Computer Science +/- CCNA?

[Nazbit]

Hi all,

(I know we have had a lot of these threads latley, so my apologies in advance, but here goes...)

I will be starting my computer science degree in september, obviously im well aware that the degree on its own doesnt get you a decent starting job these days.

With this in mind I have chosen a 4 year course with a years placement, so I will graduate with both a degree in computer science and 12 months experience.

But I also want to do either an MCSE or CCNA on the side while I am at uni before I graduate to make my prospects even better. I have decided on the CCNA as it is more relevant to the area that I wish to be in.

I have found a college that runs a CCNA course, 2 evenings a week and takes about 10 months to cover it, costing £450 which can be payed off in monthly installments. (Link Here)

I know lots of people say buy the books and do it yourself, but Im not all that confident about doing that to be honest. I think I would learn better in the classroom, but those who have done it, feel free to tell me otherwise.

So 2 questions:
1) Should I take the CCNA while I am at uni?
2) Should I pay that price and go to the classes?

Cheers

 

[Nazbit]

Thanks for the replies everyone,

A few of you have mentioned doing it in either the 1st/2nd or placement year. I have thought long and hard about this. If I take the classroom based option, I will probably do it in year 2, year 1 would be better, but I probably wont be able to afford it and in year 2 I will have more knowlage from my course aswell.

If I decide to study for the exams myself then I will probably do it over the first year and perhaps in to the second depending on how long it takes me.

Also consider getting some equipment for your own lab.

What sort of items/expense would be needed here?

The CCNA and other qualifications are odd ones. Talk to any of the current generation of network boffs and they'll say its a load of rubbish, and while this is because none of older guys have it, it does show that you can get on without it. However, trying getting a networking job to even give you an interview these days without one is next to impossible.
Just watch out for people who think once they have the CCNA they are entitled to be the MD and earn a wad of cash for it. the CCNA is just the start

I know, I have heard a lot of people saying things for and against the CCNA, but I am simply trying to use it so that when I come out of university I will have a computer science degree + 12 months experience + the CCNA.

I know that a CCNA is only the start, but im just trying to start early and do the best I can due to the sheer amount of graduates in the comp science field at the moment and the declining starting wage.

 

[Nazbit]

Not sure, most people buy a few cisco routers so they can practice at home. £300-400 perhaps.

Don't just think of the CCNA as for the job after uni, it will be a good thing to have in getting a placement in your placement year.

Try and finished the CCNA in the 10 month period.

Thats what I was thinking, if I managed to finish the CCNA at the end of the first year, then I would have it under my belt when I was applying for placements etc etc.

On the downside though, as im doing a 4 year course, it will expire within a few months of graduation and I will need to redo the exam, so theres extra cost there obviously.

I still cant decide whether to sign up for the classes though, or try and tackle it from home on my own.

 

[Nazbit]

Get the Cisco Semester books for 1-2 and 3-4 (make sure they are the latest version, these are supposed to mirror the course you get online @ colleges via Cisco Networking Academy and are exhaustive). Also good is Wendell Odom's offerings and of course the Todd Lamle one from Sybex has been a standard for CCNA for years.

I have seen the Cisco 1-2, and 3-4 books and I was planning on buying them, I will take a look at the sybex ones aswell.

I think perhaps I will buy the books, (probably start with a cisco ones) and then have a look through them, and decide whether I will be able to study it myself or if the college course would be better.

I suppose if I try studying it myself through the first year of uni, and it doesnt go so well, I can always take the classroom based route in year 2 and that way it wont have expired by the end of my 4 year course.

Would be good to get it before my placement though.

 

[Nazbit]

I think it depends very much on what field you want to go in to when you graduate. Personally I want to take the network & security route. Therefore the CCNA would be useful at least as a starting point, ofcourse its not going to work wonders. But combined with a comp science degree and a years placement im hoping it will be valuble.

I did a lot of job searches on the inetnet and in papers before deciding to do it. There are a lot of low paid networking jobs out there for which the only qualification you need is a CCNA with a few years experience.

Im sure there are people who know a lot more than me though

 

[Nazbit]

I think I heard about some kind of Cisco training app which has all of the routers etc so that you can practice on them without having to buy tens of thousands of pounds of kit. Probably similar to the software interfaces we use to administer the kit remotely.

I dont suppose you know where I can find this?

Think carefully about whether Uni is right for you.

If you intend to just treat it like college and pick up everything from lectures, you will almost certainly fail.

I didnt mean that I wasnt dedicated to getting my degree, I simply meant that as there is a choice with the CCNA I would rather learn in a classroom led environment than on my own from books.

BTW this site is superb for CCNA, dont be put off by the crap look , and well worth the subscription, think it was £10-ish

link

Cheers

 

[Nazbit]

Yeh thats a good point, although the course itself may seem quite expensive, buy the time I have bought books and software, maybe a few bits of hardware to practice on then there probably isnt much difference.

I think I will buy the book, and see if I can tackle it on my own in my first year, and if I cant or I run in to problems, then I can enrole in to the college course on the 2nd year of my degree.