What do you guy's think about school Certificates?

Armymanis

So My school offers a Cisco Support Technician Certificate. Would it be worth pursing?

nhan.ng

certificate of completion? achievement? it doesnt have much value compare to an actual Cisco Certificate, but at least it's a proof that tell the employer you did get your training at a legitimate place, instead of dumping it

if u have the time, go for it

higherho

nhan.ng wrote: »

certificate of completion? achievement? it doesnt have much value compare to an actual Cisco Certificate, but at least it's a proof that tell the employer you did get your training at a legitimate place, instead of dumping it

if u have the time, go for it

It kind of does mean something. It means the individual is not just a paper cert but actually has lab experience from either the Cisco Networking Academy.

Armymanis

higherho wrote: »

It kind of does mean something. It means the individual is not just a paper cert but actually has lab experience from either the Cisco Networking Academy.

here are what some of the classes of the certificate require:

NSCOM 201/202 (Cisco Networking I & II) :

Course provides foundation knowledge in networking. Topics include: network topologies, OSI model, design and documentation, LANs, network media, protocols and routing.

NSCOM 203/204 (Cisco Networking III & IV) :

[FONT=arial, veranda]Course uses Cisco internetworking hardware to gain hands-on experience in
designing and configuring a local area network (LAN). Topics include OSI
model, LAN switching, virtual LANs, LAN design, routing protocols, access
control lists, Novell Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) and network
management.

I would really like to get into cisco and learn their technologies and
maybe even go into the networking field.
[/FONT]

Armymanis

bump..please let me know your opinions.

higherho

Take the courses. It will benefit you greatly. Not only will you learn cisco technology and networking in general you will most likely get lab time which does count as experience.

I took the one year Cisco Network academy at my college and took two CCNP courses and it helped me a lot and also makes you more valuable than paper CCNA's / bootcamp CCNA's with no exp.

SteveO86

If I remember correctly, when I went through the Cisco NetAcad, I got one or two of those "hey good job" achievement papers. In the end, they won't mean much.

I had them listed on resume (mainly because I didn't have much at resume at the time and just needed to fill white space) while I was trying to get my first positions in IT. The only thing they did was make the hiring manager ask me addition networking/cisco questions during the interview, even when I wasn't applying for a networking position. Especially since I did not have my CCNA at the time (I was still working towards it).

It's up to you whether to go for it or not. It won't hurt you but if you can get your CCNA you will be a lot better off. If networking something you want to do I would get all the Cisco knowledge you can it make getting your CCNA that much easier.

higherho

SteveO86 wrote: »

If I remember correctly, when I went through the Cisco NetAcad, I got one or two of those "hey good job" achievement papers. In the end, they won't mean much.

I had them listed on resume (mainly because I didn't have much at resume at the time and just needed to fill white space) while I was trying to get my first positions in IT. The only thing they did was make the hiring manager ask me addition networking/cisco questions during the interview, even when I wasn't applying for a networking position. Especially since I did not have my CCNA at the time (I was still working towards it).

It's up to you whether to go for it or not. It won't hurt you but if you can get your CCNA you will be a lot better off.

Though getting your CCNA and going through the courses still looks better than a person just getting a CCNA with no exp.

Plus I having them on your resume under education is still a huge plus because the Network Academy is very well received among tech hiring managers. Most expect you to be CCNA level by the end of them and technically you should be.

Armymanis

higherho wrote: »

Though getting your CCNA and going through the courses still looks better than a person just getting a CCNA with no exp.

Plus I having them on your resume under education is still a huge plus because the Network Academy is very well received among tech hiring managers. Most expect you to be CCNA level by the end of them and technically you should be.

see if I get this school certificate that is exactly what I was thinking. I was also thinking about getting my N+, got my sybex books, but people say I should skip the N+ and go straight for the CCNA. Problem is, I have no network experience. My first job is as a Desktop Support Technician 1, however I would love to get into the networking field. Do you guy's think I should continue studying for my N+ and then get the CCNA?

I also hear that the CCNA is not an entry level cert and it would look bad on my resume.

nicklauscombs

Armymanis wrote: »

Do you guy's think I should continue studying for my N+ and then get the CCNA?

if you are interested in breaking into networking the N+ and CCNA are your best bets.

SteveLord

I could get one of these every week for any Microsoft, Adobe or Cisco cert/app if I had the time and office had the money.

I'm with the others...value is extremely limited at best.

SteveO86

From what I have seen from this forum, people say learn the Network+ material, but don't bother paying the 250 bucks for the test (unless you can get a free voucher or someone else to flip to bill), the knowledge is more worthwhile then the actual certificate.

I would read the Network+ material.

the value of a CCNA coming out of school without experience depends soley on the employer and how they feel about certifications, that should not stop you from getting your CCNA.

VAHokie56

Legit CCNA Cert > School certificate...this is obvious but if you feel the class will benefit you and help you actually pass the real CCNA then go for it cannot hurt. Good luck.

