1

QUESTION : CCNA with no experience, (no degree yet),guess I’ll be looking for a help-desk position ?

@Cisco

6 Spice ups
2

Look for a NOC help desk position. There are a lot of Network Service Providers out there now. That is what I am looking at with a degree but no certification yet.

1 Spice up
3

If you have no hands-on experience in IT a Help Desk position can be a great place to start your career, and gain some experience, especially before moving on to role with greater responsibility in a corporate environment. You can also go-ahead and volunteer your time setting up/maintaining the networks/computers at a local church or non-profit to place on a resume as well to start building your portfolio. It’s all about experience (well…mostly).

2 Spice ups
4

Honestly, with a CCNA and no other experience, landing a helpdesk position at a service provider is likely going to be an uphill battle for you. If you have hobby/homelab experience, try to promote yourself with that. Service providers tend to put a heavy emphasis on practical skills, rather than certs (especially certs where braindumping is the norm).

2 Spice ups
5

I have been working as a Student Data Specialist for just under a year now and am trying to implement more and more network trouble shooting, and switch maintenance. I also have a Catalyst 3550 at home for Cisco IOS practice. My last effort was inter VLAN switching and a switch DHCP. I got the DHCP to work right but I still have trouble with inter VLAN routing. I have been approached by a couple HR firms about going to a Network Service Provider.

1 Spice up
6

I usually look for entry level people for our IT staff. I have hired three from a tech school this year. Honestly the CCNA certification would scare me a bit. I look for people who have the basics that I can train them in the real world. What I mean is our real world which is different than any other companies real world. I look for the A+ etc. Not to dismiss the CCNA. It is an impressive certification for an experienced professional. For non experienced the A+ carries more weight to be hired in our department

1 Spice up
7

While looking for a position, depending upon the amount of time you are investing in job searching and whether or not you are currently employed, I would

  1. Take any help desk job for even minimal experience.
  2. Volunteer any place you can so you can put that on a resume.
2 Spice ups
8

If you’re in school still, look for internships. Sometimes organizations want interns to take care of day-to-day things, grunt work, or simply because they can’t afford experienced staff.

This one paid off majorly for me.

1 Spice up
9

Honestly I would never trust someone to do anything on my Cisco products who did not have real world experience. I do not understand why they push CCNA as an entry level cert.

10

I am not too sure that passing an entry level test with no experience or education is going to make for a good resume. I see two usable options here.

Best option: go to school

Second Option: get entry level help desk position.

Look at both of these options and look at where the career tracks are likely to go. School looks good.

1 Spice up
11

I would look for a security analyst/technician lvl 1 position or like someone said a NOC lvl 1 position at an MSP.

12

My suspicion about anyone with a CCNA but no experience would be, “Did he get that from a brain dump” and you can bet others will think the same thing. So be prepared to demonstrate that you actually know and can perform CCNA-level functions. You can bet I would put you to the test.

3 Spice ups
13

Better question you should ask yourself: Is why wouldn’t you want to start in a Help Desk position?

2 Spice ups
14

I think he realizes that. Or some of tier 1 position. Just because one gets a CCNA does not mean that can me a Network technician, admin, engineer. That takes experience. You must be able to walk the walk and not talk the talk in a live production environment. One little mistake of missing the word “add” can bring down multiple environments on the distro switches.

1 Spice up
15

Thanks everyone for your support, I understand is not easy to obtain a job as a network technician, without any previous background, just as it is hard to get the CCNA. Is instructive to read everyone’s opinion and get to know how “things” work. I’m expecting hardwork and tough situations all I can do is do my best and see where I stand.