Completing the CCNA?

[Zurg]

Hey guys

So a few weeks ago I had an interview with an ISP, I don't have much work experience in terms of networking. I informed him that I would completing the CCNA before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The interviewer/senior network architect told me that's great but people just download the data dumps and study the answers, so they're not actually learning anything.

Anyways, I said I'm really passionate about networking and that becoming a network engineer is something I'm committed to becoming regardless of how this interview pans out, I'd do whatever it takes.

So my question is, am I wasting my money/time/what's left of my brain cells to obtain my CCNA or should I pursue it?

I understand nothing is easy and I'm willing to start out in support and work my way up.

 

[s0lar]

I personally wouldn’t want to work with a gatekeeper like that. Albeit some truth to his comment.

That said I did my ccna years ago and never moved into networking after. So take it with a pinch of salt.

 

[WhiteRaven]

From a recruiters perspective, having a CCNA on your CV will open up more opportunities to you. I have had many clients that will not consider candidates in a networking role without a suitable qualification.

 

[ubercal]

Hey guys

So a few weeks ago I had an interview with an ISP, I don't have much work experience in terms of networking. I informed him that I would completing the CCNA before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The interviewer/senior network architect told me that's great but people just download the data dumps and study the answers, so they're not actually learning anything.

Anyways, I said I'm really passionate about networking and that becoming a network engineer is something I'm committed to becoming regardless of how this interview pans out, I'd do whatever it takes.

So my question is, am I wasting my money/time/what's left of my brain cells to obtain my CCNA or should I pursue it?

I understand nothing is easy and I'm willing to start out in support and work my way up.

As somebody with plenty of IT experience , and who is also currently studying towards the CCNA let me give you some advice.There is a HUGE difference between a real ccna and a paper ccna.Yes you can brain dump it and that gives the ccna a bad rep.However if you study it the proper way , and can actually do all the work , its a great qualification to have.Big problem i see is HR people in companies rejecting people because they dont have the paper.Either way just take your time , and study it properly , dont take shortcuts.

 

[ubercal]

From a recruiters perspective, having a CCNA on your CV will open up more opportunities to you. I have had many clients that will not consider candidates in a networking role without a suitable qualification.

anyone who has worked in a technical role will know that the cert means nothing.Brain dumps have been around since the early days of IT.

 

[WhiteRaven]

anyone who has worked in a technical role will know that the cert means nothing. Brain dumps have been around since the early days of IT.

My point is still remains. The requirement from an HR / Recruitment / Management perspective is generally required. Technical assessments will prove their ability to actually do the work and if they have taken shortcuts, it will show.

 

[My_King]

I would have said to him "if he used it and learned nothing, thats on him"

Get your CCNA and build it up from there.

Just this year I spent 115 hours on Udemy.
Not including Microsoft.

I currently dont have a CCNA qualification but have a few switches I have played around with to get an understanding.

Might get the qualification next year.

 

[Vince0]

CCNA exams were updated to include more lab questions and are not just multiple choice brain dump type stuff. Get it, and if you are going to be network admin consider going further down the track to CCNP etc. Even if you don't admin much Cisco infrastructure the network theory is very important and most network devices use similar commands etc. The industry has moved from being just "network/db/server admin" to a cross section of everything like CI/CD and cloud. Only in Africa are we behind the curve for the most part.

 

[MDKza]

Hey guys

So a few weeks ago I had an interview with an ISP, I don't have much work experience in terms of networking. I informed him that I would completing the CCNA before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The interviewer/senior network architect told me that's great but people just download the data dumps and study the answers, so they're not actually learning anything.

Anyways, I said I'm really passionate about networking and that becoming a network engineer is something I'm committed to becoming regardless of how this interview pans out, I'd do whatever it takes.

So my question is, am I wasting my money/time/what's left of my brain cells to obtain my CCNA or should I pursue it?

I understand nothing is easy and I'm willing to start out in support and work my way up.

I'm sending you a DM

 

[Zurg]

CCNA exams were updated to include more lab questions and are not just multiple choice brain dump type stuff. Get it, and if you are going to be network admin consider going further down the track to CCNP etc. Even if you don't admin much Cisco infrastructure the network theory is very important and most network devices use similar commands etc. The industry has moved from being just "network/db/server admin" to a cross section of everything like CI/CD and cloud. Only in Africa are we behind the curve for the most part.

I want to go all the way but I tend to get ahead of myself so I'm taking it step by step.

 

[syntax]

People dump the CCIE lab so you can imagine the scepticism with most of these certs.
As others have said, it will help you with recruiters and most jobs have a requirement of some paper cert, so it gets you through the door.
The CCNA is actually really good if you learn it and understand it, the problem is that you only really understand it fully once you start working with things, but as a base certification, even if you arent going to work on Cisco, its very good for fundamentals and learning.

