Cisco Certifications

[Raven]

I'm looking at the CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Admin I think it is - and was wondering if this cert is actually worth anything? Would it improve my job prospects in that field? Is it worth less that the paper it's written on? I don't want to make any firm commitments until I'm 100% sure about it.

 

[Winky]

Do it.

 

[greenfreak]

Funny you should ask, I'm going to my first Cisco class in a couple of weeks, Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices. My company is paying for it.

Everyone in these neck of the woods considers Cisco certifications as gold. You really need to be prepared for the investment of time and money it takes to certify though. Last I heard, you need to fly out to California to test and something like 75% fail the first time. The tests are notoriously hard, which is why the cert is so valuable.

I'm not going for cert, I'm going for real-world knowledge since I already use it in the workplace.

 

[Raven]

I'm paying £2500 with very little travelling involved, in fact I'm doing 90% from home. Mine might be a different course though. They call it the CiscoMaster which has the N+ and CCNA certs included in a 12 month course.

 

[Professur]

GF, nonsense. Any Prometric site can administer the exams. The exam is big on situational questions, as opposed to memorizable answers. That's why everyone fails. Noone expects it. Get the Cisco Press books, and book some time in a Cisco lab to get hands one. The NetSim simulator is good, but you really need the hands on.

 

[greenfreak]

Am I thinking about CCIE then? Back when I was in school, the only place to take the test was in California. I know because one of my teachers was flying out to take it. This guy was brilliant, a true guru, and he failed it. He said it was the time limit that got him in the end.

 

[Professur]

CCIE, yeah. But then you're employed for life.

 

[tommyj27]

The exam is big on situational questions, as opposed to memorizable answers. That's why everyone fails.

hell, why haven't i gone out and taken it then? i have serious CRS, but i can visualize network issues like nobody's business.

 

[greenfreak]

Ya still got time man.


I'm reading the Sybex CCNA Study Guide written by Todd Lammle and it's pretty good so far. I had some training in TCP/IP, subnetting, ip routes and do minimal tasks on routers now, so it's easier to understand when you have some experience. But I still hate the reading about the OSI model. Remember: All People Seem To Need Data Processing.

 

[Professur]

I've got both the Sybex (it's cheaper) and the Cisco (it's Cisco). and I spoke with Cisco trainers. Basically, none of them will come right out and say the Sybex book is crap, but they will hint that if you're using the Sybex, plan for more lab time.

 

[Raven]

CCIE, yeah. But then you're employed for life.

Is that so? I was gonna do the CCIE after I've got a bit of experience behind me

 

[Professur]

CCIE means that you're good enough to teach Cisco. That's why you gotta go to them to take the tests.

 

[Raven]

Yeah the guy was saying the pay at that level was about £120k a year...thats £10k a month :S

 

[Professur]

Still take a while to pay off the education. Personally, I'm going CCNA with specialties in VoIP and Wireless. Why do I do this to myself?

 

[Raven]

Because deep down you are nice guy and wanna help people?

 

[greenfreak]

Nah that can't be it.

 

[Luis G]

Ya still got time man.


I'm reading the Sybex CCNA Study Guide written by Todd Lammle and it's pretty good so far. I had some training in TCP/IP, subnetting, ip routes and do minimal tasks on routers now, so it's easier to understand when you have some experience. But I still hate the reading about the OSI model. Remember: All People Seem To Need Data Processing.

OSI is good in theory, however, UDP/TCP/IP is older than the OSI model. Unless you're trying to make your own protocol, it is useless knowledge.

Computer Networks by Tanenbaum is a good read for in depth theory (physical layer is not as good as in other books but the physical layer is a whole science by itself)

 

[chcr]

OSI is good in theory, however, UDP/TCP/IP is older than the OSI model. Unless you're trying to make your own protocol, it is useless knowledge.

There was a question about it on the Network+ Exam though.

 

[Luis G]

There was a question about it on the Network+ Exam though.

No doubt about it, people love asking questions about useless stuff for the task they are doing

 

[greenfreak]

I've been asked about the OSI in interviews, specifically about Layer-2 switching and what layer of the OSI routers function on. It helps to know how the communication between hosts is established, error correction, reliability, all that jazz. But mostly I find it useless too.