Cisco Career

As I am studying for the CCNA 640-802 I was wondering what would the real world experience be like. Is the CCNA 640-802 a minimal to be employed as entry-level Network Administrator? Do you have to be proficient at subnetting and remember all the Cisco command?

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NetworkVeteran

aznkoolguy wrote: »

Is the CCNA 640-802 a minimal to be employed as entry-level Network Administrator?

The CCNA is a door opener, but your first stop may be less prestigious than being a network administrator.

Do you have to be proficient at subnetting and remember all the Cisco command?

Since you're presenting yourself as a CCNA, a strong knowledge of subnetting and the commands covered by that exam would be expected in an interview. And, generally, those are skills you will use on-the-job. That said, you could certainly work at a non-Cisco shop and find roles where a subnetting calculator is sufficient if those are topics you'd prefer to avoid.

NetworkVeteran

From a career perspective, one of the more defining choices will be which sector you start working in. A small company, a large enterprise, a service provider, and a data center all have fairly different network requirements.

aznkoolguy

Less of a Network Administrator being a Cisco Internship right. What does the employer expect from someone with just a Cisco certificate but no real world experience? What kind of question do I need to expect at an interview by the employer or will there be a test? A non-cisco shop your referring to is a Computer Technician shop? I am not trying to avoid subnetting because its the foundation of Networking but helpful to use subnetting calculator on the job.

aznkoolguy

With that being said, the bigger the organization the more administration will be required. So it all depends on with role or duties I will be doing right? Not all Network Administrator will be subnetting or configured Cisco IOS.

NetworkVeteran

aznkoolguy wrote: »

What does the employer expect from someone with just a Cisco certificate but no real world experience?

If I see a CCNA and no experience on a resume, I expect them to know that material, no more and no less. You are the one who sets an employer's expectations when you write your resume. It's also why many of us leave off old certifications.

What kind of question do I need to expect at an interview by the employer or will there be a test?

From a technical perspective, you will typically be tested on a random sampling of everything you claim to know.

A non-cisco shop your referring to is a Computer Technician shop?

I'm referring to the many networking vendors besides Cisco.

I am not trying to avoid subnetting because its the foundation of Networking but helpful to use subnetting calculator on the job.

If someone asks me what is 8x3, I tell them it is 24. If someone asks me what mask provides 250+ hosts, that's 255.255.255.0. If you know something well, a calculator wastes time. It's most helpful when you don't know something.

NetworkVeteran

With that being said, the bigger the organization the more administration will be required. So it all depends on with role or duties I will be doing right? Not all Network Administrator will be subnetting or configured Cisco IOS.

There are roles where those skills aren't important, and if you skipped the CCENT/CCNA or left them off your resume, there wouldn't be any such expectations. Assuming, of course, you were able to get hired at all without certifications or experience.

aznkoolguy

I don't know if some one you have work in Computer Networking or not but depending on your career path, is it more or less should I be expecting of a multiple choice test or network simulation on the interview.

NetworkVeteran

aznkoolguy wrote: »

I don't know if some one you have work in Computer Networking or not but depending on your career path, is it more or less should I be expecting of a multiple choice test or network simulation on the interview.

Usually, neither. They will simply ask you questions. In an initial screen they tend to have concrete answers with little wiggle room to quickly weed out the clueless, while in an interview the questions are designed to give you opportunities to demonstrate your understanding or lack thereof. The screen may be performed by someone with little or no technical background, with the answers being checked by someone knowledgeable. A sample screen question I've seen, is "Which OSPF LSA type(s) are never shared between areas?" A sample interview question I've seen is, "Use the whiteboard to show me everything RSTP would do in this topology after you power the switches on." Asking you to work on a real device, cable, or simulator is possible but less common, unless I'm interviewing! Much more commonly you'll just be asked to name or write-out the commands you would use.

aznkoolguy

Lets just say you have the CCNA with no prior experience and you don't do good on the technical interview, would there be a bad chance of you not getting the job.

NetworkVeteran

aznkoolguy wrote: »

Lets just say you have the CCNA with no prior experience and you don't do good on the technical interview, would there be a bad chance of you not getting the job.

