Take CCNP classes with an institute ?

hi guys !

I am thinking of getting CCNP cert.
The one thing that holds me from jumping into it is the price.
I understand there must be a lot of practical knowledge, and so ideally you want to practice with material what they teach.

My question is : is it possible to pass CCNP working from home, reading the docs and watching the videos ? so that basically you just pay the exam fees.
Or is it like very highly recommended to follow CCNP classes with some institute equipped with all the networks equipments ?
The prices I have seen with that option are huge, like $6000

Thanks !

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RouteMyPacket

I don't know anyone who has ever taken a course for an exam. Just do it at home, you should have a decent amount of experience under your belt before going for CCNP

1. Buy the OCG
2. Read
3. Lab
4. Lab some more
5. Sit exam

Rinse and repeat. I think these courses are attractive to those who have no clue about the technology and want an instructor led step-by-step instruction.

So where are you in your Cisco experience? Got your CCNA yet? Do you work on Cisco equipment everyday?

Legacy User

You are right $6,000 is a lot to spend on a class. Since you mentioned enrolling into a ccnp class "equipped with all the networking equipment" I suggest you use that money and invest it into buying yourself a nice lab which would cost much less. Then you can lab as much as you want using real equipment. Just about everyone on here passed the CCNP with self study so it is definitely possible to learn it all on your own.

Don't bother wasting money on a class when you can save plenty of $$$ learning the material on your own. I found that out first hand when I enrolled into a $2,200 ccna class which was a month long at that point didn't know any better. The class wasn't bad but it was far too muchinformation to absorb in a month's time. I finished the class still scratching my head. Afterwards I chose to invest $1,200 in routers and switches labbed my ass off whilewatching the videos from cbtnuggets along with reading chris bryants ebook. Gave 3 months to do some hardcore studying and sure enough I learned 10x more then what I was taught in the classwhich we only used packet tracer.

Moral of the story save your money! Get a good video series, books, equipment and lab it up.

tjh87

If someone else is paying for it, sure. Go for it. If you are paying for it, no way. You can definitely learn and pass the CCNP doing self study. Real gear is best, but Packet Tracer and GNS3 will get you through most of the labs. If I recall, Packet Tracer does not support a lot of the aaa stuff for SWITCH. This is where real gear comes in handy. For material to guide you, the OCG is common along with maybe a video tutorial (such as CBT Nuggets).

filkenjitsu

Ine.com videos are much better than CBT nuggets

Cokatoo56

Hi guys, thanks for the replies ! I didn't expect so many replies in such a short time

So, I think I got my answer hehe. My concern was about getting the practical knowledge, because I think if you limit yourself to the theory, your cert. is not worth much.
I didn't know I could just set it all up at home. That's pretty cool.

to answer Routemypacket, well, yes I got CCNA. My past experience is more on wireless engineering. I don't work on Cisco equipments, but I can clearly see that the market is about Cisco (in Australia), and so I want to update my technical skills.
I assume (I may be wrong on that one) that CCNA is pretty easy, and you've got to have CCNP if you really want to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

tjh87

Cokatoo56 wrote: »

I assume (I may be wrong on that one) that CCNA is pretty easy, and you've got to have CCNP if you really want to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

There is some truth to this (it is relative); however, without real world experience, your CCNP still won't mean much. Some people even frown upon having that high level of a cert without experience. The first thought is that you probably dumped the exam. If you want to get more technical, get hands on. You won't learn real world networking issues (or how to fix them) from any book or video.

Cokatoo56

While I agree with you that practical hands on experience is worth way more than a paper sheet claiming you master the topic, you have to start somewhere. You'll have no chance either if you don't have any education on networks such as these cisco cert, will you ? And the company will certainly not pay you the training no matter how motivated you show you are.
from my personal experience, they will instead look at one of the thousands of resumes they probably get everyday and try to find a dude who has the "profile" with all the nice certifications and stuff, or they might ask for an indian from the outsourcing centre the company has over there to come for 3 months.
We might as well argue that an engineer who just had theoretical classes at uni knows nothing about engineering and should not start working as an engineer.
I personally know guys with no practical experience but who had CCNA/CCNP, who were hired in big companies involved in the networks business.
What about you my friend ?

tjh87

1.) I have never met or known a person who has their CCNP without real world experience.
2.) I would never hire a person for anything over an entry-level networking position with their CCNP and no real world experience.

I'm not saying don't pursue it. By all means, it is good education. But there are SO many things that the CCNA/CCNP do not teach you about networking or IT in general that happens in the work place on a daily basis. For example, unless something has changed recently in the CCNA or I just don't remember it, they don't even teach you how to upgrade the IOS on a switch or router. The CCNP certainly doesn't go over it. I can't imagine having or hiring a Network Engineer on the team that doesn't know how to do this. Not saying that you can't learn it elsewhere. But if your studies and experience is limited to only what you learned during those two certifications, then you probably aren't ready for anything above an entry-level gig.

