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Job Prospect of a CCNA R&S, CCNA Security, CCNA VOICE certified

ibn e batuta

Hi, I recently passed CCNA R&S, Voice and Security exams and I'm a fresh pass out electrical engineer. What should be my future direction or what are future prospects ahead w.r.t to certifications I did.

I consulted several people and they told me now a days they expect one person to handle data,voice and security of network, due to which I did all the tracks.

How's job market out there now a days and what salary should I expect with such qualifications?

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Comments

Master Of Puppets

That's a very broad question. Job markets are different in different locations, the salary is often based on your experience and skills + certifications and degree. With so little information, we can only make a guess. Also, check out the forums, there are probably a thousand threads about this with very useful info in them that would probably answer your questions.

ibn e batuta

generally speaking, Is doing CCNA r&s, voice, security a good step or should person move to CCNP level after doing CCNA r&s?

chrisone

You have a pretty solid start in your career. You should feel confident in obtaining an "entry" level position in networking. I would not stop my career with what you have. I would immediately start my studies with CCNP if I were in your place. You will need the CCNP routing and switching regardless if you move into security, wireless, voice, data center, or any other professional level certification, as all of these tracks and any employer expects you to have ccnp routing and switching skill level.

Go out there find the company you want to work for, start at an entry level position and work on your CCNP Routing and Switching. Most likely after 2 years with this company you will have a very solid understanding of the network, your CCNP RS will be completed, you are starting a new CCNP Professional level track (hint: Security!) , and your employer will have a lot of faith in you. Most likely by this time you are promoted to Network Engineer.

Yes its that easy! seriously! 2 years goes by so fast and you already know this! So go out and get it!

NetworkVeteran

ibn e batuta wrote: »

What should be my future direction or what are future prospects ahead w.r.t to certifications I did.

At this point, if you have an EE degree and those certifications, you mostly need experience. Additional education/certifications will not do much for your portfolio at this time. I would keep reviewing and prioritize finding employment.

I consulted several people and they told me now a days they expect one person to handle data,voice and security of network, due to which I did all the tracks.

This isn't quite right. Imagine you have six network engineers in charge of a network. Which team is stronger?

+ Six team members average in all three areas.
+ Two are experts at R&S, two are experts at voice, and two are experts at security. They all have basic knowledge of other areas.

Now, if only 1-2 engineers are in charge of your network, the first approach is better. Which gets down to our basic trade-off. Companies with small networks tend to hire generalists while companies with large networks tend to hire specialists. The companies with the largest networks tend to be capable of paying the highest salaries, although there are exceptions.

I still have no issues with what you've actually done. What you've done is gain a basic knowledge of three areas. This makes you appealing for a wide range of entry-level positions and is a good base upon which to specialize (or generalize), depending on what opportunities present themselves and what you decide after some experience you are most passionate about.

NetworkVeteran

ibn e batuta wrote: »

generally speaking, Is doing CCNA r&s, voice, security a good step or should person move to CCNP level after doing CCNA r&s?

I'll add, A key factor in what to do after CCNA is whether you've scored a networking job. Getting a job, if you can, is the best step for your networking career after earning your CCNA. If you can't get a job, CCNA specializations make sense. This is because the ROI of a "paper CCNP" is quite low--see the many threads on that, or Cisco's own recommendation of 1 year of experience.

Soliton

chrisone wrote: »

You have a pretty solid start in your career. You should feel confident in obtaining an "entry" level position in networking. I would not stop my career with what you have. I would immediately start my studies with CCNP if I were in your place. You will need the CCNP routing and switching regardless if you move into security, wireless, voice, data center, or any other professional level certification, as all of these tracks and any employer expects you to have ccnp routing and switching skill level.

Go out there find the company you want to work for, start at an entry level position and work on your CCNP Routing and Switching. Most likely after 2 years with this company you will have a very solid understanding of the network, your CCNP RS will be completed, you are starting a new CCNP Professional level track (hint: Security!) , and your employer will have a lot of faith in you. Most likely by this time you are promoted to Network Engineer.

Yes its that easy! seriously! 2 years goes by so fast and you already know this! So go out and get it!

A little off topic, but your last paragraph just motivated me. Thanks

ibn e batuta

Thank you for your humble responses, definitely, experience is "The" most important thing and I'm dropping my resume at government departments, banking sector, corporations.

My major in EE was Real time embedded systems, but I didn't get a job in embedded systems field, so made a switch over to networks field

ibn e batuta

chrisone wrote: »

You have a pretty solid start in your career. You should feel confident in obtaining an "entry" level position in networking. I would not stop my career with what you have. I would immediately start my studies with CCNP if I were in your place. You will need the CCNP routing and switching regardless if you move into security, wireless, voice, data center, or any other professional level certification, as all of these tracks and any employer expects you to have ccnp routing and switching skill level.

Go out there find the company you want to work for, start at an entry level position and work on your CCNP Routing and Switching. Most likely after 2 years with this company you will have a very solid understanding of the network, your CCNP RS will be completed, you are starting a new CCNP Professional level track (hint: Security!) , and your employer will have a lot of faith in you. Most likely by this time you are promoted to Network Engineer.

Yes its that easy! seriously! 2 years goes by so fast and you already know this! So go out and get it!

I presume you are a Network administrator. Which field you mostly deal with on daily basis, R&S? Voice or Security?

And from what I observed, VOIP and CUCM are hot trends in network industry and R&S field became congested and in security field, they usually hire experts or specialists. Is it a wrong observation or there is some truth in it?

ibn e batuta

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

I'll add, A key factor in what to do after CCNA is whether you've scored a networking job. Getting a job, if you can, is the best step for your networking career after earning your CCNA. If you can't get a job, CCNA specializations make sense. This is because the ROI of a "paper CCNP" is quite low--see the many threads on that, or Cisco's own recommendation of 1 year of experience.

Thank you for your detailed and informative response. One thing I like to ask. Is handling Microsoft AD an added bonus or a necessary evil for network engineer?Because I'm thinking to migrate to microsoft tracks to get a drift of microsoft server and Active directory workings. Is it wise or should I concentrate on CCNP level tracks and once they are finished, then I go to microsoft side?

NetworkVeteran

ibn e batuta wrote: »

One thing I like to ask. Is handling Microsoft AD an added bonus or a necessary evil for network engineer?

Neither. If your employer has a network large/complex enough to even require dedicated network engineers, that goes into the "nearly worthless" pile. They tend to expect the network engineers to know networking very well, and leave the servers to others. By dividing your focus between two disciplines, you limit your ability to truly excel at either one.

Now, if your goal instead of being a network engineer is to be a jack-of-all-trades, then being ambidextrous can come in handy. The problem is employers with tiny/small networks usually can't afford to pay as much as employers with medium/large/huge networks. One way to compensate would be starting your own company and managing many tiny/small networks.

boobobobobob

I agree with NetworkVeteran, at this point you should be concentrating on getting a job and experience you don't need anymore certifications.

chrisone

ibn e batuta wrote: »

I presume you are a Network administrator. Which field you mostly deal with on daily basis, R&S? Voice or Security?

Yes I am a network engineer. On a day to day basis i cover , R&S, Design, Security, Wireless, Voip, Pentesting, Data Center.