Any Cisco CCNA/CCDA etc qualified people here?

Richdog · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:17

I did a Cisco CSA course a little bit back and I found it very very interesting... Cisco are a huggeee and innovative company with massive market share and with I.T. on the up I wouldn't mind getting into a more specific field than i'm currently in and getting a slice of the action.

Looking on job sites there seems to be plenty of Cisco engineer demand about... specifically in London where i'm looking at re-locating in the next couple of years.

I've sent for an application from for the CCNA course at Central Sussex College as seen here http://www.centralsussex.ac.uk/courses/view.asp?id=681&querystring=cisco&coursetype=ptft which is class-based, lasts 40 weeks, and is Monday and Wednesday 17:30-21:00 so I can fit it around my current job with minimum fuss. After I complete a CCNA i'm planning on working towards a CCDA to have a good grounding in Cisco technology and implementation.

I realise a CCNA is by no means going to make me able to walk in to a job... but surely it's going to make me a hell of a lot more marketable, as well as show that I have knowledge on the subject and a desire to go further.

Just wondering if any guys here who are Cisco qualified have any tips or reccommendations for getting into the field?

Saberu · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:23

Never heard of CCDA. I'm currently doing my CCNA1-4. Pretty much finished 1 and 2 and they are really easy u could do both in a month. 3 and 4 are probably a bit harder but still nothing compared to CCNP. CCNA teaches you all the basics about networking then CCNP is when you start learning the hard stuff, I'll be doing CCNP 1 and 2 next term.

I recommend you do CCNP as a lot of employers ask for it. I've seen loads of networking jobs stating "CCNP qualified network engineer required". Though a lot of them do ask for a few years experience alongside that so you'll be starting off on lesser jobs. The lesser jobs usually ask for CCNA and don't require experience if you can find one that will train you.

asim · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:29

Did my ccna by self studying with two books. Then took the INTRO and ICND exams to get my certification.

Havent pursued IT

Richdog · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:29

Saberu said:
Never heard of CCDA. I'm currently doing my CCNA1-4. Pretty much finished 1 and 2 and they are really easy u could do both in a month. 3 and 4 are probably a bit harder but still nothing compared to CCNP. CCNA teaches you all the basics about networking then CCNP is when you start learning the hard stuff, I'll be doing CCNP 1 and 2 next term.

CCDA = Cisco Certified Design Associate... it's basically a certificate for those seeking to learn how to design and implement networks as opposed to just troubleshoooting them.

I recommend you do CCNP as a lot of employers ask for it. I've seen loads of networking jobs stating "CCNP qualified network engineer required". Though a lot of them do ask for a few years experience alongside that so you'll be starting off on lesser jobs.

CCNP = Cisco Certified Network Professional... it's a more advanced qualification and you need the CCNA (and preferably on-the-job esperience before you do it.

asim said:
Did my ccna by self studying with two books. Then took the INTRO and ICND exams to get my certification.

Havent pursued IT

Yeah I realise I could do this but I just don't see the point in rushing a certification and getting no practical experience whatsoever... it just then becomes a worthless piece of paper. I want the 40-week class-based course so that at the end I can actually have confidence in the knowledge I gain and my ability to apply it practically.

AthlonTom · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:29

I've got CCNA - Its useful but most employers will still want 2 years experiance from you.

DavidQ · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:37

I'm currently doing my CCNA aswell, just about to take my CCNA-1 exam in january.

JollyGreen · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:44

I was just on a 5 day course for the ccna, just got back about an hour ago after failing the 2nd exam by 3% :mad:

The next two days were on the CCDA with the exam on sunday and I really couldn't be bothered with it.

Personally I think the CCNA is a load of crap, they're still talking about hubs, bridges and repeaters ffs!
And how often do you configure an ISDN connection these days?
(not to mention the exam quizzes you on american setups!)
I'd say my MCSE was far more relevant to a modern network admins job than the CCNA (and I'm not saying that just because I failed the exam lol)

Richdog · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:46

JollyGreen said:
I was just on a 5 day course for the ccna, just got back about an hour ago after failing the 2nd exam by 3%
The next two days were on the CCDA with the exam on sunday and I really couldn't be bothered with it.

How much Cisco experience did you have prior to the exam?

Nozzer · 8 Dec 2006 at 20:02

Richdog said:
Yeah I realise I could do this but I just don't see the point in rushing a certification and getting no practical experience whatsoever... it just then becomes a worthless piece of paper. I want the 40-week class-based course so that at the end I can actually have confidence in the knowledge I gain and my ability to apply it practically.

In my opinion, it's a worthless piece of paper until you have practical experience of the theory in a commercial environment. Until then, nothing separates you from the other CCNAs who have learnt the material parrot fashion from a book.

Of course if you can get a job off the back of a CCNA with no experience, well done.

Nozzer · 8 Dec 2006 at 20:06

JollyGreen said:
Personally I think the CCNA is a load of crap, they're still talking about hubs, bridges and repeaters ffs!
And how often do you configure an ISDN connection these days?
(not to mention the exam quizzes you on american setups!)

American set ups? They have the same kit as we do, figuratively speaking, the main differences are in the WAN links. And they're small.

The CCNA doesn't ask you about anything that isn't still in use. I've worked in some big finance houses in the city and you'd be amazed how much seemingly legacy kit is out there still. Including ISDN connections. There's little point having a DSL line as a backup for an IPClear/Stream link when it's up 99.9% of the time. ISDN kicks in when the WAN link falls over, is connected for perhaps a couple of hours and then disconnects itself again. That said, most of the banks are moving to DSL now.

