Cisco certification advice

[yoyDIY]

Please help me with the questions above. I am geyting started into Cisco and just want to be well prepared what I get myself into. Feel free to explain why you voted xyz

[Lurick]

Don't just study the books and pass the exams and be done with it, put that knowledge into practice. Invest into something like GNS3, VIRL, or EVE-NG and just play around with things and try out different syntax and configurations. Heck, if you can get a couple 3550 or 3560 switches for cheap and like a 1800 series router or two just to have that's good as well but I know, at least since I started my studies ~7 years ago, the simulation software has gotten a LOT better from what I hear.

 

As for certs up to date, I actually let mine lapse last year but I've been so busy lately finishing up school and with work but later this year I need to go back and sit for my exams again and get caught up. I was actually on track to get my CCIE Data Center and I missed the lab by just a bit, unfortunately it was just before they changed the exams so I lost some steam on that . I know that with Cisco (and I believe others as well) if you get the next level cert it renews the ones below it too. Also if you pass another cert of the same level it renews all of those too. For example, if you have 3 CCIEs and you retake one written and pass you renew all of them plus the lower ones.

 

Edit:

Also look at VMWare certs as well, maybe some Microsoft or Linux ones too. Those help build your skills but a cert is nothing more than worthless paper if you can't apply that knowledge to the real world at least to some extent.