Just completed CCNA, shall I hunt 4 jobs or complete CCNP?

Hello,

I am new to this forum, my name is Ghulam Attar, 22.

I recently completed BEng(Hon) Communications Engg from Aston University, UK, after which I went on to earn my CCNA certificate. On top of that I have also passed CCNP BSCI (642-801) examination
I have also attended CWNA course as well, so hopefully I would be appearing for my CWNA examination soon.

I have absolutely no experience in IT/networking, I am like a freshie coming straight out of the classroom.

I would like to know advice of professional people, to let me know what would be more better for me, given the profile I have.

Should I spend time completing CCNP or shall I jump straight into job hunting.
Since I have no experience, i have this feeling that i may not be able to find the right job with a plain CCNA, and i may be in a better position to command the right position with a complete CCNP.

I am really looking for advice from professionals and experienced. And i would wholeheartedly appreciate every word of advice offered.

Thanking you all.
Looking forward.

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Comments

Humper

How about writing your CCNP and getting a job? Makes sense doesn't it?

I can promise you will not be administering a network as soon as you get out of school, you may have to start off with PC support.

ghulam_attar

PC support?

So would you suggest me going for MCSA, rather than CCNP if PC support is what I can expect straight out of the classroom.
As I think, that PC support require more of Microsoft certification, and hardware networking require Cisco certification.

Again, I am not very sure !!!

Slowhand

If you're currently looking for work as a network engineer, I'd say keep studying for both your CWNA and CCNP exams. Once you find work, the things you're doing from day-to-day will help you earn the CCNP, and you can feel more confident in your studies and your test. As for MCSA/MCSE, it's not a bad idea, but it's a long road. If you're interested in earning some experience and knowledge in systems administration, then it's definitely worth it. It all really comes down to what you enjoy doing, what you're interested in, and what you need to get a head in the particular job market you're looking into.

JDMurray

Ghulam, what are the job situations like for Cisco and Microsoft IT people where you are in Pakistan? Are there plenty of available jobs for IT people?

ghulam_attar

Brother jdmurrey

Cisco and Microsoft banned examination in Pakistan some time back. They cited that they are doing so because a braindump website which was registered as a company in UK, was operating from Pakistan
They blamed this company for providing students with question and answers which appeared in the actual examination.

What seems stupid is the fact, that even though the company was operating from Karachi, Pakistan, its material was available on the www, so this means that people who had access to the examination materials were not bounded in any geographical location. But it was the Pakistani students who had to appear for the examination who suffered in the end.
On top of it this ban came at a time, when CCNP syllabus was meant to expire, which actually meant that students who had studied the old CCNP syllabus were in a bad situation.
The links below will give you a brief overview of what I am talking about:

http://tcpmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=549
http://mcpmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=1022

Back to your question.
Well, in a country like Pakistan, where the average GDP per capita income is around $2800 pa, majority of the Pakistani students coming from middle class dont happen to appear in the examination because of $150 cisco examination fees. The Cisco training institute gives them a certificate, citing that they have completed the training. And for most of them, that certificate seems enough for job application.
Becasue of the $45 examination fees for Microsoft examination, in Pakistan MCSEs are far more common than CCNPs.

Regarding the job situation; because of political instability and a lack of trust towards Pakistan, majority of the outsourcing has been shifted to India and China.

Therefore there are more IT jobs in India and China compared to Pakistan.

Jobs are not plentiful; for those who are successful in finding a job, they dont get paid well for all the bundle of qualification they hold.
And for this reason, most of such higly qualified professional, prefer to immigrate to developed countries like Germany, Australia, South Africa and so on.
Including myself, as I have chosen to be out of Pakistan, into UK in greed for high paying job.

I hope that my reply would have given you an overview of what its like being a Pakistani IT professional

Ghulam Attar

JDMurray

Ghulam, I am familiar with this business situation in Pakistan. From what I have read, Microsoft and Cisco were not getting the cooperation they needed form the Pakistani courts and government to shutdown that business, so they played hardball and shutdown their certification programs. I'm not sure if this action helped the situation. From what you have said, it sounds like the inability to get certifications will make it more difficult for IT people to emigrate from Pakistan. Maybe that's what the Pakistani government desires.

This sort of thing is also happening in Mexico. The wages for IT and engineers are terrible in Mexico as compared to other Western countries. Tech people in Mexico will typically get a university education and some certifications, learn English, and do whatever computer work they can find until they can immigrate to another county. I have several work colleagues who have done this.

ghulam_attar

brother

it never helped the situation.
The blackmarket still exists. And the examination ban has done no good.

The most unusual fact which remain unjustified, is the fact that since the black market was out there on the www, something similar to censorship should have been applied. www access is available to anyone using the internet, regardless of where the server the located. This meant there could have been people out there in USA or UK who had purchased such braindumps (regardless of the fact that it was a pakistani based company)

however eventually, it was the people based in the country where the blackmarket existed who suffered (by examination ban)

However, people who used illegal material should have been the ones who should have been targeted.

I once even came across an underground office based in USA, selling original looking MCSE certificates on ebay.com

well, its a neo world order out there these days.
And only those who have reliable and efficient source to information will survive !!!

JDMurray

ghulam_attar wrote:

However, people who used illegal material should have been the ones who should have been targeted.

I once even came across an underground office based in USA, selling original looking MCSE certificates on ebay.com

It's easier to cut off the source than to prosecute the many tens of thousands of customers individually. Also, such businesses are easily found and prosecuted in countries friendly to the USA, but counties that do not easily cooperate with American corporations are safe havens for such illicit businesses. I can only wonder what the motivation for a government's refusal to cooperate is. It is too bad and too common that it's the people who end up suffering the most.