Need help selecting Cisco (CCNA) certification to follow

[Shammikit]

Hello, i would like to start a networking course to improve my networking knowledge as i wish to go for a job in that stream to work in industry and I was told to follow a CCNA course as I'm new. However when i did some searching i got very confused by the number of different CCNA courses and which one i should follow. When i visited one institute which is here locally doing CCNA they said their course goes for 1 year and they gave me a brochure of the topics that a being covered. According to that it seems to be covering alot but the course is quite expensive and i would like to finish the course in a few months instead of having to go for 1 year. I have checked several other places and they showed me something called CCNA Routing and Switching Certification (200-125). This course can be completed in 2 1/2 months and the cost is much lower. However the content also seem to be much lower.

 

My questions are:

What are the differences between these courses?

is the one that finishes in 2.5 months a part of the one that finishes in 1 year?

Is the one finishing in 2.5 months not good enough for working in industry? If the 1 year course is the better option could u please explain why one should follow it.

 

Thank you

[Radium_Angel]

4 minutes ago, Shammikit said:

Hello, i would like to start a networking course to improve my networking knowledge as i wish to go for a job in that stream to work in industry and I was told to follow a CCNA course as I'm new. However when i did some searching i got very confused by the number of different CCNA courses and which one i should follow. When i visited one institute which is here locally doing CCNA they said their course goes for 1 year and they gave me a brochure of the topics that a being covered. According to that it seems to be covering alot but the course is quite expensive and i would like to finish the course in a few months instead of having to go for 1 year. I have checked several other places and they showed me something called CCNA Routing and Switching Certification (200-125). This course can be completed in 2 1/2 months and the cost is much lower. However the content also seem to be much lower.

 

My questions are:

What are the differences between these courses?

is the one that finishes in 2.5 months a part of the one that finishes in 1 year?

Is the one finishing in 2.5 months not good enough for working in industry? If the 1 year course is the better option could u please explain why one should follow it.

 

Thank you

CCNA is not something to take lightly.

Anyone trying to sell you a shorter length class or lower priced one, is ripping you off.

The CCNA final certification exam, is harder to pass than a bar exam (lawyer exam)

This is a very difficult and long class.

 

Are you sure this is the direction you wish to go?

[Shammikit]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

CCNA is not something to take lightly.

Anyone trying to sell you a shorter length class or lower priced one, is ripping you off.

The CCNA final certification exam, is harder to pass than a bar exam (lawyer exam)

This is a very difficult and long class.

 

Are you sure this is the direction you wish to go?

do i have any other options if i want do networking related things?

[scottyseng]

I'm currently studying for the CCNA, and honestly, the speed at which you can study depends more on how fast you can learn the content. It is quite difficult as mentioned above.

 

If you want a stepping stone certification, the CompTIA Network+ will get you a base of networking (I'm working on getting this too).

 

There's also Juniper certifications, but the CCNA (and above) are most known.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, Shammikit said:

do i have any other options if i want do networking related things?

Plenty!

 

CCNA is only for configuring Cisco routers (the internal programming, BIOS, etc of them)

If you want general networking look at these offers:

https://deals.slashdot.org/

 

These are self-paced self-taught courses, but they can get you a leg up and more importantly, let you decide if that's the direction you want to go in, without spending a bundle

[scottyseng]

Oh right, I'm currently studying for the CCNA through Pluralsight. I bought a year subscription and it's been well worth it. They have courses for the CompTIA certifications and the various cisco ones.

[Shammikit]

6 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

I'm currently studying for the CCNA, and honestly, the speed at which you can study depends more on how fast you can learn the content. It is quite difficult as mentioned above.

 

If you want a stepping stone certification, the CompTIA Network+ will get you a base of networking (I'm working on getting this too).

 

There's also Juniper certifications, but the CCNA (and above) are most known.

how long is the CCNA course u are taking?

[Shammikit]

2 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Oh right, I'm currently studying for the CCNA through Pluralsight. I bought a year subscription and it's been well worth it. They have courses for the CompTIA certifications and the various cisco ones.

oh, is your ccna course 1 year long too?

[Shammikit]

5 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Oh right, I'm currently studying for the CCNA through Pluralsight. I bought a year subscription and it's been well worth it. They have courses for the CompTIA certifications and the various cisco ones.

Even here there are many different types right, so do u have to do all these things to be CCNA qualified

[scottyseng]

4 minutes ago, Shammikit said:

oh, is your ccna course 1 year long too?

You are aware there are several branches of CCNA right? The main one when you speak of the CCNA is the CCNA Routing and Switching. You should get this one first.

