Demand for Cisco Certifications?

Hi

Diden't really know where to put this, so here it goes..

I'm currently studying CCNA, once i'm done within the next couple of months, i want to get into a different cisco topic. It seems like theres so many R&S networking people, are there really a need for all these people?

I'm thinking of getting into Voice or Wireless, start off by getting the associate cert, and then further to the professional one.
I just seems to me, reading these network engineering threads, and going through the general forum users certs, that 95% of you are R&S people. I notice some of you has an associate in either security, voice or wireless, but i hardly ever see anyone above that.

Would it be smart to get the CCNA for the basic R&S knowledge, and get into another subject? Im leaning towards wireless considering the change to virtualization. Furthermore do you belive in 10 years that people still use wired networks? With the virtualization going on, and alot of schools and companies turning to light laptops or tablets. Will the demand for R&S people not go down at all?

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Comments

vasyvasy

OK, in a nutshell... if so many people here went after CCNA first, they are on to something, right?

And if there are so many of us CCNA's, that doesn't mean that we are all good network engineers, it's just that we spared some 2-3 months and studied 1-2 books on the subject (that goes for any certification).
If there are so many CCNA's out there, there must be one just outside your door right now, routing your Internet. Just think that you can have a peer in this field just some doors/clicks away and consolidate your knowledge ever further, share experience and whatnot.

You can choose any carrier path you feel comfortable with in Cisco world, just keep in mind that:
1. There are some paths that require CCNA (I think this is the case with Security, Wireless, Voice?)
2. Basic CCNA R&S is a must for any field in IT today, every device is in one way or another connected with another device and it's a pain in the ** to troubleshoot some problem without knowing the basics of interconnecting devices, services, etc
3. The networking field is not all about the wire (that's just the physical medium on which the bits are flowing), it goes all the way up to the 7th layer. Yes, the laptops and tablets are heavily using the networking principles, be it based on the wire, wireless or telekinesis for transporting 1's and 0's

Not to mention that some companies will benefit from having a CCNA, CCNP, etc when joining a Cisco partner program

Blackout

Almost every government contract job I look at for networking has CCNA in the job description as a requirement, CCNA is still the standard as far as certifications go for Networking gigs. You will see some that will have other certs in there like brocade, but the one thing they all have in common is that they want you to have your CCNA.
Now if you are looking to do something different in the Cisco line, I don't think you can go wrong with VOIP.

swild

vasyvasy wrote: »

OK, in a nutshell... if so many people here went after CCNA first, they are on to something, right?

And if there are so many of us CCNA's, that doesn't mean that we are all good network engineers, it's just that we spared some 2-3 months and studied 1-2 books on the subject (that goes for any certification).
If there are so many CCNA's out there, there must be one just outside your door right now, routing your Internet. Just think that you can have a peer in this field just some doors/clicks away and consolidate your knowledge ever further, share experience and whatnot.

You can choose any carrier path you feel comfortable with in Cisco world, just keep in mind that:
1. There are some paths that require CCNA (I think this is the case with Security, Wireless, Voice?)
2. Basic CCNA R&S is a must for any field in IT today, every device is in one way or another connected with another device and it's a pain in the ** to troubleshoot some problem without knowing the basics of interconnecting devices, services, etc
3. The networking field is not all about the wire (that's just the physical medium on which the bits are flowing), it goes all the way up to the 7th layer. Yes, the laptops and tablets are heavily using the networking principles, be it based on the wire, wireless or telekinesis for transporting 1's and 0's

Not to mention that some companies will benefit from having a CCNA, CCNP, etc when joining a Cisco partner program

Excellent post, especially number 2. Every job interview I have had, the interviewers have been impressed by my CCNA. Depending on the specific role I was applying for, something else may have been above that (usually either BS or CISSP), but everyone wants to see CCNA. The knowledge gained from studying for it has helped me be able to answer some of the tougher questions during interviews. I will never regret the time I spent studying for this cert.

