General CWNA questions

Cat5

I have a CCNA and I really love what I know of wireless, and I defnitely believe it's the wave of the fututre. So I thought about getting a CWNA. I don't work wireless now, nor do I have any experience with it. Do employers hire people in wireless with just this cert, or do they expect higher-level ones (or Cisco wireless certs)?

Second, I have almost no money. So getting a wireless lab would be next to impossible. Is this a cert that REQUIRES a lab, or can it be done without one? But I think my more imporant question is would I realistically expect to get a job in wireless with this cert under my belt and several years of networking experience?

What do CWNA-related jobs pay these days, btw?

JDMurray

Who an employer hires really depends on the individual employer. An employer needing someone work with wireless technology will probably require experience with that technology, while a job that lists experience with wireless technology as "nice to have" will probably be satisfied with just a cert or two. Many hiring managers are looking for wireless network expertise, but have no idea what the certifications pertain to wireless networking are. An employer that does not use Cisco wireless probably won't even know what a Cisco wireless cert is.

You do not need a lab to study for the CWTS or CWNA, but having lab equipment sure helps to understand what you are trying to learn. Just having experience setting up residential WAPs (Linksys, Netgear, etc.), configuring the firmware, and troubleshooting common problems is a big help i learning the CWNA material. If you can, get a cheap WAP that runs the DD-WRT firmware an an old laptop with an 802.11b/g WNIC so you can experiment.

What any job pays varies on the geographical area and your level of education, certification, and experience. Have a look at Dice or Monster for jobs with "wireless" and "802.11" in the description to check experience requirements and salary ranges of jobs in your area.