Question for those who have passed CCNA/CCENT

blatini

Yesterday I passed my Network+ exam and am gearing up for my next one. I ultimately want to receive a CCNA cert, but at the moment I am unemployed. I was thinking of taking the Security+ for the time being because it would be something that I can finish quicker than the CCNA incase the job search takes a little longer than usual

Do you think it would be wiser to go straight after the CCNA while some of the material is fresh in my head from the Net+ or get the quick certification?

ehnde

blatini wrote: »

Yesterday I passed my Network+ exam and am gearing up for my next one. I ultimately want to receive a CCNA cert, but at the moment I am unemployed. I was thinking of taking the Security+ for the time being because it would be something that I can finish quicker than the CCNA incase the job search takes a little longer than usual

Do you think it would be wiser to go straight after the CCNA while some of the material is fresh in my head from the Net+ or get the quick certification?

Grats on the pass!

The CCNA is quite a bit more difficult than the material in the Security+ exam (I don't have Security+, but I took a class for it in college and didn't want to pay to take the exam).

If you are unemployed you have more time to study. As long as you're making full use of that time, do which one suits you best and/or whichever you are seeing more of a demand for in your area. Either cert will help you get a job.

alan2308

The Security+ and the CCNA will both have some material that is familiar from the Network+. But I think the CCNA will look better on your resume unless you're looking at a job that you absolutely have to have a Sec+ for, such as the DoD.

ccnaomkar

ccna is harder than any basic level certification
u require both thoery and practical hands on for it
basically it is geared toward networking stuff
whether it is cisco,juniper,hp,nortel,brocade etc....
u should start from ccna and then go further as u want

djlomba

I pretty much was in the same boat. I have Net+, and began working on Sec+ until I realized having "cisco" on a resume' looks better than having another Comptia cert.

I'd say go the CCNA route.

Todd Burrell

I have my Sec+ and Net+ certs and I am working on my CCNA right now. I would rate Sec+ and Net+ about a difficulty of 3-4 on a 1-10 scale, and the CCNA looks to be in the 8-9 range. The Net+ and Sec+ seemed to cover a tremendous array of knowledge, but in very little detail. The CCNA is much more concentrated and much, much more detail oriented.

xenodamus

The Security+ and CCNA have both been beneficial to my career....but in different ways.

The CCNA gave me viable skills and knowledge that I can take into situations and solve problems. It also got my resume noticed for my current position as a Network Engineer.

The Security plus had some indirect benefits. I only took it because it would be lifetime if I passed before December 2010. It turned out that I needed it to fulfill a DoD requirement for my current job, though. It was also a good intro to the CISSP, which I have to pass to keep my job as well.

I guess the bottom line is that I don't see the Security plus being a defining factor that gets you a job. If you want to knock it out quickly, that's fine. Most people study 1 month or less for that exam.

If you're going to spend alot of time studying for it, though, I would focus on the CCNA first instead. I can see it having a greater impact on your resume and career path.