Cokatoo56

Let's assume a company needs to recruit a network engineer. what do u think is best ? promote the heldesk dude or hire someone with the certifications ? the helpdesk guy does not have the cert. or if he does, they are now obsolete because you recruited him at helpdesk level and he hasn't practiced for more than a year.
I mean, yes, the guy who has CCNA/CCNP without much prior hands on experience does not know 100% of the issues you can face, but having studied for months by himself at home shows that he is very motivated. There are other factors that can show whether or not he is actually a good engineer. What kind of engineer do you want to recruit ? an engineer who can think and ask the right questions, and propose innovative solutions, or an engineer who knows everything the D day, but who actually only has a head full of knowledge and cannot adapt to this constantly changing environment ?
i don't think the "market" is full of smart engineers, with 10 years of experience, and up to date with all the latest features and the most recent certifications.
okay, the conversation has shifted off topic...

nevermore

As an IT Manager, I do put value behind certifications but I look just as equally if not more at the person's level of real world experience to back the certification up. If someone has an entry level certification it is expected that the experience will not be there and that is acceptable but if someone has an upper level certification and doesn't have the experience it won't equate to a higher level position nor any additional level of salary.

Sometimes people in a helpdesk role could have an inside track to get into a network admin position. I have snagged two people out of our helpdesk onto my team in the last three years. Did they have an advanced skill set, no. What they did have was a strong desire to learn, expand their knowledge but the big perk is that since they were on the helpdesk for a few years I got to see their demeanor and knew they were going to fit in with the rest of the team. One has been trained and earned his CCNA since coming over. My latest hire was from outside since there was no longer any remaining star potential talent on the team and I needed someone who already has been elbow deep in the trenches. Depends on a company's need and what they are willing to pay...

Doesn't hurt to pursue the CCNP but I would suggest doing it slowly and work towards gaining more relevant hands on experience.

tjh87

@Cokatoo56 We agree then. As my last post stated, I would not hire anyone for anything over an entry-level position with only their CCNP and no experience. Meaning, I WOULD hire them for an entry-level position. If it came down to a candidate with their CCNP and no experience and a candidate with their CCNA and 2 years experience, I'm taking the one with the CCNA and experience. I'm probably even taking the second guy even if he doesn't have his CCNA. If it were between Help-Desk guy with limited exposure to networking and the guy with the CCNP, this is where things start looking up for the guy with the CCNP. Like I said, there are things that happen on a day-to-day basis that simply studying for certifications will not prepare you for. This is why I am probably taking the candidate with experience vs. the one without.

But once again, don't let this stop you from pursuing it. Just get that experience and it will be deadly combo.

Sy Kosys

Cokatoo56 wrote: »

I am thinking of getting CCNP cert. The one thing that holds me from jumping into it is the price.
......
Or is it like very highly recommended to follow CCNP classes with some institute equipped with all the networks equipments ?
The prices I have seen with that option are huge, like $6000

The only 'institute' I've seen charging in the thousands of $$ are boot camps. Try your local community college. Last year, I schooled from Jan to Aug at (my local) Tarrant County Community College. Classes were for CCNA, taken two nights a week, 5hrs each, a week or two off in between the 4 mini-mesters. Fully equipped lab, open all day plus Saturdays too. School registration was about $800 total, and the lab/study books we bought from amazon were about another $200. So a grand total for school & materials, plus a 75% off discount voucher for the exam(s).

6 Grand? Eff that noise

Only you can decide where your learning curve is...whether it be self-motivated to read/study/lab from home, using the AWESOME power of packet tracer lol, or by planting your butt for a few hrs a week and having an expert translate "Cisc-ish" into English.

TCC opens their enrollment for Spring classes this Friday, talking with the wife now about when I can get registered (still on unemployment income, so money is a bit tight), then I'll be back in the classroom come January. Just tried to see about costs (no info up yet due to registration starting friday), but I cannot fathom how the CCNA classes would cost 1k and the CCNP would be 6x that lol.

Good luck to ya, either way

Jon_Cisco

I am taking cisco network academy classes as part of my associates at our local community college. There are 4 classes that count as 4 credits each. So the CCNA courses will account for about $2500.

My background is not in IT so I am working towards a career change and the longer time frame worked for me. I bought some lab equipment for home and plan to continue onto CCNP while still in school but my goal is always to gain an entry level position and work my way up. I would spend some money on equipment and skip the classes if I were you.

Just remember it takes time and staying self motivated is the hardest part. I personally am trying to stay involved in the forums on this site to pick up knowledge and keep my motivation high. It seems that the barrier is set pretty high for breaking into IT but the workers who are dedicated can be quite successful.

Good Luck.

lincis_aus

filkenjitsu wrote: »

Ine.com videos are much better than CBT nuggets

+1 on this.

INE videos are much more detailed, and very well taught by experienced instructors while being interesting at the same time. While Jeremy from CBT Nuggets is an excellent instructor, the videos he does do not go into much detail. If you have access to both, I would recommend that you watch the nuggets first, and then go in to the INE videos. I was surprised at how cheap the INE CCNP videos were ($199 for RT, SW, and TSHOOT bundle). Buy the CCNP Cisco press books, and some equipment, and it will all end up costing you $1000-$1200, plus you learn at your own pace. Doing the $6000 course would be a complete waste of money.