looking for advice making sure I gave out right advice.

gdeusthewhizkid

Hey guys,

Just wanted to make sure I consulted the experts on techexams. I have a younger brother who has been in IT for a about 2 years. He has a degree in IT and got his a+ last year. He wants to get more into networking. I told him he should skip getting network+ and security+ and just go for CCNA and hopefully land a entry level networking position. Im trying to guide him better thru his career then I did myself because I had to learn thru the SOHH. what do you guys think? Was it good advice?

FloOz

does he already have networking knowledge? if not i would have not told him to skip the n+, also consider the ccent before ccna

gdeusthewhizkid

He does have it from his networking courses at the university and he does study. I just dont think he should waste his money. Def CCent as Im studying for it also..

dave330i

My first IT cert was CCENT. I had no networking knowledge when I started studying for CCENT, but didn't find the material too tough.

networker050184

I think its great advice. My advice is the same to people wanting to get more on the network side, skip the N+ and CCENT, get the CCNA and look for a job you can use the knowledge. Once you have the CCNA and a little networking exposure doors will open.

gdeusthewhizkid

I agree i had to find that out the hard way. I have gotten 0 calls on my network+ for jobs..

Zartanasaurus

Network+ is a waste of money unless it's a job requirement IMO. You'll learn all of that material and more doing CCNA.

FloOz

this thread is really making me reconsider even taking my n+...should i just skip it and go for ccent??

tpatt100

I got my Network + because WGU required it for my Masters /boggles...

I studied for about a week. It was so general I think it might be harder for a new IT person to study for where as CCNA you can apply your reading with labs.

gdeusthewhizkid

which masters program at WGU?

VAHokie56

I don't think getting the Sec+ would hurt him, a lot of contract jobs for government/military seem to want it. I skipped N+ and went straight for CCENT my self and had no issues

antielvis

I disagree that the Network+ certification is a "waste of money". Network+ helps build a solid understanding of the networking basics without the CISCO slant. There is a great deal of the material on Network+ that is not on the CCENT or CCNA exam. You could ask "will it get him a job" and I'd reply "will it keep him from getting a job". Focus on building you and your brand as an indepth, well educated person instead of taking the fastest escalator to the top.

networker050184

I don't think anyone is trying to say not to learn the basics that are covered in the Network+. Obviously learning the basics is a must regardless of certification. I just don't see paying the money to have the N+ certification as a smart investment.

antielvis

networker050184 wrote: »

I don't think anyone is trying to say not to learn the basics that are covered in the Network+. Obviously learning the basics is a must regardless of certification. I just don't see paying the money to have the N+ certification as a smart investment.

Passing the certification at least gives some indication that you understand the basics. As for "is it a smart investment"? Well at $250 bucks for the exam & 10 dollars for the book (and 15 hours of reading) my guess would be that you'd earn that money back. I think it's a good certification for someone starting out. I think it's a waste of time for someone at a more senior level.

networker050184

I think there is a smarter choice (better investment) for someone starting out, the CCNA. Of course we are all entitled to our own opinions!

prtech

I think it's good advice except for the Sec+ part for the reasons that VAHokie56 mentioned. DoD jobs require Sec+.

ptilsen

I like the material on Net+/Sec+, but neither one makes sense for someone who is seeking entry into networking specifically. He should go straight for CCNA right of the bat. Sec+ might make sense for him later, but he is really never going to need Net+.

Tackle

ptilsen wrote: »

I like the material on Net+/Sec+, but neither one makes sense for someone who is seeking entry into networking specifically. He should go straight for CCNA right of the bat. Sec+ might make sense for him later, but he is really never going to need Net+.

+1. He's got 2 years of IT expierence (which is broad spectrum), I'm sure he knows the basics (What a Cat5 is, what a switch or hub is).

NetworkVeteran

helps build a solid understanding of the networking basics without the CISCO slant.

The understanding it provides is below the threshold of entry-level networking positions, which require the foundation of something more akin to the CCNA or JNCIA. I'd go for those.

Not only is the Network+ is too simple for a networking professional, but according to the practice tests I've seen, it replaces a Cisco-esque view of the network with a Sysadmin-esque view of the network. There are questions about Window on there! That isn't helpful to us. I'm a networking professional. If Windows isn't working, I'm going to call IT to debug and fix it.

antielvis

networker050184 wrote: »

I think there is a smarter choice (better investment) for someone starting out, the CCNA. Of course we are all entitled to our own opinions!

