ETA for CCNA?

Out of curiousity:

1.) How long did it take for you guys to get your CCENT/CCNA?

2.) How long did it take for you all to obtain a job in networking (NOC, network admin, etc) after you passed the CCNA?

3.) Has the CCNA truly made a difference in your career? How?

Just need some motivation while I'm taking this CCNA journey

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Comments

FloOz

1) It took me roughly 6 months to pass both icnd1 and icnd2

2) I don't have the "network" related title at work, but I do get a good amount of network related projects as well. I can also now hold intelligent conversations about networking with other engineers.

3) The CCNA does not guarantee you a networking job. You have to work your way up.

traceyke

FloOz wrote: »

3) The CCNA does not guarantee you a networking job. You have to work your way up.

I definetly agree with that.

jdballinger

1. I started out by taking classes at my local CC, they are a Cisco Academy site. One class per semester = 4 semesters, so two years. However, I took the ICND1 test during my fourth semester, so I'd say all told CCENT took me about 10 months worth of study. I took my ICND2 and passed in September, so that would be 5 months between tests. I could have done it in less, but I earned my Security+ in between.

2. I was already in a network admin position when I took both tests, but the cert definitely resulted in a lot more phone calls from recruiters for networking jobs.

3. I think that the knowledge I gained while pursuing the cert has definitely made a difference. The important thing to remember is that the cert is just a piece of paper, it's how you use the knowledge you learned that really matters. I think that it definitely helped me to be a better admin because I learned how a network truly works. I've seen network engineers who can do just about any task you put in front of them, but they don't necessarily understand WHY they are doing it. This is where the value of a CCNA lies, in knowing how and why the network operates the way that it does.

W Stewart

traceyke wrote: »

Out of curiousity:

1.) How long did it take for you guys to get your CCENT/CCNA?

If I were to count from the time I first decided I wanted to get my CCNA, I would say at least a good two years but that was with me getting side tracked by a lot of other stuff. I started out taking a cisco class at my local community college when I was working as a nursing assistant. After bombing a job interview for lack of fundamental IT knowledge, I put my CCNA studies on hold and got my A+ and Network+ as well as a job doing support for Dell. I got my CCENT probably 3-6 months into my job working for Dell. 1 year and 7 months into my IT career I finally sat the ICND2 exam and failed it by one question. I practiced some of the routing and switching simulations provided by WGU that I had been ignoring and I passed with a 902.

traceyke wrote: »

2.) How long did it take for you all to obtain a job in networking (NOC, network admin, etc) after you passed the CCNA?

I got a job at a NOC when I only had my CCENT. I had a little over a year of total IT experience and about 8 months of experience troubleshooting network issues with linksys routers among other non-network related responsibilities. I left that job in a month after realizing that networking isn't for me.

traceyke wrote: »

3.) Has the CCNA truly made a difference in your career? How?

Even though I'm not a networking guy, I work as a Jr Systems Admin and the knowledge keeps me well rounded. I'm probably one of the few non sysadmins comfortable enough to even touch one of our customers asa firewalls let alone configure a vpn connection. If I'm lucky, it'll help me become a system admin even faster. Not to mention I know when and when not to blame the network.

Futura

CCNA took me two years but only three months study for each icnd1 & 2. My wife also had two kids in the same time I did CCNA.

I was lucky,I got moved into the networking dept three months after passing my exam, In fact they sacked a CCNP and threw me in at the deep end, I have re designed our network from running OSPF to EIGRP replacing around 150 MLS's swapping 3550's to 3750's V2.

Career has changed sooooooo much. I used to swap printers out and rebuild pcs and deal with moaning end users, Since CCNA, I either drive round with a car full of switches, laptop and console cable or dial in from home and re-subnet sites or makes changes to ASA's etc. Networking is a dream job, its true.. And no more end users woes!