There are not a lot of tech jobs in my area, but there are always openings for CCNP level and above in any of the disciplines. I personally wouldn't want to write another dial plan if I could possibly avoid it, but Voice will be in demand for some time to come.

tycoonbob

If you are wanting to get into the Network field, your CCNA is a must. The CCENT is the basic start in networking, but that won't benefit you much in getting a job, except for a help desk position. If you want to specialize in Wireless, Security, Voice, Video, Service Provider, Service Provider Operations, or Datacenter, you will have to have your CCNA first. You cannot take the CCNA Wireless exam with out passing the CCNA exam first. The same is true for Security, Voice, and Service Provider Ops.

I personally plan to get my CCNA then my CCNA Security. My career as an IT consultant is heading in a virtualization/storage/networking area, so CCNA will definitely benefit me (SANs are usually on their own VLAN, and you want high performance so knowledge of iSCSI, FC, IB, etc are a must). The CCNA Security will look great on my resume because every company loves security, and I can implement those "best practices" in my work. I may go on down the road for my CCNP Security, but who knows.

Voice is becoming a huge field, and there are more way more CCNAs than CCNA Voices, and the same is true for Wireless and especially Video.

emerald_octane

As everyone else mentioned, CCNA is foundational knowledge. It doesn't just prepare you for R&S but it gives you the networking knowledge you may need. A help desk guy might not need to know about different subnets and the OSI model, but what about a Win server admin? or a *nix server admin? VMWare guys, storage guys etc all need to know networking to some degree. VMWare especially. Yes in some environments you may have the network guys say "here are your VLANs, here are your ranges, gateways and broadcast addresses, now don't break anything!" but that isn't a given. In my environment (smaller) i'm responsible for R&S...AND VMWare...AND Firewall....AND Storage....etc.

+ as you mentioned CCNA is the "jump-off" to the higher level. Can't go CCNP unless you CCNA first. CCNP however requires a certain....Je ne sais quois. a certain attitude about networking. It's a public decree that you understand true enterprise networking and have put in the blood sweat and tears (of joy) in prep for the (multipart) certification. Alot of people have not made this step, and for good reason as not everyone can handle it. Same can be said with CCIE obviously but CCIE is a whole nother ball game.

jdballinger

The path you take in this field should never be steered by what is most in demand when you look around. To steal a quote off of Wayne Gretzky (and by proxy Kevin Smith, who I originally heard it from and who uses it ad nauseum,) "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be."

I fully believe, right down to my core, that to be truly successful and happy in this industry (and any other for that matter,) you need to find something that you are passionate about. If VOIP is what gets your blood pumping, pursue CCNA:V. If it's wireless or security or whatever, push THAT envelope. Somebody out there is looking for those skills, and YOU can be the one to provide them. If you enjoy something, are passionate about it, then learning it and doing it are so much easier. Case in point, when I had to do Project+ for WGU, it took me more effor than I'd like to say in order to get through the material, because I simply didn't enjoy it. On the flip side, I can tear through an R&S book because that's what I really like to learn about.

So indeed, find something in demand, but make sure that it is something you are passionate about too.

Jackace

CCNA got me my current job working for a service provider. It wasn't required, but they really wanted someone with the certification.

pert

I'm a Cisco guy, but I completely disagree on CCNA being useful to anyone who is not doing networking as their main duty. It is not an "IT" cert, its for people who do networking. If youre a server admin youd be much more useful studying stuff regarding server administration, not a ccna that youll never use. People always say stuff like "it teaches you subnetting and how networks work"....and? You can't learn this in a couple hours without the cert? Server Admins, AD admins, DB people, etc have no need at all to learn about EIGRP, OSPF, frame-relay, spanning tree, etc. Theyd be much better learning stuff that pertains to what they do. Further, I disagree that CCNA really prepares you for any real networking role. Its a start, but youre not going to be an asset till youre past NP level. Youll be a person who can do stuff if someone holds your hand and looks over all your work.

