Enthused about getting certifications in IT, but they are expensive

Why are certifications so expensive? Should I go for my N+, then my CCENT? So confused at which path to take. I have my A+, but I also want to see the networking side and get some experience. Maybe take a couple of cisco classes at my local college. Why is everything so expensive! Anyway I can get loans or half off on exams or something?

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azjag

Certification costs are a culmination of everything that goes into creating/maintaining the test. Research and development of the certification, creating the question pool, minus whatever the exam proctor charges to make the exam available, all the bookkeeping for each person who takes the exam pass or fail, quality control, legal fees and so on. If you look at it this way Comptia had been offering lifetime certifications for many years, once you take the test there is no point in going back and retaking it. Hence the high cost of a lifetime cert. I don't know if they lowered the price once they started requiring Continuing Education Credits to maintain the cert. Microsoft has been charging $125 per cert for over a decade. I remember my nt 4 Network essentials cert costing that much back in 1999. Fast forward to 2011 and they still cost that much. Although I hear Microsoft might be raising the prices here shortly.

You can get discounts here and there, I've posted 2nd shot offers that I find from VMware and Microsoft. I'm sure somebody on this site has a link to a website that will sell discounted vouchers for certifications. Usually they are discounted because they expire soon.

You can goto your community college for any of these classes. Usually the week-long bootcamps are going to cost you $1k - $5k. I would opt for a college class or book learning before applying for a loan to go to one of those. But that depends on your learning style. I'm 2 semesters into the Cisco Learning academy and enjoy the format of that class. If it was a Microsoft cert I could get away with a book and a VM. Cisco is a whole different animal requiring a different setup than the one I currently have. In the end it all depends on what works for you.

tbgree00

I would definitely try to avoid loans for certs if you can avoid it. While I'm not totally opposed to debt I do my best to avoid it. It totally scares me because it can go from managable to soul crushing with one pink slip.

If you have an IT job and a good relationship with your boss/management approach them and see if they do tuition reimbursement/buy CBTs or books/reimburse or pay for tests. If you're still in school or don't have the kind of job that wants to pay for CPE then you'll have to look at your budget. Grab a book off of amazon about your topic of choice, pack a PB&J instead of going out to eat, and look at other places to save money. Eventually you'll have enough of a financial and book knowledge base to get that Net+ or CCENT.

Speaking from experience Net+ is doable with no real networking experience, a book, and playing with a linksys home router. It's just high level concepts, subnetting, etc. I can't speak for CCENT though.

Turgon

Armymanis wrote: »

Why are certifications so expensive? Should I go for my N+, then my CCENT? So confused at which path to take. I have my A+, but I also want to see the networking side and get some experience. Maybe take a couple of cisco classes at my local college. Why is everything so expensive! Anyway I can get loans or half off on exams or something?

Get used equipment off ebay and some books. You don't need expensive classes.

instant000

To echo what everyone else said, you don't need to go broke to get Network+ and CCENT. Your biggest expenses should be (1) exam fees, (2) your books, and (3) your simulator/lab equipment. Oh wait, another expense: time. You can't build Rome in a day.

If you will note, this forum is chock full of people who are "self-studying" for certifications.

You are advised to post questions on cost-effective attainment of the Network+, in the Network+ forum. The people monitoring that forum should give you great advice to get your Network+.

If you want a cost-effective way to get CCENT, post in the CCENT/CCNA forum. The people monitoring that session give great advice.

Note: What I call "great advice" you might call "garbage." But, hey, "one man's trash is another man's treasure."

Hope this helps!

darkladdie

If you think the Net+ and CCENT exam are $$$, wait until you start looking at the CISA, CISSP and GIAC exams (thankfully work is paying for this one or would never take it).

But the bottom line is, this is just the cost of doing business nowadays to keep your job or get a promotion.
Remember to always strive to improve your skills or you may find yourself to be a dinosaur, speaking from personally experience here. My previous employer pink slipped me and then went belly up. And finding a job without any certs or inside contacts was pretty tough.