I started out today intending to write about CCNA Security - and ended up giving career advice. Which I usually avoid like the plague. And which I think is dangerous to even bring up. But the process got me thinking about a wide range of topics, and I thought it might be helpful to some of you. I also think that a lot of folks that read this blog regularly can help those at the just-passing-CCNA stage as well. To sum it up, today's post boils down to this: Where next after CCNA? And how to choose?
First off, I am not a career counselor; I've seldom hired anyone, and have no clue as to hard numbers on hiring in different networking disciplines. But like anyone else, I do have a lot of opinions about how to develop a career in networking, so I can offer some thoughts, and encourage some discussion, on topics that I've been around a while.
So, knowing my own limitations, here's where I'll pick up the story: You've just passed CCNA, and you think you want more Cisco skills and certifications to go with them. Here are some suggestions of where to go from there.
Suggestion 1: Pick your area of specialty within the networking world. Take time now to try and figure out which part of networking seems most interesting, most exciting, most appealing to you. While we all can (and should) think about which technology areas helps you get the best jobs/career, I'm a big believer that it's just as important to pick something that you find really interesting. Personally, I started out thinking I'd be an Industrial Engineer, swearing I'd even avoid computing, and ended up loving IT, particularly networking. But that took time, thought, experience, and some (thankfully short) false starts. (Nothing like using your free electives in college on such thrillers as engineering statics and dynamics. At least I avoided deformable bodies.)
Suggestion 2: Next, after CCNA, invest one more cert exam's worth of prep, reading, etc into the specialty area you chose. Optimally, work on such things in your job. If not, at least study up, but do more than just pass the test. Read the best online industry magazines; talk it up with others who work on such things; anything to get going. Another anecdote: after I decided to ditch engineering and move on to Comp Sci in college, I spent an hour a day reading back issues of Byte Magazine for about a year, a process that helped me formulate a better idea of where to specialize.
Suggestion 3: After suggestion 2 is finished, then make your decision about going deep or going wide. Throughout this year, I've blogged a few times about the whole deep vs. wide issue. Those watching the IT job markets show data that means the candidate with broader skills may be more appealing today to hiring managers, at least according to some studies I had seen at Network World. We've discussed in this blog such topics as whether multiple CCNAs are better than 1 CCxP, and whether multiple CCxP's are better than 1 CCIE (here and here). Those surveys showed some support for both opinions on each question. But I think many people should test the waters a bit, and figure out whether a particular discipline is interesting first. If you found that you just love your chosen specialty, maybe go deep. If you find you're still pretty interested in other specialties, maybe go wide for another CCNA or two first.
So, what specialties could you choose from to stay in the Cisco cert space? Well, you can start with a look around www.cisco.com/go/certifications. When you boil it all away, here are the general categories:
Of these, the middle 4 have Associate level certifications: CCDA, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, and CCNA Wireless, respectively. The age-old CCNA serves the role of CCNA Route/switch. Finally, Cisco does not have a convenient Data Center technology introductory cert today (includes storage, Nexus switches, virtualization, and the like), but Cisco is paying a lot of attention to that space.
Now, my plea to the masses. For those of you who have specialized, why did you pick that area? For those of you that picked an area, and didn't like it, what were the negatives? Help the masses of CCNA folks getting into the CCNA game. Here's a sampling of reasons I can see:
Security: Great for FBI agent types. You think about how to use constructive things to cause trouble, and find ways to prevent it. Definite cool factor, definite challenge, always changing.
Voice: Like Route/switch in the amount of protocols, complexity, and importance, but you get a little more face time with end users, because you typically care more about the end-user devices (IP phones) than a route/switch person.
Wireless: Great for those who like getting out of the office more, especially with the challenges of site surveys, coverage, and capacity planning.
Data Center: Convergence of varied technologies/vendors always presents a career opportunity, and the data center space converges storage, servers, and network. (older examples: convergence of layer 3 protocols in the 1990's; SNA and IP later 1990's; voice/data early 2000's;)
Route/switch: mature, but big, complex, everyone has it, and vital to every company in the world. And maybe you could get a chance to work with IPv4 to IPv6 migration if/when it ever happens.
OK, tell me your thoughts, and help us all! Thanks...
Wendell
Odom, CCIE No, 1624, splits time between writing books for Cisco Press and teaching classes for Skyline ATS. In his 25-ish years in the networking industry, he has worked as as a pre-sale and post-sale SE for a few networking vendors, as well as a network engineer implementing network technology. Wendell has spent the majority of the last 15 years teaching, consulting, and writing about networking technologies, most of which in some way relate to Cisco products. His books include titles on QoS, CCIE R/S, as well as several titles related to CCNA certification, including the September 2007 book CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802) (Read a sneak peek of chapter 7). Click for the list of current titles by Wendell.