TLDR: CCNA is for people doing networking, not other IT fields. CCNA doesn't make you an expert or even qualified, its just the starting point.

rchase

Just a note on the question will wired networks exist in 10 years?

I had a customer ask me a couple months ago for a quote on a wireless network. I went to the site to draw up a floor plan so I could position the WAPs in the most optimal locations. In the quote I included the cost of the WAPS themselves, as well as the controller, and the cost to run cable to each of the WAPs.

The customer called me back and asked

Why did you quote me to run cable, I thought it was going to be wireless?

LOL

cmitchell_00

The need for Cisco is everywhere. I just find it's where you want to stick your head into i.e. voice, security, wireless etc... Yes, I see people going towards virtual environments or cloud but, you still need the basic networking skills .i.e. ip addressing, HyperV iSCSI/MPIO configuration etc... In today's technology world they want a CCNA to perform as an CCIE or even Windows systems admin guy too but, it's as everyone is saying in regards to what you want in life. You will have to decide what area you want your focus to be an specialist or a well rounded techie.

olaHalo

I must live in a unique area. Here a CCNA is much less common. And everyone I know who has it is getting paid at least 60k.
I know its considered an entry level cert but for whatever reason its held in high regard here.
I had an interviewer tell me that a previous candiate was "so good and even had a CCNA" lol.

emerald_octane

olaHalo wrote: »

I had an interviewer tell me that a previous candiate was "so good and even had a CCNA" lol.

LoL I bet they would die if they were in the same room as CCNP/IE or (gasp) CISSP!

networker050184

olaHalo wrote: »

I must live in a unique area. Here a CCNA is much less common. And everyone I know who has it is getting paid at least 60k.
I know its considered an entry level cert but for whatever reason its held in high regard here.
I had an interviewer tell me that a previous candiate was "so good and even had a CCNA" lol.

It depends on the type of job really. CCNA is entry level in the networking world, but it covers enough information that someone should be able to work their way through a small business network after passing. At a minimum get the Internet up and working for the office. Thats plenty for a lot of businesses. In the field of networking though it just breaks the ice of large enterprise or service provider network capabilities. So I could see why its regarded highly for some positions and not quite as much for others.

shodown

rchase wrote: »

Just a note on the question will wired networks exist in 10 years?

I had a customer ask me a couple months ago for a quote on a wireless network. I went to the site to draw up a floor plan so I could position the WAPs in the most optimal locations. In the quote I included the cost of the WAPS themselves, as well as the controller, and the cost to run cable to each of the WAPs.

The customer called me back and asked

Why did you quote me to run cable, I thought it was going to be wireless?

LOL

I think they will slowly go the way of the do-do bird. I just finished redesigning Originull Networks internal network and we have no cables in the offices expect in lab areas. All the phones are wireless and we have wireless internet setup as well.

DevilWAH

rchase wrote: »

Just a note on the question will wired networks exist in 10 years?

I had a customer ask me a couple months ago for a quote on a wireless network. I went to the site to draw up a floor plan so I could position the WAPs in the most optimal locations. In the quote I included the cost of the WAPS themselves, as well as the controller, and the cost to run cable to each of the WAPs.

The customer called me back and asked

Why did you quote me to run cable, I thought it was going to be wireless?

LOL

Well I think there will be some wires for a long time yet. Servers for example are not likely to go wireless. so data centers and server rooms will be wired for a time yet.

And heavly used work stations also don't like wireless much. In a busy office with a lot of workstations, to support all over wireless can get messy. Even with 802.11ad (7gig), to support multiply devices at this speed would require a large number of AP's, there are also major issue of signal coverage, some buildings just will not suit it.

Wireless is becoming a big player, and I can see in 10 years time a swing from the 90% wired / 10% wireless to 20% wired and 80% wireless at the access layer, but think it will be a while longer than 10 years before it goes completely And at the core and distribution it still going to be wires and that's where all the cleaver stuff happens

N2IT

Several former service desk co-workers went the CCNA route and all are doing well.

If you had to pick just one certification IMO that would be the one to get.