CCNA/MCITP advise

Obsolete01

Hello all,


I am looking for some good advise please.
I have the Comptia A+ and Network+ certification completed but I am unsure whether i should do either CCNA or MCITP next or should i go to college part-time and do a course.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated here folks as to what to do and the best way to do it i.e. do I pay €2K for either CCNA/Microsoft certification or just but the book and do it myself or do i go to college for 2-3 years part time (I actually haven't even seen any part time IT courses in GMIT/NUI)

Let the replies come guys and girls

RADIUS

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Hello all,


I am looking for some good advise please.
I have the Comptia A+ and Network+ certification completed but I am unsure whether i should do either CCNA or MCITP next or should i go to college part-time and do a course.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated here folks as to what to do and the best way to do it i.e. do I pay €2K for either CCNA/Microsoft certification or just but the book and do it myself or do i go to college for 2-3 years part time (I actually haven't even seen any part time IT courses in GMIT/NUI)

Let the replies come guys and girls

They are both different things aimed at different jobs. The mcitp windows server 2008 are aimed at network administration system side. The ccna is all about the infrastructure and networking devices. Mainly protocols and programming switches and routers.

In osi model terms;

ccna = layers 1-4

Mcitp = layers 5-7

There is a lot of cross over but it's a good general way of looking at it.

Ccna ain't gonna teach you about active directory and mcitp ain't gonna mention spanning tree protocol.

Also bare in mind that the mcitp will be replaced by a different cert in the next year , this will require more exams making mcitp a more expensive cert.

So the question for you is what do you want to do?

Obsolete01

Well I 100% definatly want to stay in IT as I am currently employed in an IT operations center type role at the moment.

I was looking into some courses in NUI part time but they said I need to have a Degree/Diploma to get in to them so that is why i think the CCNA/MCITP sould be the next step but in your opinion where is the best place to do these courses ~ for e.g. PFH is approx €3K

I would love to get in to the actual fixing side of things......

RADIUS

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Well I 100% definatly want to stay in IT as I am currently employed in an IT operations center type role at the moment.

I was looking into some courses in NUI part time but they said I need to have a Degree/Diploma to get in to them so that is why i think the CCNA/MCITP sould be the next step but in your opinion where is the best place to do these courses ~ for e.g. PFH is approx €3K

I would love to get in to the actual fixing side of things......

Well I can't help you with the courses as I did my CCNA using the Cisco networking academy online and self study. I was fortunate to have had access to Cisco lab to practice on. I am now self studying MCITP. I can say that so far it's cost me a fraction of what I would have paid if I went to a paid private course.

I don't know how much the networking academy course is as I didn't pay for it all I just paid a contribution. The official books (which contain the same info) are cheap enough.

So it is entirely possible to do everything alone if cash is an issue ( when is it not!) But it all depends on what's best for you. I am sure someone else can shed some light on the course. Just be wary of the fast track courses out there as they may be aimed at people who already know alot of it but just want to get certified.

Obsolete01

RADIUS wrote: »

Well I can't help you with the courses as I did my CCNA using the Cisco networking academy online and self study. I was fortunate to have had access to Cisco lab to practice on. I am now self studying MCITP. I can say that so far it's cost me a fraction of what I would have paid if I went to a paid private course.

I don't know how much the networking academy course is as I didn't pay for it all I just paid a contribution. The official books (which contain the same info) are cheap enough.

So it is entirely possible to do everything alone if cash is an issue ( when is it not!) But it all depends on what's best for you. I am sure someone else can shed some light on the course. Just be wary of the fast track courses out there as they may be aimed at people who already know alot of it but just want to get certified.

Where did you do the networking academy course ?

RADIUS

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Where did you do the networking academy course ?

Sent you pm.

NullZer0

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Hello all,


I am looking for some good advise please.
I have the Comptia A+ and Network+ certification completed but I am unsure whether i should do either CCNA or MCITP next or should i go to college part-time and do a course.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated here folks as to what to do and the best way to do it i.e. do I pay €2K for either CCNA/Microsoft certification or just but the book and do it myself or do i go to college for 2-3 years part time (I actually haven't even seen any part time IT courses in GMIT/NUI)

Let the replies come guys and girls

My take on this is -

Don't pay any money for a course.
When I started out, I was lucky enough to have an employer that funded a Microsoft course for me. Overall, I learned stuff but the contribution to my career over all was minimal.


I went the Cisco track and self studied for the CCNA/CCNP etc. I failed it SEVERAL times but it made me a better engineer. Nothing has helped my career move as fast as it has over the past few years like Cisco has.

BUACHAILL

Radius would you please mind sending me that pm also ?

Thanks in advance

Head The Wall

RADIUS wrote: »

Also bare in mind that the mcitp will be replaced by a different cert in the next year , this will require more exams making mcitp a more expensive cert.