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Studying for CCNP
Wendell,
This is a question i've been also asking myself for quite some time, now. I am currently studying for the CCNP, which includes 4 exams. I was advised on this after 1st being interested in the ccna voice, or ccna security (preferably voice, then security), but now i'm studying for the CCNP, because i had already purchased a 1000-buck cbt (which is great, might i add), so I felt the need to use the money I had already put into the game. I enjoy what i'm studying for, but the CCNP requires studying 1 specific concentration at a time (Routing, then switching, then Security, etc), and I'm getting a little frustrated because I am studying for the BSCI right now and I'm ready to start learning some voice or security, or either going for another industry cert. all together. But i DO feel that the 'NP will pay off, and the stuff is interesting, but studying for the CCNP can become a bit redundant because of the 1-at-a-time format you have to go by.
Well to sum it all up, I think a good idea is to go wide before going deep because you then find out what you want to go deep in.
Kenyone, What CBT are you
Kenyone,
What CBT are you using? I'm looking for one myself!
Thanks!
RE: What CBT are you
Hi Anon,
I am using Train Signal, the CCNP package. I am also using Jeff Doyle routing tcp/ip v1 and v2, as well as a ccnp quick reference. I also purchased the routing video mentor (kevin wallace) to see some of the routing topics in a different topology...i am very visual, but the jeff doyle books explain this stuff so good that it greatly reinforces the cbt's! but the cbt's are phenomenal. Chris Bryant explains details very clearly and simply, as well as jeff in the books.
All of my materials cost about 1200 (at the most). But i am very glad i made the investment.
Certification Training Cost
Personally the benefit of advanced Cisco certification(s) far outweigh the cost(s). Currently in this down economy R/S and Voice Bootcamps held by industry recognized instructors can be purchased at significant discounts. Check it out: http://www.ccieflyer.com/2009-September-toc.php and consider this a great time to advance.
Undecided
Wendell,
Thanks for prompting a timely discussion. I completed my CCNA back in February of this year, have since spent time pursuing Microsoft certs, and am now thinking about my next step regarding Cisco certification. I am still undecided, but leaning towards the CCNP for a couple of reasons:
1. No intermediary certification required (CCNA specialization)
2. Like you said, "everyone has it"
I am also interested in the wireless, security, and voice certifications, but like the commenter above stated, it might be better for me to go wide before going deep.
Where to go and where NOT to
Just got my CCDA in March (2 weeks before my CCNA expired!), mostly because my boss insisted on me doing that before CCNP. Now I'm just about ready to take the BSCI exam. My advice is, no matter which cert you choose, be VERY careful about your choice of training materials! There are a couple of outfits based in the Southeast US which offer high-priced junk. If I could somehow tattoo everything they offered on the inside of my eyelids, I STILL wouldn't be able to pass any Cisco exam!
CCNA
I completed my CCNA years ago and re-certified several times. I went ahead and got my CCNA Voice, Security and Wireless (in that order). I took a break from my CCNP to do it. My reasoning was that I already did many of the tasks associated with the CCNA X. The studying effort for me was not simple or easy... mostly learning what Cisco wants you to know for the tests. Cisco has since released a second CCNA Voice focused on CUCM versus CME. Several people have commented "wow, you must know a bunch" I view it differently... to me it says that I am now a Cisco "generalist" capable of supporting the core set of Cisco technologies at a lower-middle level of skill. I say lower-middle since we now have CCENT as an entry point and Architect at the top of the scale. I'm back to my CCNP and will move to CCVP next. Maybe CCSP after that.
whatever you do...
Whatever you do, make sure you can answer basic interview questions that go with your certifications. I recently interviewed someone who had pretty much every Cisco certification except CCIE, but he couldn't describe how ARP works, how a switch learns MAC addresses, or what the TTL and protocol fields in an IP packet are used for.
I'm sure some CCNP and CCIE
I'm sure some CCNP and CCIE can't find the right answer to that question ;)
sad if true...
Nicholas,
Boy, that'd be sad, if true, if some CCIEs couldn't asnwer those questions! I know that the open-ended questions on the CCIE R/S lab are there to prevent cheating, but boy, I'd hope you couldn't pass without knowing such things. But to echo what anon wrote, I used to ask similar questions when interviewing, and got some blank stares or totally incorrect answers.
Wendell
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