Becoming a CCNA Network Engineer – 2 Paths to Your CCNA Career
CCNA Career Tip – Why Obtain the CCNA, Not Just the CCENT Certification
There are currently 2 ways to obtain the CCNA certification and to launch your CCNA network engineer career, the 1 exam (640-802 CCNA exam) or the 2 exam method (640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2). After passing the ICND1, you will become a certified CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician, which is considered by Cisco to be the new entry level networking certification for Cisco networking.
In reality, because the CCNA certification has been the entry-level Cisco networking certification for so long, most employers are familiar only with the CCNA certification (together with the CCNP and CCIE certifications), so it would be harder to get a job with just a CCENT certification. Because of this, I strongly recommend getting the CCNA instead of just the CCENT. After you have finished the CCNA certification, there are several other paths and specializations that have been introduced by Cisco, and they are summarized on the Cisco IT certification and career paths site.
How To Choose – 1 CCNA Exam or 2 ICND Exams
First off, there is no cost difference in going either route. The ICND1 and ICND2 exams cost $125 each, while the CCNA exam costs $250. Both ways will effectively give you the CCNA certification.
If you have prior experience with other networking certifications (e.g. Network+), and you are already somewhat familiar with the OSI model, basic routing and switch, IP addressing and subnetting, I would recommend studying for and attempting the 1 exam CCNA test just to get it over and done with. Personally, I took the 1 exam CCNA test and passed first time. I noticed that many of the questions required the combined knowledge of both the ICND1 and ICND2 sections of the CCNA exam syllabus, and for that reason, may be slightly more difficult.
If you are new to the IT industry, I would definitely recommend that you take the ICND1 and ICND2 papers separately to obtain your CCNA certification. IT networking is still quite a niche career choice when you consider that there are so many programmers in the IT industry as a whole. There are also many terms and concepts unique only to Cisco and networking. In order to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed, I encourage you to do the CCNA exam tests separately if you are new.
Don’t forget that there are many options for self-study material and plenty of help is always available if you are lost. Please see my post on CCNA books for more advice on CCNA preparation material. Above all, don’t be discouraged. The road to CCNA is long but rewarding.
P.S. I created a handy chart comparing the various CCNA books. Click on the link to compare and buy now.
Until next time,
Francis (@savvynetcert)
How To Become an Effective CCNA Network Engineer (Part 2) – CCNA Self Study or Cisco Classroom Based Training?
If you are starting from scratch, and have no specialized networking or Cisco networking knowledge, there are generally 2 ways to prepare for the CCNA certification and pass CCNA to become a qualified and certified CCNA network engineer. These are to go for a structured classroom based training (CCNA courses) or to do self-study via the many CCNA books and other CCNA materials readily available.
Cisco Training – CCNA Classes
Cisco provides several options for classroom based CCNA training. The most well known is the CCNA academy program (also known as CCNA 1 through 4). This is a very structured course which over the course of approximately 280 hours, will provide a strong foundation for Cisco networking professionals. More information can be found at the Cisco Networking Academy site. Alternatively, Cisco also provides the Cisco Discovery and Cisco Exploration programs in partnership with Cisco training partners.
An alternative to the Cisco Academy are the offical CCNA classes provided by Cisco Training Partners worldwide. These usually come in the form of 640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2 classes. It usually takes 5 days to complete both the classes. This is a faster option as compared to the Cisco Academy training but is shorter and thus not as in-depth.
Generally, classroom based training is extremely effective, and students will have a chance to have practical hands-on knowledge which is of the utmost importance in today’s competitive networking industry. However, I would not recommend the classroom training for busy professionals juggling a day job or anyone who does not have the financial resources for this method as it takes a substantial commitment of time and money.
CCNA Self-Study using CCNA Books and other CCNA materials
This is the method I used to study for and obtain my CCNA. I took approximately 2 months to study for and pass the exam (your mileage may vary depending on your free time and the methods you use). There are plenty of CCNA Books and CCNA materials which can be used to study for this certification at your own pace. Just purchase a suitable CCNA study guide and get cracking. The downside to this is that it is less structured and depending on what CCNA material you use, you might not have the requisite skills in order to tackle the difficult exam. The current CCNA exam requires a certain degree of practical knowledge, not to mention that prospective employers will be looking for the same practical skills. A candidate with only book knowledge may not know enough to pass the exam and to satisfy increasingly picky employers.
However, this is still the way I recommend to get certified. With the correct choice of materials, you will not waste time studying things that are not relevant to the exam or to your future career as a successful CCNA network engineer. With so much CCNA online training, CCNA courses, CCNA books, notes and materials, this is simply the fastest and cheapest way to get your certification and to finally land that elusive network engineer job.
I’ll be reviewing many of these recommended CCNA preparation materials in future. If you like this blog, please subscribe to my RSS feed (on the right) or follow me on twitter (@savvynetcert).
[Update 22 Jul 2009: This is the 2nd post in the series, please see the first post here.]
Cheers,
Francis (SavvyNetCert.Com)
How To Become an Effective CCNA Network Engineer (Part 1) – Introduction to the CCNA Certification
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is one of the most well known and valuable certifications in the IT industry. Based on a TCPMag salary survey, a certified CCNA network engineer can expect get an average salary of $76,000. The CCNA certification is also well known to be a difficult one to get, as compared to many others in the industry. In recent years, Cisco has introduced many more interactive elements in the CCNA and other Cisco certifications, including the often tricky simulation questions – also known as the CCNA lab questions.
There are now 2 possible ways to obtain the CCNA certification. Taking and passing the current CCNA exam (640-802 CCNA) will qualify you as a certified CCNA. The CCNA certification can also be taken in 2 exams (640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2). In addition, passing the ICND1 exam will qualify you as a CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician). More information can be found at the Cisco website.
Why get the CCNA certification?
First off, why even consider a career in networks? IT network professionals have access to a niche job market, and networking skills are transferable from industry to industry. In an uncertain economic climate such as the one we have today, IT network professionals have better job security when compared to other IT professions such as generic programmers.
Cisco is clearly the market leader in terms of market share when it comes to enterprise network solutions today. The CCNA certification is a great way to leverage this market advantage. In addition, the CCNA courses and certification is well known in the industry for providing an excellent foundation in terms of core networking competencies such as routing and switching.
Coming Up…
In the next part of this series, we will be taking a look at CCNA preparation and the possible (and recommended) ways to prepare for the CCNA to become a certified and effective CCNA network engineer. Please subscribe to my RSS feed so you don’t miss it.
[Update 22 Jul 2009: Please read the 2nd part of this series here.]
Until next time,
Francis (savvynetcert on Twitter)