Of course, if you couldn't pass the technical interview, you'd have little chance of getting the job. But relax! Cisco exams are well-written. If you can pass them without cheating, you probably know your stuff. And their CCNA exam keeps getting better.

I have seen disappointment when folks took too long between passing and job-searching w/o review.

I would add, the person hired is not necessarily the best technically. It's very possible the person who scored 7 on the phone screen gets the job for having better people skills than the person who got 9 right. But you do need to have a competitive score on the technical portion of the interview. There's no real way around that, unless your buddy's the boss!

boobobobobob

aznkoolguy wrote: »

Lets just say you have the CCNA with no prior experience and you don't do good on the technical interview, would there be a bad chance of you not getting the job.

Yes, doing bad on a technical interview will obviously not be good for your job prospects. But, at the companies i've worked for we regularly hire CCNA's with no experience and did poorly during interviews. Alot of the times we hire people just because they have better people skills. Presentation and people skills accout for alot.

aznkoolguy

Whether your working in Cisco networking or not, what happens if your certification expire?

NetworkVeteran

aznkoolguy wrote: »

Whether your working in Cisco networking or not, what happens if your certification expire?

You re-study the material, which probably has changed over time, and then pass it again, or a harder exam before it expires. Technology is constantly changing. If you don't change with it, you eventually go the way of the do-do.

aznkoolguy

In the real world Cisco networking field if you don't remember all the device configuration command, Can you refer to the lab manual as a reference?

NetworkVeteran

aznkoolguy wrote: »

In the real world Cisco networking field if you don't remember all the device configuration command, Can you refer to the lab manual as a reference?

It depends. If you're configuring something new or unusual, it'd be rather normal to go to the manual. If you're asked to configure something basic you're certified to know, you'd generally be expected to know how to do it.

aznkoolguy

So your saying that all Network Admin have a manual they can refer to on the job and won't hey have some kind of a Packet Tracer diagram of the whole network to look at.

NetworkVeteran

The Cisco website has tons of configuration examples for anyone with Internet access.

theodoxa

boobobobobob wrote: »

Yes, doing bad on a technical interview will obviously not be good for your job prospects. But, at the companies i've worked for we regularly hire CCNA's with no experience and did poorly during interviews. Alot of the times we hire people just because they have better people skills. Presentation and people skills accout for alot.

That is why so many companies end up with employees who are unwilling or unable to do the job they are hired for. They would rather hire a master bullsh**er than someone who knows what they're doing. This is the problem I run into in interviews. On the technical part, I do very well. But, when they start asking all those stupid a**inine questions like "What is your greatest strength/weakness" or "Tell us about a time when you had a disagreement with a manager and how you resolved it" they end up going with someone else who is probably far less qualified, because they know exactly the right words to say.

The last one really got me because it took me a minute to think of a situation to use (I hadn't had too many problems with those over me at that point and I had never received that question before) and was basically told afterwards that they passed me over because I didn't have an immediate answer for the question. Shouldn't it be a good thing that I didn't have so many disagreements with management that I could think of one instantly? You're hiring me to administer your network, not to give speeches or sell products. You want someone who knows what they're doing (me) not someone who knows how to bulls**t their, but is less competent (the guy they frequently end up hiring)?

theodoxa

aznkoolguy wrote: »

In the real world Cisco networking field if you don't remember all the device configuration command, Can you refer to the lab manual as a reference?

If you generally know what you're doing [but have forgotten the exact syntax of a command,] the question mark (?) goes a long way in IOS.

greenerek

Where I work, even if you have CCNA, even if you pass phone-screening,interview...and you are hired by us you have about2-3 weeks and you need to pass our internal exam before you are allowed to touch anything.However without CCNA you have no chance to get cal from us, good if you have already experience, but not necessarily.

djfunz

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

I have seen disappointment when folks took too long between passing and job-searching w/o review.

Truth spoken here. I was able to find a position that will allow me to relearn a lot of the CCNA material that I'd forgotten while working Helpdesk for a year after I'd acquired my CCNA. If I could do it over, I would:

1. Just get your A+ and get into a Helpdesk role.

2. Then study for the CCNA while in that role during your own free time.

3. After a year at your Helpdesk role start looking with your newly acquired CCNA. It'll all be fresh and you'll be good to go.