what to do next after CCNP

mirror51

I am CCNP RS certified.
But i have not yet any job experience in cisco field.
I have 3-4 months left here before going to Australia.

I have 3 years Australian experience in system Administration and web developement.

Now i want to know that is there any use for me go for few more paper like voice , security , ccda etc not.
As i have don't have any experience in cisco so i don't know where going for diff fields is good idea or not.

or CCNP is sufficent for now and when i enter the job then i can proceed for few more exams.

Will those exams increase my chances for job or CCNP is sufficient??

SOmetimes i think i should spent 4 months in brushing up my Sys Admin skills .

Guys please help me

nethacker

mirror51 wrote: »

I am CCNP RS certified.
But i have not yet any job experience in cisco field.
I have 3-4 months left here before going to Australia.

I have 3 years Australian experience in system Administration and web developement.

Now i want to know that is there any use for me go for few more paper like voice , security , ccda etc not.
As i have don't have any experience in cisco so i don't know where going for diff fields is good idea or not.

or CCNP is sufficent for now and when i enter the job then i can proceed for few more exams.

Will those exams increase my chances for job or CCNP is sufficient??

SOmetimes i think i should spent 4 months in brushing up my Sys Admin skills .

Guys please help me

i think the CCNP is enough for now. I'll advise you to hit the ground running by looking for a NOC position to familiarize yourself with different cisco gears like the ASAs,routers, switches and the likes. With the CCNP cert on your resume, i think some employers will want to give you a try but the major stumbling block will come when you are to be interviewed by a techie person in networks. If you don't work on these gears everyday, you run the risk of forgetting the network foundations so easily.

Sett

I'd say get some experience. There is no point to go for another certifications at this time. Even the CCNP is overkill in your situation.

mirror51

i agree with you all but i will tell you one thing. When i cleared CCNA i didn't knew much but after completing CCNP. I am now feeling much confident and my lot of concepts got cleared

nethacker

mirror51 wrote: »

i agree with you all but i will tell you one thing. When i cleared CCNA i didn't knew much but after completing CCNP. I am now feeling much confident and my lot of concepts got cleared

In Networks, it's one thing to be theoretically sound and another thing is to be practically sound (that is possessing excellent troubleshooting skills). Troubleshooting skills are learned on the job not in cisco press OCG. bear in mind that clearing your CCNP is not tantamount to excellent troubleshooting skills. As far as the employers are concerned, that's just an indication that you have the foundational knowledge. I guess you'll agree with me that passing all college-level physics courses doesn't make you a physicist

advanex1

Well, while I will agree that experience is much more well received, I don't see not having it as an indicator that someone should stop trying to learn or certify. I'd much rather be a person with no experience, but theoretically sound and certified. Than a person with no experience, not theoretically sound and not certified.

Do I have alot of time on racks where I'm at currently? No, but I spend time working on it myself and constantly try and troubleshoot my own network designs if I screw up. Just because I don't get time on a production network doesn't mean that I am going to NOT get my CCNP and CCIP. Those certifications are achievements and to me are paramount to my educational success in the field that I want to work in and make a career in.

Passing those certifications may not make me a true NOC by any means or a network administrator, but it does mean that I am atleast competent within the subject. I don't know, maybe that would be overqualifying myself, but my hunger for knowledge in networks is insatiable.

So to the OP, if you want more certs, I say go for them if anything, it will just make you better picking up and learning some things you may have forgotten or didn't know.

mirror51

advanex1 wrote: »

Well, while I will agree that experience is much more well received, I don't see not having it as an indicator that someone should stop trying to learn or certify. I'd much rather be a person with no experience, but theoretically sound and certified. Than a person with no experience, not theoretically sound and not certified.

Do I have alot of time on racks where I'm at currently? No, but I spend time working on it myself and constantly try and troubleshoot my own network designs if I screw up. Just because I don't get time on a production network doesn't mean that I am going to NOT get my CCNP and CCIP. Those certifications are achievements and to me are paramount to my educational success in the field that I want to work in and make a career in.

Passing those certifications may not make me a true NOC by any means or a network administrator, but it does mean that I am atleast competent within the subject. I don't know, maybe that would be overqualifying myself, but my hunger for knowledge in networks is insatiable.

So to the OP, if you want more certs, I say go for them if anything, it will just make you better picking up and learning some things you may have forgotten or didn't know.

thanks dude, that was best non biased answer . Although there is no substitute for Practical experience but If you have free time there is no harm in getting certs

triki

the fact that you have your ccnp why not apply for a ccna level job and work on other certs that way your killing to birds with one stone

mirror51

I can only start finding job when i reach AU. and i have 4 months left for that. so i was confused what to do in that time

nethacker

mirror51 wrote: »

I can only start finding job when i reach AU. and i have 4 months left for that. so i was confused what to do in that time

If that is the case, go for more certs. It'll pay you off in the end.

mirror51

nethacker wrote: »

If that is the case, go for more certs. It'll pay you off in the end.

so now the original question comes , should i go for security , voice , ccda or ccip

nethacker

mirror51 wrote: »

so now the original question comes , should i go for security , voice , ccda or ccip

hmmmm...this question depends on where you see yourself in the nearest future. If you have passion for design,then go for the CCDA track. if you have flare for network defense, go for the security, if you want to be routing voice traffic,voice is the way to go and if you are looking at service provider networks,ccip is your best option.

mirror51

i think where ever i work security and RS will go hand in hand. Service provider, voice and design can be kept separate and may or may not be the part of organisation. what u think??