 

The other CCNA ones are for data center design and other topics. They are specialized.

 

Also, the course is only as long as it takes you to understand and know the content. Some people excel at this, some people don't. I have little to no experience in networking so it's taking me a while (Also want to get some used cisco equipment to play on)

[Shammikit]

2 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

You are aware there are several branches of CCNA right? The main one when you speak of the CCNA is the CCNA Routing and Switching. You should get this one first.

 

The other CCNA ones are for data center design and other topics. They are specialized.

 

Also, the course is only as long as it takes you to understand and know the content. Some people excel at this, some people don't. I have little to no experience in networking so it's taking me a while (Also want to get some used cisco equipment to play on)

i was actually not aware of the several branches in CCNA, i thought this routing and switching thing is something u take after a certification called CCNA. now as u have said that routing and switching is the first part of ccna i have understood a little bit and i assume the places i went to who said their course is only 2.5 months must be teaching this part only. 

 

when u finish the routing and switching part do u get some kind of transcript stating u did that part? do u get transcripts like this for every part or do u have to finish everything and then they give u one called ccna?

[scottyseng]

Just now, Shammikit said:

-snip-

Well, any of the CCNA branches will earn you the title of CCNA, but I recommend starting with routing and switching.

 

Err, these courses are video courses. They don't really amount to anything if you finish them or not.

 

You must take the CCNA routing and switching exam (separate cost), at a testing center. If you pass, you will receive a CCNA routing and switching certificate. There are two ways of getting the Routing and Switching certification, you can either take two exams (100-105 and 200-105) or take the one large exam (200-125).

 

I myself plan to take the one large exam (200-125). Also know that each cisco exam costs around $250ish last I checked.

[beersykins]

42 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

The CCNA final certification exam, is harder to pass than a bar exam (lawyer exam)

Unless you've actually taken both, this is wildly inaccurate.  I took the CCNA R&S combined test a couple weeks ago, while it asks you a few obscure questions it's more of an entry/low-mid level cert.

 

CCNA R&S is a prerequisite for most of the specialization certificates like CCNA Wireless.

 

I can answer most of the questions you may have.

6 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Also know that each cisco exam costs around $250ish last I checked.

They upped the price to $325.

[scottyseng]

5 minutes ago, beersykins said:

Unless you've actually taken both, this is wildly inaccurate.  I took the CCNA R&S combined test a couple weeks ago, while it asks you a few obscure questions it's more of an entry-low-mid level cert.

 

CCNA R&S is a prerequisite for most of the specialization certificates like CCNA Wireless.

 

I can answer most of the questions you may have.

They upped the price to $325.

Ah, my wallet cries...I'm trying to get a CCNP eventually.

 

I'm taking a side track to get the Network+ and Security+ certs first.

[Unhelpful]

47 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

CCNA is not something to take lightly.

Anyone trying to sell you a shorter length class or lower priced one, is ripping you off.

The CCNA final certification exam, is harder to pass than a bar exam (lawyer exam)

This is a very difficult and long class.

 

Are you sure this is the direction you wish to go?

What are you smoking? The CCNA is easy and basically just requires that you're able to subnet, have basic EIGRP knowledge, basic RSTP knowledge, and know not to put "WELCOME!" on a login banner. Are you mistaking it with the CCIE? Even then that would be a while exaggeration. 

 

It's literally an entry-level networking cert.

 

Or is that sarcasm?

[Shammikit]

7 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Well, any of the CCNA branches will earn you the title of CCNA, but I recommend starting with routing and switching.

 

Err, these courses are video courses. They don't really amount to anything if you finish them or not.

 

You must take the CCNA routing and switching exam (separate cost), at a testing center. If you pass, you will receive a CCNA routing and switching certificate. There are two ways of getting the Routing and Switching certification, you can either take two exams (100-105 and 200-105) or take the one large exam (200-125).

 

I myself plan to take the one large exam (200-125). Also know that each cisco exam costs around $250ish last I checked.

 

5 minutes ago, beersykins said:

Unless you've actually taken both, this is wildly inaccurate.  I took the CCNA a couple weeks ago, while it asks you a few obscure questions it's more of an entry-low-mid level cert.

 

CCNA R&S is a prerequisite for most of the specialization certificates like CCNA Wireless.

 

I took the test a couple weeks ago to recertify and have been in the field about 10 years, AMA.

