I’ve long been an advocate of people not needing ‘formal qualifications’ to get into the computer industry. And by formal I mean university degrees or 48 GCSE’s (or whatever your age 16 school exams are called).
However, that’s a subject matter for another time and another post. What one can’t avoid, so it seems, is the need to have a technical certification. Companies seem to turn a blind eye to experience and especially recruiting agencies. I know for a fact that certain agencies in the UK use an automated scanner looking for keywords for certain roles – so your CV arrives and is never seen by a human until after it’s been vetted by a machine. This is life now and so if you’re wanting to get into the network field, then as bare minimum you’d need to start with a Cisco Certified Network Associate (or CCNA) certification.
This one exam (or two depending on route taken) certification is seen as the ultimate “I know what I’m talking about” introduction cert to get into the network industry. For my part I have taken and I have passed my CCNA but only after I’d already got into the industry.
Other certifications you might consider for different career paths could be:
Microsoft Certified Server Administrator – MCSA
Linux Professional Institute – LPI
Certified Ethical Hacker – CEH
Security Certified Network Professional – SCNP
… and so on.
Anyway, the point is, the CCNA is a tough exam to pass. And it is one you will likely need help or at the very least encouragement with. For my part I’ve found two sites that are good at these things and both are run by current Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (or CCIE) which is the pinnacle of the Cisco certification tree. The two are Chris Bryant, an American CCIE and Paul Browning, a UK based CCIE.
Maybe it is because I’m British but it is mostly because Paul has laid out his website in a structured manner that I would recommend his site over Chris’s. You know what they say, ‘you pays your money you takes your choice‘. Which reminds me, both of these sites are member sites and require you to pay for most of the information – but then if you are serious about your career then investing some of your money into your study is surely no bad thing.
Also, at the moment as a HUGE incentive, Paul is running a competition open to anyone that passes any CCNA level cert. So that’s CCNA, or Security or Voice exam between now and the end of April a flight to the UK with one week’s hotel stay and one week course for any CCNA level course of your choice.
Anyway, should you sign up to Paul’s site then please do me a favour and say I recommended his site to you. All you need to do is enter my name – Stuart Dyckhoff – in the ‘how did you hear about us‘ section when you sign up.
What’s in it for me? The possibility of some freebies.
Whats in it for you? Industry recognition and satisfaction in joining the elite few that have passed a Cisco exam.
