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is ccna worth it

S

sikopath

n00b
Joined
Feb 19, 2004
Messages
19
I am getting pretty bored with my career choice. I am presently in the HVAC industry. I want to get into a computer field. The problem I have is that I need to make as much or more than I currently make.

My interests are leaning twards Networking / Information Technology.

What certifications are going to allow me to make $75K-80K per year? Is CCNA-CCNE the only way I can make this much?

I have studied for a MCP and feel like I can take that test right now and pass it ok. Do the jobs that require a MCSE pay that much?

I respect all the opinions of people here and all comments are appreciated.
 
Originally posted by sikopath
I am getting pretty bored with my career choice. I am presently in the HVAC industry. I want to get into a computer field. The problem I have is that I need to make as much or more than I currently make.

My interests are leaning twards Networking / Information Technology.

What certifications are going to allow me to make $75K-80K per year? Is CCNA-CCNE the only way I can make this much?

I have studied for a MCP and feel like I can take that test right now and pass it ok. Do the jobs that require a MCSE pay that much?

I respect all the opinions of people here and all comments are appreciated.
Click to expand...

i'm in ccna 1-2 right now and will be taken ccna 3-4 next year or starting on it if i finish 1-2 sooner. I don't see that it is that very hard of a cirriculum and it does help you out with understanding networking topologies, cisco router configs etc, etc

It's worth it if you can do it. I get it for free and my final test is payed for half way by my school so i'm kindda priveledged. Hopefully you can do this at a college or you could go to http://cisco.netacad.net and enroll.

otherwise good luck with your future knowledge. But remember money isn't everything especially if you don't like the work your doing for it.
 
As you can see by darkmyth's post, kids are now taking CCNA classes in high school and making it an almost worthless cert. Like MCSE's have become.

It's still nice to have, just proves you know how to plug in and log into a Cisco device. Also covers a lot of older technologies that would don't see much outside WAN support.
I support a mostly switched 10/100/1000 LAN and it wasn't tremendously helpful, but i picked up a few pointers from it.
 
A certification doesn't mean anything unless you have experience to back it up. Granted, you might NEED the CCNA to get that experience at an entry-level job. Do not get the CCNA (or any cert) and expect to come into the industry making 75-80k. The only way you'll have a chance to make that much is to pay your dues for a few years just like 99% of the other people out there.

You might be that 1% that lands that lucky job...but if you're just starting in the industry, that's doubtful.

After 3-5 years in the industry, start praying really really hard, start crossing your fingers, start wearing your lucky charm, and start looking at security certs (CISSP, CCSP, CCIE Security), or the big CCIE certs such as Routing/Switching, Voice, Service Provider.


Hope this helps.
 
thanks for the input. It does help. My problem is that I have this golden noose( the money I am making right now) and it is hard to make a carreer change now. I think I am going to make some sacrifices and try to get some bills paid down and get into a entry level job and start paying my dues learning in the real world.
 
Originally posted by ambit
As you can see by darkmyth's post, kids are now taking CCNA classes in high school and making it an almost worthless cert. Like MCSE's have become.

It's still nice to have, just proves you know how to plug in and log into a Cisco device. Also covers a lot of older technologies that would don't see much outside WAN support.
I support a mostly switched 10/100/1000 LAN and it wasn't tremendously helpful, but i picked up a few pointers from it.
Click to expand...


Not all highschools provide the cisco cert program, and it's not worthless to have if your going into the network admin feild of work. It's better for you to go out and know a variety of differen't hardwear and how to work them.

bobsutan is makeing me apologize for swearing at you for your dirogitory terms towards my getting my cisco cert. Sorry.
 
it's not worthless to have if your going into the network admin feild of work. it's better for you to go out and know a variety of differen't hardwear and how to work them
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He was saying that it is a practically worthless certification because.. 16 and 17 year olds are hanging them on their walls nowadays. Think about it, if you could study for three weeks and get a PhD, MD or JD attached to your name would you put as much faith into the opinions of doctors and lawyers?

Doubt it. The more rigorous a certifications process the more credibility it has. It appears that the CCNA isn't a very rigorous cert to earn, and you seem to perpetuate the idea that it doesn't take much intelligence to put the acronyms on your resume.
 
I agree with pointdexterish on this one.

A cert that's easy to get is not as valuable as a harder to obtain cert in the same area because more people will have the easier-to-get one, thus lowering its value. Especially if it's a cert that you can take in HIGHSCHOOL. That makes it a lot less valuable in my mind. Of course, experience counts for a lot. But unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world and employeers look at certs too.
 
