Confused on CCNA/CCENT and MCSA ect?

Hello everyone! i go to an awesome school for FREE where ive been receiving training for my A+ which im taking here this coming week as well the opportunity to move on to 2 other advanced courses.

heres the link: Focus: HOPE Information Technologies Center (ITC)

my question is if Net+ is only offered(SOHO) through server administration would it be more beneficial to go that route as opposed to network administration which gives me ccna/ccent?

ive been doing alot of reading and for the server class, mcsa is windows/server based area of focus? whereas network administration is cisco based?

because i want to do security+ then CEH after and its been suggested on here that i get network+ first and according to my school thats only offered in a package with systems administration and not network administration where the ccna/ccent are offered.

i guess i could just take network administration and take security+ personally but ya

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Comments

ajs1976

who suggested getting the Net+? go back and read his post.

The reason the Net+ may not be included in the Cisco track is because of the overlap between the CCENT and the Net+.

detroitwillfall

ajs1976 wrote: »

who suggested getting the Net+? go back and read his post.

The reason the Net+ may not be included in the Cisco track is because of the overlap between the CCENT and the Net+.

i just dont know which to go to, my end goal is to be #1 versatile for employment, but get to net+/sec+/ceh

PsychoData91

It is recommended to get Net+ before Sec+ mainly (in my experience of things) just for the networking knowledge. The relevant knowledge would be in either CCENT or Net+ to prepare for that networking aspect of Sec+.

Of course, there may be some differences between the actual curriculums of CCENT and Net+, but anything you need to know should be covered by whatever Sec+ studying you

Personally, I like the CCENT because it is also going to include Cisco not just networking. If you like that, then you might consider finishing CCNA and maybe even working on CCNA Security. Being versatile is definitely a good goal, but I would say since you are working through these classes, feel out what you enjoy working on. Do you find you are looking more for the Sec+ content? Maybe the Cisco Stuff? MCSA class? Hell, maybe you want to go a whole different direction?

A final thought is that it sounds like, based on your post, you have somewhat set you can only follow these singular paths. Just because you follow any of these paths.
A: CCNA Preparation Certificate at my local college (four classes) would run something like 2.5 grand (I think I am grossly overestimating four 3-credit hour classes cost)? Instead of 53 weeks it would be slightly longer, but the point is that this center isn't your only option.
B: SOO many people on here get certs from nothing more than books and studying and maybe a practice test to gauge their familiarity. You don't always need a proper class to do them.
C: Consider a place like ITProTV. They offer a very large selection of classes for $570/year. They also cover Microsoft to Cisco to Net+ to Sec+ to CEH to CISSP to VMWare to Apple. This is especially nice if you want to feel around and see which kind of things you like.

bigdogz

detroitwillfall,
Nice name... lol.

Just based on your goal on obtaining Security+ and CEH, it would be best if you obtained the Network+ as it is a stepping stone to the Security+. CompTia certifications are mixed but these are vendor neutral certifications and cover more topics in general where the Cisco certifications are more specific to the hardware. You also have to keep renewing most of the Cisco certs every 3 years. CompTia just makes you pay an Annual Maintenance Fee and makes you keep learning by demanding that you get CE's or Continuing Education units (1 unit = 1 hr). This can be done by joining associations and obtaining more certifications.
In either case you will need to take the Network+ or CCNA and use other tools in order to obtain the knowledge to obtain the CEH.

In regards to knowing what servers are used in the program, you may need to call the provider of the education services and verify the classes. If you are heading towards the server side of things, it would be best if you know both Linux/Unix and Microsoft servers. It makes you more of a well rounded and marketable employee.

Good Luck.