a+ certified

Thanks to everyone. I'm now certified! On to the ccent or network+. Not sure which one is more recognized... I'll do some research

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Plantwiz

Congratulations!

I wouldn't focus on what is 'more' recognized, rather I'd focus on 'what will "I" use'. So, where do you plan to have your career take you? What are your goals? That will answer which exams you want to take. Take exams that show technology you currently use. Work toward exams that will move you through your career goals.

gadav478

Gotcha. I honestly am new to the IT world professionally. I want to get my foot in the door since I haven't the experience and I'm fine with help desk. I need to start somewhere so maybe I'll just get some experience there and hopefully get an opportunity to experiment with networking.

I have the great opportunity to sit for a ICND1 class next week for free (through networking at my current hotel job). I think it's a given to sit for the class, just to learn at least.

Thanks for the direction.

Plantwiz

Any time there is a class low cost or free and it benefits you (or may benefit you) down the road, take it!

Figure out what your strengths are in IT and what interests you. Map out a goal path for the next 3, 5 and 10 years (although with IT 10 years can be a whole lot different looking than what you think you know it is today). Nevertheless, if you are working in an environment with Linux and MACs, there is little purpose to study (for fun) the MS products unless you plan moving to a company where only MS servers and workstations are found [merely an example...but target areas you work in or will work in soon].

Once you satisfy your current job, look at where you want to move into next. Some of the more lower-end/entry level certs will give you practice and confidence in how to prepare, authors you enjoy, whitepaper research and lab setup for practice. In a year or two, maybe Cisco products will catch your fancy and you'll want to stop the areas you were studying for and move into the Cisco realm. It all simply depends....on you.

Best wishes!

quinnyfly

Congrats on the pass, best of luck with your networking career, good choice regarding networking, a strong networking foundation opens a few avenues.

YuckTheFankees

Great job! I would go for the CCNA next. If you want, take the CCENT 1st then move to the 2nd part.

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

Darril

Congrats on the pass, and congrats on getting a free seat for the ICND class. Classes can be quite expensive so that is a great opportunity.

gadav478

Thanks for the support everyone. This website is awesome. I'll update EVERYONE on how well the class went and my next cert excursion.

joshmadakor

geoffrey.a.davenport wrote: »

Thanks to everyone. I'm now certified! On to the ccent or network+. Not sure which one is more recognized... I'll do some research

CCENT is much more valuable than Network+. Network+ is like 50% of a CCENT, and CCENT is ~40% of a CCNA. IMHO, having studied for all 3.

Mrkali

Congratulations!

Chrono

Is their a point then to take net+ when you can just take ccent? It appears that ccent encompasses net+ material and more according to posts.

Would employers look down on the fact you have ccent and not net+?

thanks

joshmadakor

Chrono wrote: »

Would employers look down on the fact you have ccent and not net+?

If they did, they are ignorant. However that doesn't mean that they won't.

gadav478

... Which really makes me question whether or not I should grab both. By the way, this ICND1 class is great. I think I am liking networking. It's interesting how things connect in a network. Subnetting is a challenge but I like it. By the way, I've been called like 10 times since putting A+ on my resume. I've got a couple of interviews lined up. Good stuff. A+ is proving to be worth it to me, despite its harsh criticism at times.

rriker1

Congrats on A+ I to just passed mine and started Net+ but stopped when I met a CCIE at school, one of my teachers. He definitely recommends ccent then ccna and net+ cisco certs go farther and net+ only because they are vendor specific and the employer gets a break on hardware and support if they hire cisco cert'd pro's. So like me networking is the way to go, i'm taking my ccent in a couple months and by summers end or halloween ccna will be mine. Just keep one thing in mind, know not only the hardware/software but the reason why your putting the time into the cert, a cert is good but if you don't use it the way it's designed you wasted a lot of time.

Best of luck in all studies/ certifications

gadav478

rriker1 wrote: »

Just keep one thing in mind, know not only the hardware/software but the reason why your putting the time into the cert, a cert is good but if you don't use it the way it's designed you wasted a lot of time.

Exactly...

YFZblu

Chrono wrote: »

Is their a point then to take net+ when you can just take ccent? It appears that ccent encompasses net+ material and more according to posts.

Would employers look down on the fact you have ccent and not net+?

thanks

Yeah, that's the problem when choosing ccent or net+....Network+ is significantly more marketable than CCENT; however CCENT is halfway through CCNA, which is head and shoulders above Network+ on the 'usefulness' scale.

If you were self-studying, I would probably suggest getting net+ out of the way to build a foundation of networking theory before tackling ccna materials, but since you got placed in a class, you might be OK just moving straight into ccent - as long as you're committed to taking it all the way to ccna. If you DON'T want to get your ccna, just knock out Net+ and move on to another technology.

NetworkVeteran

Chrono wrote: »

Would employers look down on the fact you have ccent and not net+?

Employers will look down on both of these. The Network+ doesn't cover networking at the depth needed for someone who will actually configure/troubleshoot networking devices. The CCNA has been Cisco's entry-level certificate for a long time; many companies aren't aware of the new and lesser CCENT, and wouldn't hire based on it if you explained it.

Aim for a CCNA if you want to get into the networking field.

cisco certs go farther and net+ only because they are vendor specific and the employer gets a break on hardware and support

Nah. While that's true, there's much more to it. Consider that Juniper hires based on Cisco certifications. About 80% of the certification material could apply to any vendor. The Network+ simply doesn't go deep enough into L2/L3.

maddem

Congrats on pass, best of luck with future studies..

bmy78

Congratulations. I'm in the midst of studying for A+ and am a little anxious about it.

Have you decided yet? I think I'm going with Network+, mainly because I don't have any professional experience with IT, it's vendor-neutral, and it's perceived to be entry-level. As others have said, it's probably more well-known than CCENT. Then again, CCENT is halfway towards a CCNA...

gadav478

I'm thinking about going the Network+ route due to the same reason, the only thing holding me back is actually having training for the CCENT and not certifying immediately. I doubt someone will hire me with a CCENT with no IT experience except sidejobs. I thought about doing both but I don't want to be redundant.

gadav478

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

The CCNA has been Cisco's entry-level certificate for a long time; many companies aren't aware of the new and lesser CCENT, and wouldn't hire based on it if you explained it.

Aim for a CCNA if you want to get into the networking field.

Point well taken.

YuckTheFankees

I took the Network+ before CCENT, and I'm glad I did. In my neck of the woods, a good amount of employers ask for the Network+ on their job postings. It was one of the main reasons I received a job at my current company (NOC). The hiring manager told me " you don't have the experience we are looking for but the certifications show you have knowledge and drive to understand the field".

kocher

I finished my a+ exam last Monday. I personally wanted to go for Network+ next, but it isn't included in my degree path (security with WGU). So I started my CCENT and will follow it with the CCNA and then Security+

When I am done with my CCNA and Security+, I plan to go back for my Network+, 1 for peace of mind, and 2 for the DoD approval.

Darryl