Originally posted by darkmyth
fuck you, you a$$whole. Not all highschools provide the cisco cert program, and it's not worthless to have if your going into the network admin feild of work. it's better for you to go out and know a variety of differen't hardwear and how to work them ya stupid $hit.
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Wow...this thread changed direction in a hurry.

Dark, if you want to be in this industry you're going to have to learn to take crap like that and respond in a more "professional" way. I get crap all the time because I'm a "kid" (I'm 20), but it's ok, I dont let it get to me. Sometimes I know more about a certain subject than the person giving me a hard time.

You're always gonna get crap because you're young. My advice to you is to suck it up and get used to it. If you let your emotions get to you, no one is gonna want to hire you. When you get out into the workplace as a 16yr old, or an 18 yr old, or a 22 yr old college grad, your age is going to give that first impression that you're just a kid and dont know anything. Your knowledge and your attitude is going to determine how you get treated. If you act like a kid, you're going to get treated like one, no matter how much you know.

That said, the CCNA is not worthless. Highly devalued, yes. Entry level, yes. The reason it's not worthless is because a lot of good jobs and internships require a CCNA for you to even be looked at. If you truly know your stuff, having those letters behind your name only helps you. CCNA hasn't gone the way of A+...yet. Although if Cisco doesn't change things, I suspect it will in a couple years.
 
Originally posted by sikopath
I am getting pretty bored with my career choice. I am presently in the HVAC industry. I want to get into a computer field. The problem I have is that I need to make as much or more than I currently make.

My interests are leaning twards Networking / Information Technology.

What certifications are going to allow me to make $75K-80K per year? Is CCNA-CCNE the only way I can make this much?

I have studied for a MCP and feel like I can take that test right now and pass it ok. Do the jobs that require a MCSE pay that much?

I respect all the opinions of people here and all comments are appreciated.
Click to expand...

Like pretty much everyone else has said, you're not gonna make that kind of cash as an entry-level tech, which is where most CCNAs fall into. For $70K+ you're looking at 5-10 years experience, BS degree of some sort, and more than likely a couple Professional series certifications (if you're a cisco person). Take a look at some of the salary surveys that are out there and you'll see the big picture: Certs are nothing more than a checkbox on a resume. Experience is key these days as many employers got seriously burned in the runup on MSCEs and CCNAs during (and following) the dot-com boom.

And for the record, darkmyth, you have a PM.

**Update**
Things were taken out of context and tempers have calmed. Nothing to see here. Move along.
 
It is not worth it... but it can help you get an edge over another potential employee.
 
It is not worth it... but it can help you get an edge over another potential employee.
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There's a contradictory statement if I've ever seen one. I CCNA is not as easy as everyone makes it out to get. Sure you may be able to take some classes in high school but I bet you the majority of those kids don't pass the test. It's not something you can just pick up a book and 2 weeks later you can go pass the test. If you have a fairly good grasp of networking and say net+, a good 2-3 months of study would prepare you for the test.

How many of you guys saying it's worthless have one? or have an mcse? There are some pretty hard tests on the mcse.

It also depends a lot on where you live...could you make that kind of money some places after a few years? Sure. Hell the salary reports say an A+ averages like 50K+ a year...well that's close to what the most experienced guys make around here.
 
Im just finishing a CCNA the reason for taking it is because it looks good on a CV. My main dislike is they also could of added more network design and more ADSL into the syllabus.

I doubt i will really get much use out of it because Cisco charges too much and is too pricey for most small businesses (which is what im interested in, for now anyway) and home users. But it looks good.

Also i do think Comptias A+ is a good entry level cert, i doubt a lot of 1st line tech support could pass this.
 
Im finding thats much easier for me to learn actually doing it and learning the hardway then reading a text book night after night. Probaby why the N+ was such pain, I really didn't have much to apply it to. Plus, after 14 years of school, you get really tired of reading crap in text books and you just wanna do something, least thats how I feel anyway.

What I really need to do, now that I have DSL finally is get an old clunker box from work and start learning how to create a computer router, scripts and stuff.

Of course, in the back of my mind, I may not be cut out for this IT stuff at all. Im already suffering burnouts on days when things get really crazy at work and clients are calling in bitching and whining that stuff isn't working. Hell, the thought of managing a network for a large business alone and have it crash is enough to give me a headache thinking about it. Maybe when I get more experience, that thought won't haunt me as bad later down the road.

Whats interesting at my company, were finding alot of companies are not willing to shell out the major bucks for CISCO equipment. With the advent of DSL becoming so much more cheaper and available in my town and other places in the USA , many of our clients are ordering SonicWall firewalls and routers, saving them tons of money and us tons of hassle programming and maintanig them. And SonicWalls are sure as hell alot easier to set up, thats for sure.

