CCNA and then what?

Simrid · June 2015

Hi everyone,

I am currently studying for a CCNA and I have completed my CCENT. I'm not sure what to do after, I know I need to focus on the single exam ahead but I want to set some goals. At first I thought i'd like to be a network engineer and in CCENT I was super motivated, but now....Not so motivated.

Is it worth going down the Microsoft route as well as Cisco too? Is there jobs which will require both? Is it worth the effort or should I stick to one vendor?

My thoughts are to go CCNA > MCSA > CCNP > MCSE. Would this work and be worth?

To add to this, should I start studying for the MCSA at the same time as my CCNA? OR Linux? Redhat etc?

Confused and need direction....

Thanks all,

Simrid

srabiee · June 2015

MCSE is going pretty deep into Microsoft technologies. Are you interested in performing regular system administration and system engineering duties? If you truly want to focus on network engineering, I would focus on the CCNP path and not put much effort into Microsoft certs at this time.

I guess the real question is, what path are you most interested in? If you want to be a sysadmin JOAT, then do both.

Simrid · June 2015

You see, I wish I could answer......network engineer and infrastructure sounds great although sysadmin is also awesome. I guess it really comes down to, at my current employment we don't use any Cisco products and really we don't maintain the network....i'm some what practicing these certs with no means to back it up, but of course we use Microsoft servers therefore it being more useful.

srabiee · June 2015

Anything you wish to learn, you can always lab at home. I'm not sure how much of the Cisco technologies you can virtually lab, but you always have the option of purchasing inexpensive used Cisco equipment from Ebay and build your own physical lab. Many of the forum members have done this themselves. Presuming you want to pursue the network engineering path, I also recommend that you consider seeking new employment opportunities that will allow you to work with various Cisco technologies on a regular basis.

OfWolfAndMan · June 2015

This is a question that is answered based on experimenting. Don't do the CCNA because all your friends are doing it. Do it because you want to and you are legitimately interested in it. Find your niche, and you'll be golden. Read, lab, and listen to some podcasts. Don't like it? Move onto something else. Just keep in mind though that what you may be interested in genuinely will become boring at times and you just have to power through.

N2IT · June 2015

First thing that came to mind is a decent job.

Chinook · June 2015

Simrid

The only type of job you'd make use of an MCSA and CCNA is if you were working in a MSP (Managed Service Provider) where you would manage smaller computer networks (5 to 250 people). You can get hands on in both doing that position.

Otherwise, find out if you like networking and stick too it. Get your CISCO CCNA, then take the CCNA Voice (lots of work with CISCO phones). Then look into other networking related devices. In any large corporation you'll discover the word silo. It' means you will work in a specialized environment with focus on one type of product (a silo is a tall round thing you see on a farm that holds grain).

As a side note, VMware & networking do cross over, so that might be a place to go rather than Windows Server stuff. Look at this like the OSI model. If you work in networking, it's layer 1-4. If you work in servers, it's 5-7. You can't realistically do all 7 layers. Networking has a great future. The pay is solid and so are the opportunities.

echo_time_cat · June 2015

@Simrid. I've seen many job postings for Network Admin that read almost the same as Sys Admin. I assume that to small and medium sized businesses, having a "IT person" who takes care of the entire LAN infrastructure, from the Server to the network and end user, just makes sense cost wise. I've also seen these job descriptions mention CCNA and MCSA in he same breath.

There are many paths, and a lot of pure networking paths exist. I work for an ISP and if I stayed here my whole career, I'd never need to touch a Microsoft cert.

CCNA and then what?

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