TLeTourneau

mirror51 wrote: »

so now the original question comes , should i go for security , voice , ccda or ccip

How about a Juniper cert? Expand your marketability.

nethacker

TLeTourneau wrote: »

How about a Juniper cert? Expand your marketability.

i have been thinking of that though but there is no juniper to work with in the first place.

S3CUR3N3TW0RK

Go for the CCIP, since you already have the CCNP it'll just be an additional 2 tests. These tests will help prepare you for the CCIE Written in the long run once you get some experience under your belt. The CCDA/CCDP track is a good one as well, but you won't realize the practicality of it and will therefore probably not get want Cisco wants you to get from that route since you have no experience working on, let-alone designing, cisco networks.

As for the type of employment you should seek, forget the NOC route, completely by-pass that path if possible, most NOCs are completely standardized and your responsibilities are pretty limited - so you will not be doing work on the CCNP level at most of these positions. Go straight for a network implementation engineering position, that route worked for me, and trust me you'll be involved in the design, implementation, and testing of any and all technologies that go into the network. Trust me, you'll learn in 2-3 years what would take you 8+ years to learn in a NOC and then some. Look for work that deals strictly with infrastructure, all LAN/WAN network technologies including IP routing (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP), WAN protocols (ATM, Frame-Relay, MPLS), LAN switching (Catalysts, VTP, HSRP) etc. The larger the enterprise network (or ISP if you can get a job at one) the better. I realize these positions may be hard to find since you don't have any experience but with the CCIP and CCNP you should be able to find a junior level position as a network engineer. Just make sure the position deals strictly or mainly with the enterprises infrastructure environment.

Once you begin working in this type of enviroment spend some time, 1 to 2 years, mastering anything and everything you need to be successfull at work and learn as much and get your hands on as many different things dealing with routing and switching as possible. Try and be involved with the senior engineers / architects in everything from design, acquisition of vendor products, to testing, implementation and even documentation. Then after about a solid 1 to 2 years of work experience begin preping for the CCIE Written, in which the CCIP info will compensate for any gap between the CCNP and CCIE Written making this largely a theory review for you as opposed to anything new. Take and pass the Written (preferably after your 2nd year of solid infrastructure experience) and then give yourself 18 months of hard core labbing while working to prep for the CCIE lab. If successfull, then you'll have a good (2+18 months) ~ 4 years of solid experience and a CCIE and will be able to write your own ticket from then on out.

Sorry for the long post, but that route is definitely the best one to pursue and the one that would probably get you the furthest if R&S infrastructure / ISP network engineering is the area you choose to pursue.

SharkDiver

S3CUR3,

Great advice on the CCIP! I may take your advice, even though it wasn't meant for me.

S3CUR3N3TW0RK

SharkDiver,

Glad to be of some help. I see that your well on your way to CCNP status, you'll be there soon enough.

nicklauscombs

why not take a crack at the JNCIA-JUNOS exam?

alxx

ccnp security ?

Been quite a few high profile hacking cases here recently
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/more-than-just-data-lost-in-cruel-hack-20110624-1gjj4.html

http://www.zdnet.com.au/distributeit-claims-evil-behind-hack-339319324.htm

good luck

A lot of taxi drivers in Sydney have multiple degrees(masters/Doctorates) and ccna/ccnp but can't get work due to not having any practical experience.

I'd keep an eye on http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/ , smh.com.au , Jobs, Employment & Careers @ MyCareer SEEK - Australia's no. 1 jobs, employment, career and recruitment site and especially http://www.nbnco.com.au/working-for-us/jobs.html

here's a few
http://www.seek.com.au/Job/unix-systems-administrator/in/sydney-north-shore-northern-beaches/20896852]

Customer Support Engineer: Routing & Switching - Cisco - 1yr Contract job in St Leonards, NSW 2065 ( IT and Telecommunications:Helpdesk and Desktop Support IT and Telecommunications:Networks and Systems IT and Telecommunications:Network Engineering )

SEEK - Security level 1
[/URL]
Also remember to keep an eye on the university job web sites , can be a bit more flexible on employment conditions.

effekted

If I were in your shoes I'd probably focus on some security and if it interests you, voice. VOIP is everywhere.

jovan88

I wouldn't worry about a cert in the position you are in now. Get your resume ready and read through things like QoS, VPNs, ASAs and all the important things that are missing from the current CCNP track. Read something like Network Warrior and do as many labs as possible.

The truth is once you go for the interviews your CCNP isn't going to mean anything, it will be what you know and how you market yourself.