Its possible in a few years if this IT doesn't work out or the industry decides to take another 2000 plumment *A real bad thing about this market, its great one year, and shitty the next*
Im going into the military or training school and learn to be a pilot for civilan or private organization, i've always had an ambition to do it and my eye and eye coordination has been excellent since I was a kid.

Most important advice I can give, do you what you like to do, and not for the money. Your life on this earth is simply to short to waste it away on something that bores you, fustrates you or makes your life miserable. This coming from a Lutheran whos trying to balancing life, money, God, family and values.
 
Originally posted by Zlash
There's a contradictory statement if I've ever seen one. I CCNA is not as easy as everyone makes it out to get. Sure you may be able to take some classes in high school but I bet you the majority of those kids don't pass the test. It's not something you can just pick up a book and 2 weeks later you can go pass the test. If you have a fairly good grasp of networking and say net+, a good 2-3 months of study would prepare you for the test.

How many of you guys saying it's worthless have one? or have an mcse? There are some pretty hard tests on the mcse.

It also depends a lot on where you live...could you make that kind of money some places after a few years? Sure. Hell the salary reports say an A+ averages like 50K+ a year...well that's close to what the most experienced guys make around here.
Click to expand...

Basically what I was trying to say is that it is not worth it for the time you have to put aside + the money you have to spoon out to take the course. But it is worth it if you just want to gain an edge on competition... but it alone is not going to get you a job.



I have a CCNA, A+, and MCSE... but it isn't helping in the job field much here in MI since big companies such as GM and Delphi did massive IT layoffs :(
 
Well what you guys saying is not true at all, CCNA is not that easy, I am a High school student also studying A+, CCNA 1-4, MSDE, Survey of operating Sstems, N+ and other well actually more than 80% of the people that came to this class passed their CCNA but not because its but because we are motivated to learn this and we have more time than college students..
 
your dirogitory terms
Click to expand...

This is what happens when American high schools develop elaborate career-oriented curricula.

What certifications are going to allow me to make $75K-80K per year? Is CCNA-CCNE the only way I can make this much?
Click to expand...

If I were you I wouldn't focus on certifications. I'd focus on practical experience, and once you have enough of that, get the certifications to "validate" the depth/breadth of your experience.

Here in NYC at my level of experience, jobs I'd be considering if I left my present employer range (generally speaking) in the $70-110K region. The thing is, those jobs are all over the map in terms of function - some are DBA jobs, some are mid to upper range networking, some require security or management experience ("must have personnel supervision experience") yadda yadda yadda.

Personally I think the $75-80K target is going to be more reachable in certain markets rather than with certain specific skills. Do what you really like first, then worry about how much knowledge/experience/certifications you need to acquire to move up the salary scale.

- Qualm
 
I've got my CCNA certification. I had about a year and a half of experience when I took the test. There were a couple questions that made me sweat, but for the most part it was easy. I've had it since last June.

I got a raise and a bonus for getting the cert. The REAL reason I got it was because it's required to get your CCSP, which is my goal for right now.
 
Nice, I think that certs do help, not as much as everybody thinks, but they help, that is a fact.
 
Im currently just finishing up CCNA -4 and cisco made a lot of changes to the CCNA as of late, they got rid of a lot of the older concepts that used to be covered (IPX, Token Ring) and quite a bit of stuff was moved down from the CCNP (OSPF, VLANs, Frame-Relay).

With a pass rate of around 50-55% I wouldn't say the cert is worthless, I do think its less valuable than it used to be, if you think its that easy move onto the CCNP, I plan to get some real world experience in an entry level job then study for my CCNP and see about moving up to something higher level job wise.

/end rambling

-Matt :cool:
 
Originally posted by Da Fan Man
With a pass rate of around 50-55% I wouldn't say the cert is worthless
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Really, where did you hear this? i thought it was 75% (reasonably hard), i not rolling in cast at the moment so i only take exams when I KNOW I WILL PASS. But if the pass rate is just over 50% then i will take it tomorrow.

Ps - If that is the case then the CCNA is too easy and not worth much. Id rather it was a challenge to get and meant something.
 
Wiseguy2001, you're not understanding what Da Fan Man said. He meant that only 50-55% of the people who take the test pass it. Not you have to score 50% to pass.
 
Bump. Hopefully this will fix the date issue and bring the thread back.
 
Originally posted by ksanders2006
Wiseguy2001, you're not understanding what Da Fan Man said. He meant that only 50-55% of the people who take the test pass it. Not you have to score 50% to pass.
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Cool i thought that seemed to good to be true, thanks for clearing that up.
 