 

[syntax]

CCNA exams were updated to include more lab questions and are not just multiple choice brain dump type stuff. Get it, and if you are going to be network admin consider going further down the track to CCNP etc. Even if you don't admin much Cisco infrastructure the network theory is very important and most network devices use similar commands etc. The industry has moved from being just "network/db/server admin" to a cross section of everything like CI/CD and cloud. Only in Africa are we behind the curve for the most part.

The CCIE Labs have dumps, its fairly common and lead to the explosion of CCIE numbers that pretty much devalued the certification completely.
The only one I know of that doesnt have a regular dump is the CCDE, i know there was one, and cisco revoked a whole bunch of CCDE passes and gave those people another chance to write again once it was changed

 

[ubercal]

People dump the CCIE lab so you can imagine the scepticism with most of these certs.
As others have said, it will help you with recruiters and most jobs have a requirement of some paper cert, so it gets you through the door.
The CCNA is actually really good if you learn it and understand it, the problem is that you only really understand it fully once you start working with things, but as a base certification, even if you arent going to work on Cisco, its very good for fundamentals and learning.

currently using GNS3 emulator for my CCNA studying and for real world implementations.Havent even qualified yet but have already redesigned and implemented my company's new network using aruba equipment.

 

[ubercal]

The CCIE Labs have dumps, its fairly common and lead to the explosion of CCIE numbers that pretty much devalued the certification completely.
The only one I know of that doesnt have a regular dump is the CCDE, i know there was one, and cisco revoked a whole bunch of CCDE passes and gave those people another chance to write again once it was changed

Dimension Data anybody .Pinging @Jade @ Absolute Hosting

 

[cavedog]

It's not what you know it's what papers you have. Speaking from experience. CCNA will open doors for you even if it's a starting position like in builds, dc or even support.

 

[ubercal]

It's not what you know it's what papers you have. Speaking from experience. CCNA will open doors for you even if it's a starting position like in builds, dc or even support.

yeah , and thats huge problem we have in IT.Its the reason why systems get hacked etc.

 

[chuckles_the_cnt]

Hey guys

So a few weeks ago I had an interview with an ISP, I don't have much work experience in terms of networking. I informed him that I would completing the CCNA before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The interviewer/senior network architect told me that's great but people just download the data dumps and study the answers, so they're not actually learning anything.

Anyways, I said I'm really passionate about networking and that becoming a network engineer is something I'm committed to becoming regardless of how this interview pans out, I'd do whatever it takes.

So my question is, am I wasting my money/time/what's left of my brain cells to obtain my CCNA or should I pursue it?

I understand nothing is easy and I'm willing to start out in support and work my way up.

finish it, get the cert, cheaters are culled anyway, screw that guy.
edit: look into secops, good opportunities and a natural evolution to networking

 

[cavedog]

yeah , and thats huge problem we have in IT.Its the reason why systems get hacked etc.

Yeah very sad. I really struggled to get into networking. I gave up on that dream and just managed to get an apprenticeship as an automotive spraypainter.

Got a chance to sneak into an ISP when a director saw potential. I'm a NOC engineer now still don't have papers and it's holding me back, but I have to sometimes show people with papers how to do basic tasks.

Point is papers before experience ALWAYS no matter how useless the papers are paper certs always get preference.

 

[syntax]

currently using GNS3 emulator for my CCNA studying and for real world implementations.Havent even qualified yet but have already redesigned and implemented my company's new network using aruba equipment.

Ive been out of hands on stuff for a while, but Eve was pretty useful for labs

Network design shouldnt be done in isolation of other IT or business requirements. For a fair bit of companies network design has become more about simply creating a decent access layer, turning the office into an internet cafe and deciding how to send traffic to cloud services (including security services).

There are still some companies that require on prem stuff and even have their own DC's etc, but these are or will be the exception and not the norm very soon I reckon. Even big finance companies and insurance companies have cloud drives.

If I were you, I would get an understanding of the fundamentals and then start looking at how you can enter the SSE market, cloud networking or application security.

 

[ubercal]

Ive been out of hands on stuff for a while, but Eve was pretty useful for labs

Network design shouldnt be done in isolation of other IT or business requirements. For a fair bit of companies network design has become more about simply creating a decent access layer, turning the office into an internet cafe and deciding how to send traffic to cloud services (including security services).

There are still some companies that require on prem stuff and even have their own DC's etc, but these are or will be the exception and not the norm very soon I reckon. Even big finance companies and insurance companies have cloud drives.

If I were you, I would get an understanding of the fundamentals and then start looking at how you can enter the SSE market, cloud networking or application security.

lol , ive been doing IT many years.Got the fundamentals .Busy architecting our new prem and cloud platforms .....