Well Mod, I look at it like this. The technical support worker might see it as a waste of time, but resourcing/HR may not. I suppose the question comes down to this. Assume there are two equal candidates, both with the CCNA. Does one of them having Network+ help? Their may be little to no technical advantage, but it does demonstrate that the individual invested in his career..twice. In certain companies it could make a difference & given the low cost & ease of the exam, why not.

On a personal level, I've been asked (as an IT consultant) to "assist" when a client needs to hire junior IT staff. Assuming all things were equal, I'd be more likely to recommend the client interview a junior resource who had a variety of certifications EVEN if they were all junior certs. The reason was simple. It demonstrated the individual was serious about their career & they made an effort to invest in it. It demonstrates that the technician is "robust" as a tech generalist. It also shows me that person is very capable of learning & given this trade IS all about learning..well.....

dave330i

antielvis wrote: »

Well Mod, I look at it like this. The technical support worker might see it as a waste of time, but resourcing/HR may not. I suppose the question comes down to this. Assume there are two equal candidates, both with the CCNA. Does one of them having Network+ help? Their may be little to no technical advantage, but it does demonstrate that the individual invested in his career..twice. In certain companies it could make a difference & given the low cost & ease of the exam, why not.

On a personal level, I've been asked (as an IT consultant) to "assist" when a client needs to hire junior IT staff. Assuming all things were equal, I'd be more likely to recommend the client interview a junior resource who had a variety of certifications EVEN if they were all junior certs. The reason was simple. It demonstrated the individual was serious about their career & they made an effort to invest in it. It demonstrates that the technician is "robust" as a tech generalist. It also shows me that person is very capable of learning & given this trade IS all about learning..well.....

Listing N+ & CCNA on a resume is redundant.

Cerebro

In your particular situation, I think you gave good advice. Get the CCNA, brush up on any N+, S+ knowledge. So if needs be, he can then take the tests.

The CCNA is like driving at 60mph, when you drop to 40mph...everything feels slow. So I'm sure he could pick up that knowledge quickly.

sratakhin

What about morons in HR department who only know what Network+ is but don't know that CCNA is better?

ptilsen

@srakakhin, it is worth listing on the resume for that reason, in contrast to dave330i's post. I really don't think it hurts anything by being there, and it definitely helps for bad hiring practices. However, it is not worth shelling out the $200 or $300 it costs just for that. Pretty much everyone on the planet with a CCNA but no Net+ will tell you they do just fine without Net+, and I can't imagine there are really any networking-specific positions looking for Net+. There will be generalist/sysadmin positions that require solid networking knowledge, but not true networking.

The reason I actually like Net+ a lot for entry-level/prospective sysadmins is that it gives a solid foundation of networking but in a way that's helpful to those going into the syadmin field. CCNA, by contrast, focuses on a lot of routing and switching protocols and terminology that simply aren't heavily applicable to most sysadmins -- I still think CCNA is good for almost any IT professional to get, but Net+ has its place. However, it really has no place for networkers, not for HR or any other reason.

NoTime2Burn

I guess it depends on "how much" to get into networking. If you want the basic fundamentals, the n+ isn't a bad certification, but alone, it doesn't mean much. The CCNA is much higher respected...but...if he just wants to understand them better for troubleshooting or what not, the n+ does a good enough job.

Just my two cents.

j.petrov

I'm just getting into IT and recently got the Net+, I'm studying for the ICND1, and definitely feel like I got a great base knowledge from doing so, which has helped me move through the CCENT material faster... Going through the labs with Cisco really gets all the information clicking.

However the price is really high for the Net+ considering that it doesn't hold much weight when applying for jobs and is no longer a lifetime cert.

MickQ

j.petrov wrote: »

However the price is really high for the Net+ considering that it doesn't hold much weight when applying for jobs and is no longer a lifetime cert.

Very true. Whist it is best to have as many certs as possible listed on your resume/CV in order to get past the HR filter, the important ones whould be the CCENT or CCNA.

Depending on his life, I'd be looking at getting the CCENT, a job using it, then the CCNA.
It's important to get experience and the cert.

Devilry

I think you gave him good advice, I typically tell folks to skip the CompTia exams.