 

The following are two links to the places that i have asked about CCNA and as seen, the first one is showing a very large syllabus and the second one is quite small. however both these are routing and switching. Could u please help me in analyzing which is the correct course. is the cheaper one an actual rip off 

https://www.sliit.lk/professional-programms/ccna-routing-switching/

 

http://turnkey.lk/cisco-certified-network-associate/

[beersykins]

9 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

I'm taking a side track to get the Network+ and Security+ certs first.

I'd probably tell you that they're a waste of time.  I've had both but most places don't really care about CompTIA certs.  If you have CCENT knowledge and a slight bit of PKI/Crypto knowledge you can just walk in cold and pass both.  The CCNA Security track actually follows the Security+ content to a large degree but with a lot of ASDM specific questions.

6 minutes ago, Shammikit said:

Could u please help me in analyzing which is the correct course. is the cheaper one an actual rip off 

Eh, they look pretty similar.  The second syllabus just summarizes the categories on the test, which you will see in the summary section after you take the test and it will tell you your score in particular areas.  Most courses like that are beneficial if you aren't a self-starter, I'd tell you to try the self study path across all of the test competencies to see if it's really something you want to dive more deeply into.

 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/associate/ccna-routing-switching.html#~stickynav=1

[scottyseng]

1 minute ago, beersykins said:

I'd probably tell you that they're a waste of time.  I've had both but most places don't really care about CompTIA certs.  If you have CCENT knowledge and a slight bit of PKI/Crypto knowledge you can just walk in cold and pass both.  The CCNA Security track actually follows the Security+ content to a large degree but with a lot of ASDM specific questions.

Haha, well, I kind of figured as much because I was going through the Security+ stuff and I was like...getting 80-90% without having even studied anything. Network+ is still a struggle for me (though I haven't been on networking that long).

 

I aim to get the CCNA security as well. Though how do you feel about Juniper certifications? Still no go?

[beersykins]

2 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Though how do you feel about Juniper certifications? Still no go?

Depends if you work in an environment that leverages them.  Somewhere like working at an ISP at CenturyLink you'd have a lot of them, they're common provider edge routers.  I obtained a JNCIS-ENT in 2011 which has since expired, working in the field about 10 years I've only come across about a dozen SRX240 appliances.  Everything else was Cisco oriented.

 

JNCIA-Junos is decent for acclimating to the syntax and commands of JunOS, otherwise I feel that the CCNA piece kind of covers it from a protocol knowledge perspective.  They have some Fast Track documents that will get you up to speed on the test contents.

 

https://www.juniper.net/us/en/local/pdf/fact-sheets-backgrounder/3000051-en.pdf

[Lurick]

32 minutes ago, JoeyDM said:

Are you mistaking it with the CCIE? Even then that would be a while exaggeration.

The CCIE written (at least for Data Center) is stupid right now. The "evolving technology" questions can be literally from any track and will ask you just about anything. You could be taking the CCIE DC exam and suddenly you've got wireless technology questions or collab stuff thrown at you.

[Radium_Angel]

46 minutes ago, beersykins said:

I took the CCNA R&S combined test a couple weeks ago

CCNA has been split up into many sub fields as of late. The original CCNA was a bastard to pass. I assumed it still was this way, perhaps it's gone the way of the MCSE, dumbed down so anyone can pass it.

[Unhelpful]

34 minutes ago, Lurick said:

The CCIE written (at least for Data Center) is stupid right now. The "evolving technology" questions can be literally from any track and will ask you just about anything. You could be taking the CCIE DC exam and suddenly you've got wireless technology questions or collab stuff thrown at you.

Huh... Yeah that sounds like Cisco.

[Unhelpful]

30 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

CCNA has been split up into many sub fields as of late. The original CCNA was a bastard to pass. I assumed it still was this way, perhaps it's gone the way of the MCSE, dumbed down so anyone can pass it.

No it wasn't. It has always been an entry-level cert passable with intermediate Cisco-specific knowledge and basic agnostic networking knowledge. It's entry-level.

[Radium_Angel]

16 minutes ago, JoeyDM said:

No it wasn't. It has always been an entry-level cert passable with intermediate Cisco-specific knowledge and basic agnostic networking knowledge. It's entry-level.

........

What is the higher level one then? I could have sworn....

 

...nope, nevermind, I know what I was thinking about, CNE (Certified Novell Engineer), got my acronyms confused.

Nevermind

[Unhelpful]

20 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

........

What is the higher level one then? I could have sworn....

 

...nope, nevermind, I know what I was thinking about, CNE (Certified Novell Engineer), got my acronyms confused.

Nevermind

Yeah, that one isn't even Cisco.

 

It goes CCENT --> CCNA --> CCNP --> CCIE for the R&S main route (and most branches). The design route goes a bit differently.