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I’m working full time in IT at a small business. I’m trying to make the shift from computer/OS/program maintenance to networking and network administration. This is a personal choice and a business choice, and I’m supported by the higher-ups.

I’d like some pointers on different certifications. I came into this job as a repurposed software engineer. I have no formal training in IT and I’d like to add at least one certification to flesh out my resume and to improve the quality of the work I can do here.

Focused on networking, I was interested in the Cisco CCENT certification, but I’m new to the whole environment and I would like some outside opinions.

Is this necessary ? Should I even worry about a certification at all?
Is CCENT a decent route to go if I want to focus on networking in the future?

@VMware @Cisco

11 Spice ups
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I’ll be honest with you, if you’re thinking about getting in to networking certifications, I’d go straight in to the Associate level and shoot for a CCNA. I did this a number of years ago and found it to be very beneficial. My intention was to eventually get to CCNP but I haven’t managed that yet as I have very little time to study. It’s great to have something like this in your armoury though. Even if you let the cert lapse, many companies still consider the fact that you once held it as a big selling point and the knowledge you’ll gain will really start to tie things together from a networking perspective.

A word of warning though, be careful who you chose to complete the course with. Personally, I’d steer clear of these courses where they tell you that you can learn CCNA in 5 days. What they really mean is they’ll teach you how to answer the exam in 5 days but the course content won’t necessarily stick in your head. It all depends on how you learn and study I suppose but there’s so much material to get through, 5 days is no-where near enough time to properly get to grips with it, even if you pulled 24 hour days.

I chose to attend evening classes at a local college running the course over an academic year. This worked really well for me and I passed the exam first time. Like I say though, it depends what sort of learning style suits you. Just take a look at the available options before you jump in to one to make sure its something that will work for you.

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go for CCNA first.

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If you don’t know the details about networking read up on the Comptia N+ to give your background then do the CCNA

4 Spice ups
(Cisco_Keith) 5

Hey Parker,

I agree withthe other guys ccna is the way to go, Its a cert that always looks good on your resume. With no previous netwoformal training i would suggest start with network+ and then jump into cisco it will help out alot. I obtained my ccna and ccnp by self study which worked best for me. CBT Nuggets videos, the official course books for each certifications and hours of labs with real routers and switches along with packet tracer and gns3 when I needed to lab on the go.

Also when studying for any cert like cisco having a good study habit is needed. having a time block to study each day not being disturbed really helps. Even with a full-time job I would manage to go home and still get 5-6 hrs of studying and lab tiome done which really pays off doing exam time.

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I agree with INDS taking the Net+ will help you with the CCNA and having both would make you look stellar.

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I Agree with what the others have said. If you’re relatively new to networking and want to get a cert, I would go straight for the CCNA. Besides the fact that it will give you the understanding and knowledge you’ll need for a net admin role, It’s a stronger cert and will hold more weight if/when you are looking to move companies or use as leverage for promotion/raise.

Best of luck!

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To be honest I agree with gregg and channing, I would start with the network+ (Should be alot easier to get through for a beginer), then CCNA, network+ isn’t a hugely sort after qualification from an employers point of view but it will give you a good insight into networking as a beginner.

Good luck.

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There is little to no place for this in the SMB IT industry. I think you need to step back and define what you think that those terms mean. SMBs don’t use network admins. When they do they bring in a consultant for a few hours and are done for years. Networking is one of the most specific and enterprise-only skill sets in IT. Even storage and virtualization are drastically more common in the SMB realm. Are you sure that this is a path you want to go down?

2 Spice ups
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It depends on what type of networking you want to do. The best way I’ve heard Net+ described is that it is a mile wide and a foot deep. You’ll learn a ton about different types of networking technologies, but you won’t go very deep with any of them. If you want to focus on net admin jobs, I would probably go the CCENT route. It covers what you need to know from Net+ without the filler and delves deeper into Cisco IOS, commands, and configuration.

