Some career advise

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finale

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Hello guys/gals

I'm busy planning my future career study goals and would like some advice from people that have been in the industry for a good amount of time so that they can maybe share their view of things from the top.

I am currently thinking of starting with the climb to get a CCIE from cisco, starting with CCNA. However i don't want to go into it and half way through realise that it was all pointless.

I am currently working in a support call centre and have the following qualifications:
-A+
-N+
-Windows Server 2008
-" AD
-" Exchange
-" Network Infrastructure
-" Application Infrastructure
-Linux Ubunutu desktop
-Linux Ubunutu Server Administration
-Convergence+
-Security+
-Wireless Networks and Security

I obtained theres certificates from CTI.

Would CCNA with the goal of CCIE be a good direction to go or should I consider looking at something else.

I am interested in security and ethical hacking as well but want to supplement my qualifications to reach a higher salary bracket without sacrificing too much of what i like to do.

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
finale said:
Hello guys/gals

I'm busy planning my future career study goals and would like some advice from people that have been in the industry for a good amount of time so that they can maybe share their view of things from the top.

I am currently thinking of starting with the climb to get a CCIE from cisco, starting with CCNA. However i don't want to go into it and half way through realise that it was all pointless.

I am currently working in a support call centre and have the following qualifications:
-A+
-N+
-Windows Server 2008
-" AD
-" Exchange
-" Network Infrastructure
-" Application Infrastructure
-Linux Ubunutu desktop
-Linux Ubunutu Server Administration
-Convergence+
-Security+
-Wireless Networks and Security

I obtained theres certificates from CTI.

Would CCNA with the goal of CCIE be a good direction to go or should I consider looking at something else.

I am interested in security and ethical hacking as well but want to supplement my qualifications to reach a higher salary bracket without sacrificing too much of what i like to do.

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can never go wrong with a CCNA.
 
@undesign: o.O are you sure it is SSNA? I checked Cisco's site and it is CCNA. Are you maybe talking about something else? In which case, what is SSNA?

Thanks to all for the advise. Its good to find out I'm on the right track.

Can you guys comment on the demand for Cisco engineers in SA?
I've check the classified on the internet and so on and there doesn't seem to be such a big demand for them(from what I saw). Or is this the kind of job that you will only get offered after becoming recognized in the IT industry?

Would it be beneficial to also do a Certified Ethical Hacker course to supplement my knowledge for getting a CCIE Security?
 
There are loads, and i mean loads of CCNA's out there.
This is due to brain dumping, and the misconception that cisco engineers get paid a fortune.

There is a demand for good networking / security guys, but a CCNA doesnt guarantee that you are good.
However, since everyone else has it, you probably should have it to.

As for salary, from what i see, a decent ccnp / ccnp security guy gets between 350 and 550k.

As for what should you do, i can tell you what you shouldnt do.
Dont go into networking because "thats where the money is"
you will quickly hate your life and very likely suck at your job.
Pick something you like, you will be better at it and the pay will likely follow. Dont let the pay completely dictate your choice

Remember, network support almost always has overtime and standby. The amounts vary, but its usually there in some form or another. So keep this in mind, you will be working after hours, weekends and standby for usually a week in a month for the next 10 to 20 years.

The CEH type courses arent really in demand in a technical space (from what i have seen). Its more for the risk / auditor type guys, or security managers. If you are going that route, look at cissp, CISM etc.

If you are still keen on doing your ccna, please dont braindump. Go over all the work properly, study your ass off and actually understand the technology. You will advance much faster than someone who has dumped his certs.

Lastly, as someone who is doing his CCIE, it is worth it. I have pending job offers if i pass my lab, and the salary isnt half bad.
However, the sacrifice is quite high. If you are going to do it, do it before kids, and preferably before marriage.
It honestly consumes your life for a minimum of 6 months and costs quite a fair whack of money to boot.
 
finale said:
@undesign: o.O are you sure it is SSNA? I checked Cisco's site and it is CCNA. Are you maybe talking about something else? In which case, what is SSNA?
Click to expand...