Armymanis

VAHokie56 wrote: »

Legit CCNA Cert > School certificate...this is obvious but if you feel the class will benefit you and help you actually pass the real CCNA then go for it cannot hurt. Good luck.

The two classes combined are $920, which is less than the CCNA boot camps are. That also includes books and hands-on lab experience time.

Daniel333

Just use the classes to help you get your real CCNA/CCNP.

Honestly everyone I have interviewed with a certificate of completion from a college has been someone I wouldn't hire.

The best IT people don't need a 4-6 month class. They are self teachers. Technology is always changing and you are going to need to find a way to stay ahead of the curve on your own without a school. Learning has to be continuous. You can self teach a lot of 10-20 minutes a day.

If you are really new to the material, take a class. When you are done, snag a book and the start reading and building up your own lab. You won't regret that.

crrussell3

Armymanis wrote: »

The two classes combined are $920, which is less than the CCNA boot camps are. That also includes books and hands-on lab experience time.

I would imagine $920 could buy you the books and start building a decent lab to begin with. I would say don't take the classes and build your own lab.

higherho

Daniel333 wrote: »

Just use the classes to help you get your real CCNA/CCNP.

Honestly everyone I have interviewed with a certificate of completion from a college has been someone I wouldn't hire.

The best IT people don't need a 4-6 month class. They are self teachers. Technology is always changing and you are going to need to find a way to stay ahead of the curve on your own without a school. Learning has to be continuous. You can self teach a lot of 10-20 minutes a day.

If you are really new to the material, take a class. When you are done, snag a book and the start reading and building up your own lab. You won't regret that.

So you are saying that someone going through the Cisco Network Academy is not as good as someone who just passed the CCNA exam? That lab time counts as experience and your troubleshooting skills increase greatly.

I seen people with CCNA's and could not trouble shoot a duplex issue because they just went and passed the test.

Yes the certificate might not mean much but it does show the employer and HR person that the individual does know Cisco stuff and with that lab experience (which in most schools counts up to a year of exp) and the CCNA is worth a lot more than someone just graduating and having a CCNA.

during my Cisco classes in college our teacher actually broke most of the equipment on purpose one day and we came in groups of two people and he told us to figure it out and fix it. Yes you can get this kind of experience with your own lab (unless you went to a school like mine who had enterprise level equipment and a huuge lab that would rival some datacenters) but why would you skip out on a perfect opportunity to gain knowledge and experience?

N2IT

I've considered doing the project management certification and the Six Sigma one, except for the price kept me from doing it.

I think if you have the extra money and you really want to go into that specific genre of IT I would go for it.

Good luck man

Armymanis

I know I really want to do something with System Administration or Networking Administration. It seems like I need to take the classes since I am fresh to the networking world. I have been studying the Desktop repair side of things for 2 years and feel pretty good about it. I feel like I need to broaden my areas into Networking.

I am no pro by any means in the Desktop Repair side because all my knowledge has come from going to school. I would like to be able to broaden my horizons and be able to learn more things that are interesting besides just regular PC repair.

astrogeek

Armymanis wrote: »

see if I get this school certificate that is exactly what I was thinking. I was also thinking about getting my N+, got my sybex books, but people say I should skip the N+ and go straight for the CCNA. Problem is, I have no network experience. My first job is as a Desktop Support Technician 1, however I would love to get into the networking field. Do you guy's think I should continue studying for my N+ and then get the CCNA?

I also hear that the CCNA is not an entry level cert and it would look bad on my resume.

Net+ provides a good foundation for CCNA material, but I don't think employers care about the actual Net+ certification and CCNA trumps it anyway so I'd skip the Net+ cert and go for CCNA. Whoever told you CCNA looks bad on a resume must be smokin somethin because I've never heard anyone say such a thing. Just look for yourself through networking employment job listings and you can see CCNA is valuable (obviously not as much as CCNP or CCIE, but it is usually a basic requirement).

Armymanis wrote: »

The two classes combined are $920, which is less than the CCNA boot camps are. That also includes books and hands-on lab experience time.

Yes it is less than boot camps, but it is still way more than I paid at a local community college. Use this link to find more Cisco Networking academies near you so you can perhaps find a better deal:
Cisco Networking Academy - Locate Academy and Class/es

It doesn't really matter what school you go to that supports a Cisco networking academy, but the main things I'd look at is how long the courses are, what they charge, and if they have a good lab to work with that won't be too overcrowded with other classmates trying to use them at the same time. In my opinion a good CCNA academy should take about a year to complete. There's a lot of stuff to cover and you need to have time working in the lab as well to really learn what you need.

Not trying to knock your school's CCNA program, just letting you know you may have other options that may or may not be better. It's worth exploring, but either way I would HIGHLY recommend going to a CCNA academy and getting CCNA certified if you're interested in getting into networking.