When to get what

zepol87

I feel I am almost ready to sit the ICND1 exam. I wanted to move on to ICND2 right after, but we have 2 projects coming up that are only going to be using Juniper equipment. Should I try to study for the JNCIA exam between the 2 or try to knock out the ICND2 before switching vendors. Is there a lot of similarities between these 2 exams. Thanks for the replies

networker050184

I'd concentrate on the Cisco exams. Much better for you career wise. Once you have the CCNA the JNCIA will be a walk in the park.

N2IT

I'm not sure about the certification approach but I would focus on the project first and foremost. This is a real world deliverable much more important than a certification. I agree with networker though I would bounce around technologies as far as studying goes.

MAC_Addy

I agree with networker on this. Study and take the two Cisco tests and then the JNCIA will be cake. Since a lot of the JNCIA material is based on the theory of networking and some configurations, you shouldn't have any problems.

eansdad

N2IT wrote: »

I'm not sure about the certification approach but I would focus on the project first and foremost. This is a real world deliverable much more important than a certification. I agree with networker though I would bounce around technologies as far as studying goes.

My vote, take care of business then focus on exam. I was doing a side job with HP switches while working on ICND1. Spent 6 hrs working on those things right before the exam....That was fun wondering why the commands wouldn't take.

zepol87

Cool, thanks guys. The project doesn't start till late March or April so hopefully I can get ICND1 and 2 out of the way. Really appreciate all the help

ande0255

For some reason I was thinking about this post tonight at random, and wanted to add how I'm handling work with my studies.

I'm currently tanking away studying CCNA Voice cause I work heavily in Unified Communications, but the group I'm in at my MSP handles all network related issues, and being an MSP every environment is different in terms of servers, setups, etc. So I work with firewalls, routers, switches, vpn's, and all sorts of servers I didn't even know existed before I started 2 months ago.

While I keep my cert focus on the CCNA Voice, I identify stuff I work regularly with such as ASA's and VPN tunnels, and I'll find youtube videos on those specific technologies, and just watch them in my free time without feeling obligated to dive into it like I do cert studying.

I've found several resources both on youtube and just around the internet to explain Phase 1 and Phase 2 troubleshooting for VPN's, quick overviews of ASA NAT'ing, that I just jot down some quick notes like a **** sheet for work. So the next day when I walk back into a ticket I know I'm going to struggle with, I have a **** sheet to get me started in the right direction with debugs and commands for the output I need, and I only spent about an hour all together on the subject rather than chasing a full blown cert on the subject.

This method has really helped me to do my job at a strong level, while leaving me the time I need to pursue the certification I want on my resume, and I wanted to post this up for you as I'm currently learning how to handle information overload while still staying focused on my end goal.

Good luck zepol!

zepol87

Awesome ande thanks for all the info. Good luck to all