CCNA or CCDA first?

Datazelda

Which one?

azaghul

It might be easier for them, but without CCENT/CCNA/SWITCH I doubt it would be that easy for you...

Even without SWITCH I found it CCDA struggle...

My suggestion...follow the free INE CCNA online series, it might be for the previous CCNA, but 90% of the content is still the same...work at YOUR own pace, not somebody elses...

omi2123

as far as i know, u have to have CCENT first to be able to sit for CCDA test....honestly if u r gonna go to that route, i'd suggest to go for CCNA Datacenter...that one is more valuable than CCDA.....but to do the data center u have to pass 2 more test after CCENT.......to get into any IT jobs at first, get ur CCNA....it will get u in..then according to ur goal & position u proceed whichever direction u want to.......

Datazelda

I was thinking since maybe the ccda is less content, i could get through that faster making the ccna easier to study for? Thanks for the replies

bharvey92

I'd say definitely CCNA first, the CCNA gives you a huge foundation of networking which (and I can't talk from experience) I think will help with the CCDA massively.

RouteMyPacket

Skipping CCNA tells me you aren't that interested in networking but more interested in paper. How can you design that with which you don't understand in the first place? CCNA is the "basics", the fundamentals cannot be skipped and if you want to be in the networking field you are doing yourself a huge disservice in skipping it.

One guy is a CCNA, the other a CCENT..so they say you should do CCDA? Sounds like blind leading the blind to me. My advice would be to focus on your practical skills and strive to increase them through day to day operations and worry about paper later. A cert is a supplement to experience and also going for whats "easier" is a red flag to me. There is nothing easy about studying, learning and applying that knowledge which is why so few real IT professionals exist and so many hacks and wannabes are overflowing the field.

Invest in yourself, think about what YOU want to do not what others think you should do. It's your career not theirs. So tell us a little about what you do day to day? Hands on with Routers and Switches?

Do you understand how packets flow in a network? Why use EIGRP as your IGP versus say OSPF? Why choose a collapsed backbone versus a three layer hierarchical design? What's the benefit of each? Does your design follow the 80/20 rule? If not, why? Is your design modular?

^^ That's design and it's not something you jump into because it sounds cool. Fundamentals and practical experience are crucial to Architects.

Legacy User

I still find it crazy how many people are skipping the ccna and just bridge ccent to whatever track they want. The CCNA is the foundation I can't imagine doing voice, security, design work without having that foundation embedded in my head.

JeanM

Agreed with RouteMyPacket and dmarcisco. People really should stop rushing into things and take time to understand the concepts and get some hands-on....

xnx

I find this pretty crazy too, the design aspect of networks is a skill that'll you'll only get through thorough learning and experience, if you barely know how complex topologies work then you shouldn't be trying to design similar ones..