ccna or mcp

gatekeeper

:)Not sure if i should go for mcp or ccna next, looking for the best market and the most work .

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

Ricka182

It depends on what you're looking for. A job that deals primarily with Networks would look for CCNA, and an System Admin/support would look for MCP. MCP is just a title, while CCNA is a full cert. Take a look at the market in your area, see what more employers are looking for.

QUIX0TIC

How about MCSE... that is what you should be aiming for first. Primarily if you cannot make the decision between MCP and CCNA... then IMHO... you may be new to the IT field and MCSE will be your best bet to break into it. A couple of years of Sys Admin work and then break into the Networking side of things.

mishoo

well its all depend on your choice..what you are looking for...for what you have interest..??

if you want to move to network administration then go for CCNA n then ahead...if you have more interest in windows administration you can move to MCSE or if you want both of them then its better to have MCSE first n then up to CCNA

regards,
Mishal

garv221

Do them both at the same time. Get your MCP status while studying CCNA.

darkmagic

As the other members have already given there inputs, i would say

Pure Networking :- CCNA

Sys Admin :- MCSE

Although having both of them would not hurt

qsub

I would say go for CCNA first, vista is due out next year, I'd imagine they would have a new certification path for the OS out within a year after that.

Once the MCP is out for the Vista OS/Server OS, go for that. Then when you get ceritifed for that, you probably got 4, or 5 years of that certification not being retired.

lordy

CCNA is always good as every OS needs TCP/IP these days.

CCNA will score you points where MCP can't (e.g. non-MS environments).

int80h

I would go for CCNA. CCNA is a well respected cert, while MCP/MCSE has become a joke in the IT industry.

While there are still some CCNA "paper" certs out there, they are the minority, while with MCSE paper certs are the majority.

TeKniques

int80h wrote:

I would go for CCNA. CCNA is a well respected cert, while MCP/MCSE has become a joke in the IT industry.

So I guess those of us going for our MCSA/E's are wasting our time while obtaining a 'joke in the IT industry' cert.

The bottom line is it won't matter which of these certs you have unless you have accompanying experience to pack with it. That is, if you want a decent paying job to start out with a CCNA will be better from what I've read on these forums. Personally I have no experience with Cisco, but I guess comparing CCNA against MCP it would depend what field in IT you want to get into.

dissolved

ccna, then mcse.

I say ccna first because it will make the subnetting questions in the mcse track child's play

BigO1120

darkmagic wrote:

As the other members have already given there inputs, i would say

Pure Networking :- CCNA

Sys Admin :- MCSE

Although having both of them would not hurt

darkmagic...NICE SIGNATURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nick619

I went the "CCNA" route. I have JNCIS-M and work on Juniper routers, some cisco too. I like the pure-networking (routers) instead of servers.

x_Danny_x

from what i read here it is best to go with CCNA than MCSE, CCNA route is a more respected cert along with the CCNP CCSP and CCIE

mikey_b

I would do the exact opposite, MCSE first and then CCNA. With Windows Vista coming out, if you do your MCSE on XP/2003 you'll only need to write 2 for the upgrade. Then you'll be ready for the next-gen stuff and people will sell family members to hire on certified people to help with migration work.

As for the CCNA being more respected than an MCSE, it's good, but not even close. The CCNA is definately tougher than an MCP, probably in line with an MCSA which is likely why it's now offered in a two exam format. A CCNP would be much closer to the MCSE as far as how difficult they are to obtain/how respected they are. Thank God MS is doing more simulations now in their exams to fight back against the paper certs like Cisco has done for a while. Although all pale in comparison to CCIE. Word is still out on MCA.

cestricklin

Although I feel ccna is a power cert, it deals with cisco mostly and is a specialty which is not bad since more and more companies want specialist, but the admin's will never go away, we IT's are so far ahead of the norm that we forget the suits are waaaayyy far behind us and depend on us...MCSE is a MUST in the IT field and it is the most valuable cert there is outside of special certs in close archiceture systems like cisco. A buddy of mine is Linux certified and cant find a job. Like we all dont know, but 64 bit architecture is the future with OS/Server systems and thats what we need to be looking for, it is in use with servers now, but the future will be 64 and even 128 within I would guess the next 10 years...look how we went from 16 bit to 32 bit so fast...so look for 64 to take hold of the flame soon...and you know what that means, if microsoft makes 32/64 bit compatible machines, you will still be able to use your machine and net, but everyone will want 64 bit processing and software and that means a surge in powerful pc's production and ultimately more problems, but even MCSE in NT 4.0 is respected by microsoft today and allows for only a couple exams to upgrade so all of your certs from 2k-2003 will be viable with vista home/pro and beyond, at least I hope so, im still certed in w2k pro and I dont have any problems with jobs, cause most people have not ugraded to even 2003 yet, its only 2 years old. my thoughts.

~C

Puffy Elvis

Which certification you study for next really is a question of what are you looking to get out of it.

A CCNA certification will definitely qualify you for an entry level network job. Remember though, there are far fewer networking jobs then Microsoft-related jobs. Also, there are far fewer CCNAs then Microsoft certified individuals, so having a CCNA will definitely help you to stand out, but the job market is smaller.

An MCSE certification is very distinguished. Most people who work on Microsoft-related systems do NOT have a current MCSE. An MCSE 2003 will earn you an interview for Junior System Administrator jobs with little experience required. Also, the MCSE is a life long certification, it doesn't expire like a CCNA. Many people earn their MCSEs, obtain a good job, then never earn another certification. The experience these people get on the job often paves their way to their next promotion or job. This is not as common with the CCNA.

Ultimately, the question boils down to what do you like to do? Where do your interests lead you? Try studying for the CCNA and Microsoft’s MCSE and get a feel for what interests you more.

Personally I prefer Cisco/Networking because there is much more certainty and finality in networking. Although complex, one can almost always troubleshoot a networking problem by using finely honed troubleshooting skills.

With Microsoft, there are many more "unexplained phenomena" that can haunt a system. Troubleshooting a Microsoft problem can take a much longer time and often end up with Microsoft and another vender pointing fingers at each other as to where the problem lies. Even if the problem is purely Microsoft, I've seen many cases where the problem is simple a bug or not even known by Microsoft's highest level techs.

Puffy Elvis

Certifications and jobs...

Most jobs are obtained not through applying blindly to a job posting, but through networking, i.e. word of mouth. Every computer job I have ever obtained has been through someone I knew, even if their relationship to the employer was 2 or 3 degrees removed.

I believe the reason for this relates to what is sometimes called, "a circle of trust.” Obtaining a job, or even an interview, is in large degree a matter of getting the job-giver to trust in you- to be able to look at you and say, "I trust that this person is capable of being a good employee and doing their job well." This level of trust is MUCH easier to get if you have someone the job-giver already trusts putting a good word in for you. Even if this trusted person may only know you through a friend of a friend, etc... since trust is transitive in nature: If A trusts B and B trusts C, then A trusts C.

This helps to put certifications into perspective because certifications can act as a trust-resource. A job-giver may trust a CCNA certification because he already has one and knows the difficulty in obtaining it. Therefore, his circle of trust is extended to anyone who has a current CCNA.

Beware! Many job-givers do NOT necessarily have a certification in the field that they are hiring. For this reason, at least in terms of obtaining a job, person-to-person trust usually trump certification-trust.

Does that mean one shouldn't get certified? Absolutely not, certification is proof of knowledge... just not universally trusted.

12thlevelwarrior

Microsoft is in every network Cisco is not. We have Nortel.