide (9780470901076): Todd Lammle: Books

If you get your CCNA, you've earned it.

I think the Cisco NetAcad you take in a local community college is more than enough to pass CCNA. I took the ICND1 exam and passed easily. I am pretty sure the same thing is going to happen when I take the iCND2 exam. That's not to say you shouldn't study the exam topics from multiple sources, but I think if you take CCNA1-4, you should be able to pass it. That's what I am going to do...

ehnde

fslima0 wrote: »

I think the Cisco NetAcad you take in a local community college is more than enough to pass CCNA. I took the ICND1 exam and passed easily. I am pretty sure the same thing is going to happen when I take the iCND2 exam. That's not to say you shouldn't study the exam topics from multiple sources, but I think if you take CCNA1-4, you should be able to pass it. That's what I am going to do...

I did the academy courses in 2004 and later found out there were large gaps in what I'd learned. Not that the courses weren't useful, they were.

Getting your foot in the door is tough, no doubt. I'm trying to do that right now myself.

N2IT

kschaffner wrote: »

First of all thank you for taking the time to read this.

So, after much thought I decided I want to make a career in networking. I have been working as a Technician for about 3 years now (Mom and pop type store but 3 locations in the same city) and just want to step up in the world.

I have been looking at getting my CCNA (along with Cisco Network Specialist Technical Certificate of Credit from my local Tech School, probably useless ), A+ (just because some HR departments like/require it). I was wondering if having the 3-4 years of work experience would be good experience to help possibly get a job. I know that the experience I have doesn't correlate with network scenarios besides basic home routers/switches/modems.

If anyone has any insight or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

IMO be leary of tech schools the loans for those can be astronomical. Check out your local community college and see if you can enroll in their networking program. I personally know two guys who actually went through this program and both received their CCNA. It gave them a ton of hands on knowledge along with the curriculum.

earweed

Getting your foot in the door is the tough thing. You may have to try going through recruiters if you don't have any contacts. All the (lower level)network guys where I work got their first network jobs before even getting their CCNA but were required to get them within a certain period. Several of them had network experience in the military.
To get your foot in the door with recruiter a good thing to do is post your resume on monster.com

kschaffner

I found out today that in the 1 year time frame I can pick up not only my CCNA but my Net+, Sec+, MCITP Client, MCIPT Server, A+ if wanted along with an associates degree. :P

pert

I'm a little more pessimistic than the others here. Breaking into networking now is incredibly difficult, and I'm not even sure if its worth it compared to other options or even other fields. Its really a catch 22 field where to get any experience you need to have experience.