Is CCNA enough?

BryanM67 · April 2006

I know that CCNA is considered an "entry level" network certification.

I have completed all four CCNA courses offered by Cisco Network Academy and plan to finish certification within a few weeks (I already passed INTRO). I feel confident that I will be ready. I also have CompTIA A+ certification.

Just wondering, how marketable is CCNA currently? I understand it takes work on the part of the jobseeker to find work and I also understand one has to show that he knows the material. For those of you who have a CCNA certification, how difficult was it to find a networking job? Did having the CCNA make a difference?

Thanks for any insight on this.

moss12 · April 2006

hey BryanM67 could please tell me what topics you got at the INTRO please as I am going for this next month or so , I am really enjoying reading todd lamme sybex 4edition for this

kindly tell me what topics is covered for this

and what you use to prepare

Good luck for your ICND

BryanM67 · April 2006

Well since I went through Cisco Academy, after I finished the classes I went through the entire online curriculum and cut/paste anything I thought I needed to study more on. I also used the practice tests on the CD that came with the textbook.

But having said that, I can tell you what one of my classmates said he used. He said **** is very helpful (though the use of **** is considered controversial). I'm going to refrain from telling you whats on the test since Cisco can deny me certification if they determine that I divulged whats on the tests. But I can assure you there were very few surprises. If you prepare with legit test materials and you spend the time and effort, you should be able to pass.

In preparing for such a test, read the material first - read it several times. Two books are better than one. Then after you feel you understand it, take some practice tests. Its all in the preparation.

benbuiltpc · April 2006

"I have completed all four CCNA courses offered by Cisco Network Academy"

Do you mean you attended classes or bought the study materials from Cisco?

I'm looking to enroll in the fall for this program - I'm thinking the hands on learning would be much better than just reading about it. Does graduating from the academy sound better than just having the CCNA with no real Cisco experience?

A local college is offering the 4 semester program... I just hope it's not a "figure it out yourself" kind of class.

keenon · April 2006

BryanM67 wrote:

I know that CCNA is considered an "entry level" network certification.

I have completed all four CCNA courses offered by Cisco Network Academy and plan to finish certification within a few weeks (I already passed INTRO). I feel confident that I will be ready. I also have CompTIA A+ certification.

Just wondering, how marketable is CCNA currently? I understand it takes work on the part of the jobseeker to find work and I also understand one has to show that he knows the material. For those of you who have a CCNA certification, how difficult was it to find a networking job? Did having the CCNA make a difference?

Thanks for any insight on this.

CCNA is always marketable, but even more so with some experience to back it and not all "book". I would start looking for entry level network gig

patching cables, racking gear, ect this will get you familiar and some exposure

BryanM67 · April 2006

benbuiltpc wrote:

"I have completed all four CCNA courses offered by Cisco Network Academy"

Do you mean you attended classes or bought the study materials from Cisco?

I'm looking to enroll in the fall for this program - I'm thinking the hands on learning would be much better than just reading about it. Does graduating from the academy sound better than just having the CCNA with no real Cisco experience?

A local college is offering the 4 semester program... I just hope it's not a "figure it out yourself" kind of class.

I attended classes with real labs and real equipment. I don't know if your college has the exact same setup but if they offer Cisco Network Academy courses they are held to certain standards (number of PCs, routers, switches, etc). In CCNA 1, most of the time was spent in lecture with some time for labs. For CCNA 2/3/4 it changes - more time spent in lab than lecture. I encourage you if you are interested, find out the name of one of the Cisco Academy instructors at your community college and ask them how they teach the class.

BryanM67 · April 2006

keenon wrote:

BryanM67 wrote:

I know that CCNA is considered an "entry level" network certification.

I have completed all four CCNA courses offered by Cisco Network Academy and plan to finish certification within a few weeks (I already passed INTRO). I feel confident that I will be ready. I also have CompTIA A+ certification.

Just wondering, how marketable is CCNA currently? I understand it takes work on the part of the jobseeker to find work and I also understand one has to show that he knows the material. For those of you who have a CCNA certification, how difficult was it to find a networking job? Did having the CCNA make a difference?

Thanks for any insight on this.

CCNA is always marketable, but even more so with some experience to back it and not all "book". I would start looking for entry level network gig

patching cables, racking gear, ect this will get you familiar and some exposure

Thanks for your input. My experience is limited to the labs I did in Cisco Network Academy at my community college. I also purchased several routers for brushing up on my skills before I take ICND (hope to get a switch soon also). I certainly would like experience but thats the problem. Most job postings I have seen want on the job experience but you have to get a job to get the experience. I don't see many entry level jobs on monster.com and the other job websites.

keenon · April 2006

BryanM67 wrote:

Thanks for your input. My experience is limited to the labs I did in Cisco Network Academy at my community college. I also purchased several routers for brushing up on my skills before I take ICND (hope to get a switch soon also). I certainly would like experience but thats the problem. Most job postings I have seen want on the job experience but you have to get a job to get the experience. I don't see many entry level jobs on monster.com and the other job websites.

look for short contract gigs with basic installs, so if the job says cisco experience apply for it you may just get a call

mikej412 · April 2006

BryanM67 wrote:

I don't see many entry level jobs on monster.com and the other job websites.

One way to get some experience -- and possibly even a real job -- is to check out the "temp agencies."

Around the big cities there are the "consulting companies" that are nothing but recruiters to find good and cheap IT help, and the sales people to sell the services of the company. If they are really classy, the sales people are also called project managers and spend time at the job sites trying to place more bodies.

But the actual temp agencies that used to do office temps seem to have branched out into low and medium end IT jobs -- since most offices now have computers for everybody. Even if the first contract you get is crappy, it's experience and if you do a good job, it may lead to more crappy contracts, some good contracts, and possibly a contract to hire position.

ccie_in_the_making · April 2006

it helped for me and no CCNA is not enough you should always strive for more especially since its an entry level cert

Is CCNA enough?

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