Sorry, was a bad joke inspired by your title... Advice/advise :)
 
Certification means jack if you ask me. You will get people at CCNA, CCNP etc level and they don't have a clue wtf they are doing, they can't even trouble shoot using sound methodologies based on the OSI layers. Braindumps, tesk king etc etc have made it easier for certification whores to get certified. Thing is you need experience in the field and I still reckon some of the best guys have a telecoms background. CCIE I would say is still a very good cert to have as you need to know you schite to past the practical. Juniper might also be something worth looking into.

You seem to have a lot of certs but do you have any tertiary qualifications behind your name like a degree etc? I still reckon that's worth more than any cert out there and you keep it for life. So if you don;t have a degree B.Sc, B.Eng, B.Tech etc then maybe it would be worthwhile to rather go down that avenue.
 
All these guys have valid points.

The big question is what do you enjoy? Do you know what you like doing?

Saying Certifications doesn't mean jack is silly. But it is true that you find many useless CCNA's and CCNP's out there. But only you can set yourself apart from those people. In my opinion I have met much more people that has no clue what they are doing but have computer science degrees. ( People with degrees have no idea how things work in the real world. I know people with Masters in Wireless Networks that dont even know of Mikrotik or ubiquiti products. You would easily find a public sector job where you can sit and do nothing the whole day )

My suggestion is forget studying for now. Get into a hands on small IT company where you do everything. Call Center helps with client relations but not with getting down and dirty.

This will also give you an opportunity to see if networks is for you. You deside if it would work for you no one else. Dont let money be the be and end all. Do what makes you happy. I love my work and would do it for free.

Regards
Daniel ( CCenT, CCNA, CCNA-Voice, CCNA Design, CCNA-Security, CCNP, CCDP and CCNP Security)
 
staunchy20 said:
eClipse show off :D
Click to expand...

Indeed :D

But Still the most important thing is loving what you do :) Then being good at it is easy.

As I was a Technical Engineer with no exp and no certs in 2007 working for R2500.00 pm. Learned so much including what i wanted to do and started focusing on Networks.

Today :D I love going to work :)
 
So, after reading all of these posts I'm going to make a summary statement of what i have gathered and you guys can tell me where I'm wrong.

The main thing everyone is getting at is that if I'm going to bother studying anything i have to genuinely learn the material so that i can truly understand what I'm dealing with(which is/should be obvious since you shouldn't be doing a job if you don't really know what your dealing with).

Secondly, getting a CCNA as the starting point in the process of working towards getting a 'expert' level Cisco qualification is not a bad idea as long as i stick to the first point made above.

Third, that i need to spend some more time in the IT field to get a sense of what area of networking is really going interest me and inspire me to gain as much knowledge as i can and produce a high quality of work.
*(Would working in a call centre as a desktop/server support technician that also gets sent to sites for maintenance and installations provide me with the exposure required? When new sites require new installations I also help the team with the installations.)
 
finale said:
So, after reading all of these posts I'm going to make a summary statement of what i have gathered and you guys can tell me where I'm wrong.

The main thing everyone is getting at is that if I'm going to bother studying anything i have to genuinely learn the material so that i can truly understand what I'm dealing with(which is/should be obvious since you shouldn't be doing a job if you don't really know what your dealing with).

Secondly, getting a CCNA as the starting point in the process of working towards getting a 'expert' level Cisco qualification is not a bad idea as long as i stick to the first point made above.

Third, that i need to spend some more time in the IT field to get a sense of what area of networking is really going interest me and inspire me to gain as much knowledge as i can and produce a high quality of work.
*(Would working in a call centre as a desktop/server support technician that also gets sent to sites for maintenance and installations provide me with the exposure required? When new sites require new installations I also help the team with the installations.)
Click to expand...

It sounds like a winning plan to me :D Good Luck :)
 
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