Hey all-

Is this an entry level certification. I guess what I really want to know is would I be able to find employment after completing this certification. I know that I am not going to be making millions but for me I want something that will get my foot in the door. This way I can learn at work also, because right now I am not working the IT Field and I was hoping that the CCNA would at least get me in the door. Some insight would be greatly appreciated. I will be Net + shortly also I am hopeing to complete that exam some time in the next couple of weeks.

MCSEHopefull

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Hey there,

CCNA is just a Cisco entry level cert but I doubt anyone will hire you with just a CCNA. You should try to get either A+ and/or N+ first since those are good certs to get started with the basics of networking and try to find an entry level job to get some hands on. It took me 6 months to find a decent job after I got my MCSE because I had no real world experience. It was hard enough to get an interview. Start at the bottom and work your way up, but try to get in anywhere just to get the hands on. I bought a couple of $50 POS PC's and set up a home network. I practiced taking them apart and rebuilding them then loading the OS and the software over and over again just to keep most of what I learned in my head. Hope this helps.

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I strated with the A+,THAT`S A GOOD PLACE TO START. You can start off as a pc tech,but if you are employed now in a carreer be prepare to take a huge pay cut as you start to work your way up. I USE TO MAKE 17.00 HOUR,THEN GOT THE A+ BECAME A PC TECH STARTED OUT AT 8.00 HOUR BY THE END OF THE YEAR I WAS UP TO 12.OO. WENT FROM THERE TO PULLING CABLE,TO HELPDESK,AND WILL BE START A NEW JOB AS A NOC TECHNICIAN TIER ONE...........YOU WILL HAVE YO PAY THE DUES MY FRIEND.

__________________
A+,CCNA,(CCNP)=INPROGRESS

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Hi;

I agree with the above. I happen to be in the IT industry, so it wont' adversely affect me pay wise. However, if your just starting out or are doing a career change, you can expect a pay cut. As mentioned, you should supplement your certs with at least A+, Net+ and any applicable vendor certs that you may require to get where you want.

JerryL

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I just move from an (boring) auditor position to network security position within my company. In the past, I had applied for several outside IT positions, but did not get any of them because of my lack of documented IT experience and my salary requirements.

Because of my circumstances, I could not afford to take paycut. Some of the paycuts they wanted me to take were more than 60% of my annual salary as an auditor.

I guess if I were single with no kids and no mortgages, I may have consider them.

I lucked out on this network security position. My pay stayed the same and they have agreed to pay for the my IT training.

Did I digress?

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Watchdog,

What does an auditor do? I think I've heard the term Tax Auditor, is that what it is?

Just trying to pick up some English skills

curiously (and OT),

/creamy

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I re-examine my priorities and draw new conclusions.

--Shodan

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creamy_stew,

No, I was not a tax auditor. Most of the tax auditors here in the U.S. work for IRS.

I mainly worked on efficiency and performance audits. In that capacity, team of us would go into a company and review their procedures, policies, and operations to determine where improvements could be made. When we finished our review, we sent our recommendations, if any, to the company heads and they chose how they wanted to use the information.

We were more business consultants than auditors. We were jack of all trades, but master on none at least at the lower levels. The more senior you were in the company the more specialized you were.

Hope that helps.

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Hi Watchdog;

Ask yourself this question; are you happier doing what you're doing now instead of being an auditor? If the answer is yes, then you definitely didn't digress at all.

From what you mentioned, it appears as if you are not only bringing in some additional experiance which would not normally be in that area, but are also progressing to a different (or better if you want to call it) level.

Best of luck in your new area.

JerryL

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Thanks JerryL,

Working in Network Security is like a vacation everyday. As an auditor, I was miserable. I felt like I was going nowhere fast. Like I said in the previous post, I felt like I was a jack of all trades but master of none.

Later

Watchdog

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