Is CCNA worth it?

[Vishera]

I am considering to get a CCNA diploma (I am thinking about CCNA Networking and Switching or CCNA Data Center),

Is it worth it?

[Oshino Shinobu]

Worth it for what? Just to have? No. 

 

If you're either in the industry already and want it for a pay rise or a new role or want to work in the industry, it can help with that. 

[RollinLower]

depends. is your employer demanding a cisco specific course?

if you end up working in a DC that just uses Juniper or Arista it would be a lot of wasted money.

[porina]

I've been on a CCNA course run by a past employer. Never took the exams. I wouldn't have a chance without a LOT of extra self learning. That was before they changed CCNA last year so I'm not familiar with the current system. As background, I have passed CompTIA Network+ previously, although I didn't keep that certification up as it is pretty worthless beyond an introduction to networking.

 

I'm not/wasn't in the IT world directly but I think it can have value if you want to be in a networking or related area. The content covered a wide scope and depth. If you can complete it you prove you know networking. This is not a trivial pay2win certification. The course I was on was a 1 week intensive. Long days. Lots of content. It deserves more time than that. In the part of my former employer working primarily on business video products, it was a standard requirement for all engineers to work to pass that course. I feel I gained a lot just attending it, even if I will never use 90% of it. 

 

39 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

depends. is your employer demanding a cisco specific course?

if you end up working in a DC that just uses Juniper or Arista it would be a lot of wasted money.

I don't know how true it is or not, the instructors I had said that CCNA was practically the industry standard networking course. They claimed manufacturers of other networking kit would send their people on it to make sure they're up to level. The Cisco specific part of it isn't that big. Most of it is basic principles you need to know anyway.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, Vishera said:

I am considering to get a CCNA diploma (I am thinking about CCNA Networking and Switching or CCNA Data Center),

Is it worth it?

It depends on why you want to get it and who pays for it.

Is it worth it (both money wise as well as time wise) out of your own pocket just for fun? No.

Is it worth it if you are getting the course and study material paid by your employer, and you actively work with networking? Then yes.

 

I have a couple of CCNA certs and it made negotiating salary raises a lot easier. The courses I went to were pretty informative as well, but since they were like 3000 dollars I wouldn't have wanted to pay for it myself.

 

 

57 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

depends. is your employer demanding a cisco specific course?

if you end up working in a DC that just uses Juniper or Arista it would be a lot of wasted money.

I'm not sure about the new certs but the old CCNA R&S cert was not Cisco specific at all. It was just standard stuff that works more or less the same for all vendors.

Their other courses like Security and Wireless have a lot more Cisco-specific stuff in them though.

[Vishera]

3 hours ago, LAwLz said:

3000 dollars

It's government subsidized so it's a lot cheaper than that.

 

And of course i need it for work,not for fun (even though it sounds like a fun and interesting subject to learn)

[The_russian]

9 hours ago, Vishera said:

(I am thinking about CCNA Networking and Switching or CCNA Data Center),

Just a heads up, a year or two ago Cisco consolidated all the different CCNA certifications into one general CCNA, so there are no longer different certifications for Routing and Switching, Data Center, Security, etc. Now it is just the 200-301 CCNA. 

 

Edit: Consolidated might have been the wrong word, they basically took Routing and Switching and sprinkled in a little bit of the other topics, but it is mostly about Routing and Switching.

Edited July 6, 2021 by The_russian

[VectorTech]

CCNA is definitely worth it, I got mine a little over two months ago and been having companies reach out to me for jobs work as a contractor for the US Air Force (I have a active secret clearance which also helps), and all the positions are around 85-90k. 

[SteveiJobs]

CCNA is...fine. I took a lot of prework courses but never the actual exam because it wouldn't have really affected my salary or anything and I have all the info I need for my job.

 

Now a vCenter cert is worth a lot more.