The Pass rate is privately listed @ less than 30%. counting thru the year 2003 Decmber.

so go figure.
 
Just because Cisco now offers the high school CCNA, CCNP academy now, does not make the cert usesless. 80% of the students in those classes aren't even committed to passing the exam. For instance, I'm enrolled in CCNA2. There are about 20 kids in our class. Only about 4 are serious about the CCNA. The rest are just idiots who surf the web all class period.
 
Originally posted by ksanders2006
Just because Cisco now offers the high school CCNA, CCNP academy now, does not make the cert usesless. 80% of the students in those classes aren't even committed to passing the exam. For instance, I'm enrolled in CCNA2. There are about 20 kids in our class. Only about 4 are serious about the CCNA. The rest are just idiots who surf the web all class period.
Click to expand...

Multiply that by several thousand schools X semesters :p
 
There are about 20 kids in our class. Only about 4 are serious about the CCNA. The rest are just idiots who surf the web all class period.
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Yea, i've subbed for a few classes like that and there was maybe 1 or 2 kids in the room halfway interesting in learning something.
 
Originally posted by Zlash
Yea, i've subbed for a few classes like that and there was maybe 1 or 2 kids in the room halfway interesting in learning something.
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Its such a waste, i know a few guys who are doing HND computing and have dropped the ccna. Yet they have time for loads shopping and clubbing twice a week. And one of them says that they want to get a networking after the course.
 
Originally posted by Wiseguy2001
Its such a waste, i know a few guys who are doing HND computing and have dropped the ccna. Yet they have time for loads shopping and clubbing twice a week. And one of them says that they want to get a networking after the course.
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What is "HND computing"?
 
Originally posted by Boscoh
What is "HND computing"?
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Higher National Diploma. Basically a degree level course but shorter and an extra year study will make it a degree
 
Not sure if the original poster is still interested in this thread, however, here is my opinion:

First, my background:

I'm 46 years old, working as a technology consultant for a company targeting the Small-Medium Business (SMB) market in my area. In the 20 or so years I have been in the IT business, I've worked for a city government, two large Fortune 500 companies, and as a consultant. I have a 4-year BS degree in Computer Science, and I took three semesters in graduate school targeted at network design, though I didn't stick with it to get my Master's degree.

Certifications of any type have the most value to you if you are a consultant, either independent or especially when working for a consulting company or Value Added Reseller (VAR).

It gives prospective clients a feeling that you do in fact have some sort of technical expertise in the things you are recommending to them. The consulting business is all about trust. Think of every single client encounter as a job interview. You are having to get them to believe that you are the best candidate to perform a job for them, and that you can deliver on your promises. The certs are ONE out of many factors that can help the client decide if they can trust you.

The other big area where it brings value is if your company is trying to achieve some sort of advantaged partnership relationship with a major vendor. For example, if your company wants to be a Microsoft Certified partner, and get all of the marketing benefits that go with that, they have to have some Microsoft certified people on staff.

However, in big corporations or similar entities, the certifications have almost no value at all except maybe getting your resume in front of the hiring manager instead of thrown away by the HR department. You still may not get an interview.

One NEGATIVE factor would be if you had four certs on your resume with no experience to go with it. Technology managers will immediately pigeonhole you as a "paper cert" and will probably pass you by.

A specific suggestion to the original poster: you are in Lubbock, TX. I don't know what the economy and job market is there, but Austin, TX is hot right now and has a lot of opportunities. I have a buddy who is a senior software architect there, so I'm taking his word for it. Consider a relocation if you need to.

Final point - I originally got my MCSE on NT 4.0 (though I've been working with NT since the beta for NT 3.1, and with MS Lan Manager before that), and all I've done since then is to pass a couple of Win2k exams to keep my MCP alive.

I found that the real value of getting a certification is that it made me study the products in depth. I learned a lot about NT 4.0 that I had never cared about before (like how to migrate from Netware). Oddly enough, my very first consulting gig was to migrate someone from Netware to NT. Came in quite handy! :)
 
Originally posted by Zlash
I CCNA is not as easy as everyone makes it out to get. Sure you may be able to take some classes in high school but I bet you the majority of those kids don't pass the test. It's not something you can just pick up a book and 2 weeks later you can go pass the test.
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you made a good poiny zlash, my gf told me they've been offering ccna classes at her school, and most of the honors students cant even pass it. i go to the university of cincinnati and a couple of people in my class told me they took the class and high school and out of about 30 kids, 1 passed, barely. Its an entry level cert for a reason, because u learn the basics. like routing protocols, osi model etc. I enjoyed studying for and passing the test. like zlash said, i wonder how many of yall that said it's worthless even have one?
 
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