But of course you'd know this already as you've done the CCNA.

JollyGreen · 8 Dec 2006 at 20:39

Richdog said:
How much Cisco experience did you have prior to the exam?

Well the cisco stuff wasn't the problem, after a few days of it I could setup vlans and vtp setups and so forth in my sleep.
The only cisco experience I'd had was ASDM (GUI) configuration of Cisco PIXs (firewalls)

Beansprout · 8 Dec 2006 at 21:24

JollyGreen said:
I was just on a 5 day course for the ccna, just got back about an hour ago after failing the 2nd exam by 3%

This proves a point about rushing it.....there's a lot of content in it. Yes, some of it seems silly, but it's very well-written and jam-packed.

You can't run before you can walk, so there's no need to rush in my opinion.

Personally I think the CCNA is a load of crap, they're still talking about hubs, bridges and repeaters ffs!

Hubs, bridges and repeaters are still used....or may still be in use....

And how often do you configure an ISDN connection these days?

Exactly, you don't know - wonder why

The CCNA is useful in that you do need to know your stuff to pass it, but it doesn't mean you'll walk into a job - experience is crucial, because life is very different to multiple-choice exams

Richdog · 8 Dec 2006 at 21:31

Beansprout said:
The CCNA is useful in that you do need to know your stuff to pass it, but it doesn't mean you'll walk into a job - experience is crucial

Of course, but the way I see it doing a CCNA can't exactly hurt my career prospects. Surely if I can work it around my current job then it's a positive step and an employer looking for a novice engineer would surely take it into account alongside my (by then) 2 years experience in support.

life is very different to multiple-choice exams

You LIEEEEEEEE!

JollyGreen · 8 Dec 2006 at 21:48

Beansprout said:
This proves a point about rushing it.....there's a lot of content in it. Yes, some of it seems silly, but it's very well-written and jam-packed.

You can't run before you can walk, so there's no need to rush in my opinion.

Oh my, Mr patronising aren't we?

The CCNA stuff is really pretty straight forward, there's just a lot of it, most of which is pretty irrelevant to my job.

Hubs, bridges and repeaters are still used....or may still be in use....

Out of 13 people on my course and the instructor, not one had seen any of this tech in the last 3 years.

Exactly, you don't know - wonder why

Ever heard of a hypothetical question? (that was one incidently)

Admittedly ISDN is still in use, but my point is, for the vast majority of the people taking the CCNA very little of the material will be of any use to them.

The CCNA is useful in that you do need to know your stuff to pass it, but it doesn't mean you'll walk into a job - experience is crucial, because life is very different to multiple-choice exams

Well yeah, same with any IT certification really (well.. excluding CCIE maybe lol). And with any exam full stop, which is why personally I don't really believe in the whole idea of exams

, practical and meaningful apprenticeships, now that's where it's at.

Anyway, for me I've managed to cross the "three years of experience" threshold that all the jobs seem to ask for

Nozzer · 8 Dec 2006 at 21:51

JollyGreen said:
Out of 13 people on my course and the instructor, not one had seen any of this tech in the last 3 years.

Because they're all bloody academics/students who haven't worked for companies large enough to have the kit, obviously. It's all still out there in huge quantities, because it works and is reliable. There simply isn't the need to upgrade it yet.

Frankly I'm speechless that you claim to have three years Cisco experience yet have never touched the kit at a level deeper than configuring a PIX through a GUI... :confused:

JollyGreen · 8 Dec 2006 at 21:54

Nozzer said:
Because they're all bloody academics/students who haven't worked for companies large enough to have the kit, obviously. It's all still out there in huge quantities, because it works and is reliable. There simply isn't the need to upgrade it yet.

What you mean the mix of contractors with 10-30 years experience each?
Yeah, clearly...

Frankly I'm speechless that you claim to have three years Cisco experience yet have never touched the kit at a level deeper than configuring a PIX through a GUI...

I've only done three years experience in a single company, and I never said it was with cisco

Nozzer · 8 Dec 2006 at 21:57

JollyGreen said:
What you mean the mix of contractors with 10-30 years experience each?
Yeah, clearly...

Hogwash. If they've got that much experience with Cisco gear they wouldn't be taking a CCNA class. They'd be renewing it off their own back, from memory, or would be at a higher level.

BTW when a job asks for 'x years experience', it means in relation to the role.

JollyGreen · 8 Dec 2006 at 22:00

Nozzer said:
Hogwash. If they've got that much experience with Cisco gear they wouldn't be taking a CCNA class. They'd be renewing it off their own back, from memory, or would be at a higher level.

Why are you assuming all this experience I'm quoting is to do with cisco? there are other vendors of network hardware!

BTW when a job asks for 'x years experience', it means in relation to the role.

Really? Ohmygosh! :eek:

Nozzer · 8 Dec 2006 at 22:02

You really haven't got a clue.

JollyGreen · 8 Dec 2006 at 22:04

Nozzer said:
You really haven't got a clue.

I haven't got a clue what we're arguing about anymore no...
Why are you hell bent on making out that I'm a fool? just because I said CCNA isn't all it's cracked up to be?
Sorry about having a differing opinion based on my own experiences, I'll try to make mine more in line with yours in future