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Home > Archive > CCNA > May 2005 > is it worth getting a ccna?
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is it worth getting a ccna?
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| I have an a+ and net+ cert and am currently working on a cwna (wifi cert) and sonicwall cert.
I have been toying with the idea of a ccna for some time now but am unsure how it will help me as a self employed IT consultant. most of my customers have networks with no more than 25 workstations and none currently use cisco kit (typical router is a draytek and firewall is a sonicwall with vpn).
I guess my question is... is there value in using cisco kit on these size networks? therefore is it worth me certifying? cisco certs look tough... cli etc. will it pay off if i am self employed and hence not directly using my certs to get work?
any comments much appreciated?
'a non-cisco person' | |
| em_ar_ducks 2005-05-22, 2:19 pm |
| If you are self employed and in business totally for yourself, you need to evaluate it from a business perspective.
Is your particular market segment in need of certifications?
Perhaps you should follow up with most of your clients to determine their long term needs?
If they have future need for certain features that Cisco products offer, that should build your case for you.
Will it further establish your credibility with existing or potential customers?
There is a lot of general knowledge that is gained in the course of achieving one or more certs, the cert just validates that basic knowledge, experience and customer satisfaction will likely keep you in business. Having a cert will likely only support getting your foot in the door with a prospective client.
Also, studying for something you may never use is okay, but if you go more than a few months without practice and real world use, your new skills will lapse.
The one consulting job I have gotten since becoming certified had little to do with the cert and more to do with my other knowledge and reputation.
I am still considering cisco cert myself, and the CCNA is the first step. | |
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| cheers em_ar_ducks
that is a really helpful answer
i guess my main problem is that having never dealt with cisco products i am ignorant about why i would choose one over, say, a sonicwall router/firewall, which seems to do everything i need (routing, nat, vpn, ipsec)
i guess i'll stick to the sonicwall track and stop chasing other certs for the sake of it!
got to focus!
best of luck with your cisco studies!
many thanks again ;o)) | |
| em_ar_ducks 2005-05-22, 6:52 pm |
| I don't consider myself an expert in either cisco or sonicwall. I did take a quick peek at the sonicwall products.
My experience leads me to the following general observations:
Sonicwall provides products that are adequate if not great for a simple to manage connection of a network to the Internet.
Cisco on the other hand provides a range of products, switches, routers, firewalls, IDS, VoIP, etc. that can be used in medium to large implementations or more complex archtitectures.
From a feature point of view, there are cisco products that could compete with some if not most of the sonicwall features, however as you seem to already suspect, management of those features in Cisco environment may be a bit more difficult.
If you did study for the CCNA you would likely be better able to make those kind of judgements. | |
| davidbec 2005-05-22, 8:00 pm |
| Hi vladi
Having done one of Cisco's "entry level" certifications and studying for the other I think I can tell you that doing the CCNA would be a waste of your time.
The CCNA is a certification for persons who are active in the installation and troubleshooting of Cisco devices. If you are a consultant for Sonicwall and other solutions, then not only is the type of hardware a mismatch, but the work being done is also mismatched. ie. You are not deeply involved in the installation/configuration/troubleshooting of the hardware.
What you should consider from Cisco would be the CCDA, which is a design certification. Because it is a design certification it teaches you a lot of things that are relevant to devices other than Cisco. Generic technologies and reasons for certain things being the way they are. Like what is the best routing protocol to use in certain cirsumstances; best practices in setting up LANs or WANs; what type of hardware and the specs of the hardware you would need in order to do a particular function; and things of that nature. Which would more suit a consultant. | |
| Pumpiron579 2005-05-22, 10:43 pm |
| Yes, I would Take the classes and certifications. You should breeze right thru it I am in the Health Club Industry and have a wall full of differant certifications. It realy does bring a lot more credibility to yourself. |
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