Worthwhile/Beneficial Skills

elderkai

I recently sat for and passed the CCNA. My next step is getting an internship over the summer optionally, while also over the course of the next school year. However, looking at job postings on places like Monster, I noticed that there's never a company who wants to hire someone that JUST knows Cisco networking. The cert itself might be enough, but they also might want someone who know's plenty about VMware or another popular business tech area/application.

Seeing how I've never been around an IT atmosphere for a business(probably because I've never even worked for a business yet), I'm not really sure of common technologies they may need to implement and have their top people be excellent with. I have a lot of free time, like a lot. So during this summer I thought why not tackle my weaknesses. I've done that so far with ipv6, but I don't only enjoy networking, I enjoy everything.

So, finally, my question: What technologies/application should I be very well with that will minimize the amount of things that I can't do in a networking-like job? Or just IT in general? Resources would be helpful, too. ^.^ I appreciate any feedback.


I'm not crystal if this topic should go here exactly, but I felt the root subject fit so..

YFZblu

-Packet analysis - NOC work is more than just configuring the infrastructure. Being able to read packets and getting familiar with a packet sniffer like Snort or Wireshark could be valuable.

-Linux - You might find yourself in data center interviews where people want you to have some Linux knowledge, so I thought I'd throw that out there.

-Further your CCNA studies - I'm not saying go for your CCNP, but looking into CCNP-level topics such as BGP and MPLS could be valuable.

More than anything, just decide what you love and strive for a deep understanding of that technology. Good luck, and congratulations on your CCNA

elderkai

How should I go about getting comfortable with Packet Analysis? Also, I like using Debian as a personal OS, so exactly how well should I be with it? I've been meaning to read through one of TLDP books for linux which would take me from casual level to admin, would that be necessary?

I've been planning on reading Routing TCP/IP and reading through some CCNP material, I'll come across those as I go. ^.^

YFZblu

elderkai wrote: »

How should I go about getting comfortable with Packet Analysis? Also, I like using Debian as a personal OS, so exactly how well should I be with it? I've been meaning to read through one of TLDP books for linux which would take me from casual level to admin, would that be necessary?

I've been planning on reading Routing TCP/IP and reading through some CCNP material, I'll come across those as I go. ^.^

As far as the packet analysis is concerned, I just picked up this book: Practical Packet Analysis - Using Wireshark to solve real-world network problems.

Amazon.com: Practical Packet Analysis: Using Wireshark to Solve Real-World Network Problems (9781593272661): Chris Sanders: Books

If that goes well and I'm still interested I might go all the way for the Wireshark certification. In terms of Linux, perhaps someone else can give more detailed information. I've had several data center interviews and they've all wanted Linux knowledge in some capacity.