This is coming from someone who just got his Net+ and has studied for CCENT/CCNA.

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CCENT is for people who are not network related but want to demonstrate basic network knowledge. It is Cisco’s equivalent of the Network+. It’s for system admins and other non-network roles.

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CCENT and Net+ are supposed to be almost identical. If you have one, you don’t get the other.

CCNA would be the starting point, for me, if this was an area of actual interest.

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Yes, networking administration essentially requires certification for any work. CCNA is “preparing to do network work”, CCNP is entry level, CCIE is senior and it goes up from there. This is all Cisco specific, of course, there are similar paths for Juniper, Brocade, Palo Alto, etc.

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Opinions will vary, as you can see from this thread, but I think if you’re really brand new to networking a good place to start is to get your CompTIA Network+ as well as CCENT. They will be very similar, but obviously CCENT is Cisco specific. With CCENT out of the way, you can concentrate on studying for ICND2, the second of the two-test track that will get you to CCNA. Many people prefer the one-test track (myself included) but for someone with little real world experience, the two-test track is probably more manageable.

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I don’t think that’s quite right. My career has been with companies under 250 employees so I know this segment. SMBs won’t typically have a single employee dedicated full time to network engineering/network administration, but they still want someone on staff who can do those tasks.

In an SMB, you’re going to wear multiple hats. You will be the network engineer, the network admin, the Windows Server/Active Directory admin, Exchange Server admin, SQL Server admin, the VMWare guy, maybe second or third tier help desk, and probably the guy that oversees the phone system.

And to me, that’s much better and more interesting than spending 50 or 60 hours a week narrowly focused on nothing but configuring routers and switches.

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I would go with the CCENT then CCNA. Just be careful when you register to take the CCNA. I registered for a particular CCNA exam number the first time around, (the one that Cisco said was current,) but when I took the exam I discovered that I was actually given a DIFFERENT exam than I had signed up for, and failed it.

Cisco wouldn’t admit their mistake and it cost me an additional $300 to re-take the exam.

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Scotts right - there is little need for a true (actual) network engineer in SMB’s these days - same with storage, Telephony etc. You might be the network engineer who plugs in a new switch now and again but chances are you’ll never really do any actual engineering or really understand the field. Its not a bad field - just dont expect to find many true network admin jobs in SMB, you’ll need to be in enterprises or consultancies if thats the field you want to be in. You’re a long way from either if you are just considering CCENT/Net+. That said - adding network knowlege to your skillset is valuable in all IT areas so its not a bad thing, just decide if you want to a jack of all trades SMB Admin - master of none or specialize in the network field. Specializating is really the only way to distinguish yourself in IT anymore - especially as far as your paycheck goes.

  • Andrew
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Focus on the CCNA R&S (routing & switching). It is the gateway to other networking branches and higher certs (CCNP tracks, and wireless & voice & security branches). Even the CCNA is fairly basic, as taking a few of the CCNP course tracks will eventually highlight.

Don’t know the resources available to you in your part of the world, but had found a semester class with like mind students to have been valuable. Of course, the instructor for such a class can provide first-person insight as well.

Good illustration of the tracks ( link )—

cisco-cert-layouts-300x212.png

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What SMB does any of this stuff? Some might think that they want these skills but only when they don’t know what they are. Network Admin work doesn’t exist in a company of 250. You don’t even need a VLAN or QoS at that size let alone a tree or anything else. People do it, but mostly because they are trying to be network admins when it doesn’t make sense, not because it is right for the business.

The role you are describing is not at all a network admin, it is just a normal SMB IT generalist.

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What SMB does any of this? Seriously? Just about all that I’m familiar with. And I guess in the 200 person firm I currently work at, we don’t really need any VLANs or QoS, we’re just doing it to amuse ourselves. :frowning: As I frequently say, opinions vary, as does apparently the definition of network admin, as well as the perceived need for a network admin. Being vehemently opinionated doesn’t necessarily make you correct.