That's a bit wrong, yes you won't be able to get an MCITP in Server 2008 from August next year but you can become an MCSA instead, it's the same three exams you will be sitting. If you get it completed before next year you can claim MCITP and MCSA titles. Once you get this it's just a matter of upgrading to 2012 in the future


Microsoft have a second shot offer on at the moment Details Here. This lets you sit each exam a second time for free and also gives you a 15% discount if you book the three exams together. I'm taking this approach and should be sitting 70-642 week after next.


I'm using the Sybex book for self study and I find it very basic (it's not the R2 release either). I hear the Server 2008 R2 unleashed is good and maybe
someone else has an opinion on the Microsoft books.


I'm 8 years out of the system admin game and a lot has changed in that time, it's difficult but enjoyable. As others have said set up your own lab and get using it. Virtualisation lets you do so much with so little hardware compared to a few years ago, I can highly recommend the HP Microserver and it's cheap as well.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

RADIUS

Head The Wall wrote: »

That's a bit wrong, yes you won't be able to get an MCITP in Server 2008 from August next year but you can become an MCSA instead, it's the same three exams you will be sitting. If you get it completed before next year you can claim MCITP and MCSA titles. Once you get this it's just a matter of upgrading to 2012 in the future


Microsoft have a second shot offer on at the moment Details Here. This lets you sit each exam a second time for free and also gives you a 15% discount if you book the three exams together. I'm taking this approach and should be sitting 70-642 week after next.


I'm using the Sybex book for self study and I find it very basic (it's not the R2 release either). I hear the Server 2008 R2 unleashed is good and maybe
someone else has an opinion on the Microsoft books.


I'm 8 years out of the system admin game and a lot has changed in that time, it's difficult but enjoyable. As others have said set up your own lab and get using it. Virtualisation lets you do so much with so little hardware compared to a few years ago, I can highly recommend the HP Microserver and it's cheap as well.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Hi, yeah your right actually, I guess I wasn't very clear in that post. What I meant was that the MCITP/MSCA requires 3 exams at around 150 euro each whereas the CCNA requires either 1 exam for around 280 or 2 exams for around 140 each. Although don't quote me on the prices!

Thanks for clearing that up!

jasonpat

CCNA have a good carrier in the networking carrier.

Head The Wall

RADIUS wrote: »

Hi, yeah your right actually, I guess I wasn't very clear in that post. What I meant was that the MCITP/MSCA requires 3 exams at around 150 euro each whereas the CCNA requires either 1 exam for around 280 or 2 exams for around 140 each. Although don't quote me on the prices!

Thanks for clearing that up!

If you follow that link in my Post and click Get pricing you will see that it's 382 Euros for the three exams and you get to resit each one a second time for free.

Obsolete01

Head The Wall wrote: »

That's a bit wrong, yes you won't be able to get an MCITP in Server 2008 from August next year but you can become an MCSA instead, it's the same three exams you will be sitting. If you get it completed before next year you can claim MCITP and MCSA titles. Once you get this it's just a matter of upgrading to 2012 in the future


Microsoft have a second shot offer on at the moment Details Here. This lets you sit each exam a second time for free and also gives you a 15% discount if you book the three exams together. I'm taking this approach and should be sitting 70-642 week after next.


I'm using the Sybex book for self study and I find it very basic (it's not the R2 release either). I hear the Server 2008 R2 unleashed is good and maybe
someone else has an opinion on the Microsoft books.


I'm 8 years out of the system admin game and a lot has changed in that time, it's difficult but enjoyable. As others have said set up your own lab and get using it. Virtualisation lets you do so much with so little hardware compared to a few years ago, I can highly recommend the HP Microserver and it's cheap as well.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Ok I have put a lot of thought in to this and I think I would 100% enjoy the server side of things rather than the networking side of things......so I am wondering what is the best way to learn this....like I have the A+ and I habve completed the Network+ but havent sit the exam and im not sure if I will bother either......I heard of a place in Dublin IACT I think they are called and they off the Microsoft course for around €2K I believe and i wouldnt mind paying this if its worth it or do i just buy the course material and study it myself ?!?

Any advise will be greatly appreciated folks

RADIUS

Head The Wall wrote: »

If you follow that link in my Post and click Get pricing you will see that it's 382 Euros for the three exams and you get to resit each one a second time for free.

Wow I totally skimmed over that, thanks again for pointing that out!:)

Obsolete01

And with your experience which would I find easier to learn/understand without having any hands on experience in these areas?

How would you recomend I study this ?

Obsolete01

Bump.....

Head The Wall

The A+ and Network+ exams Look pretty basic compared to what you will be covering in Server 2008. You might be better off starting out on Windows 7 (exam 70-680) first as it is easier to follow and it will also give you an idea about how you can manage the self study.

I passed 70-642 last week and decided to get the MS press books for the remaining two exams as I don't think the sybex one was great. Saying that I still don't think the book is going to go into the detail I need so I will still be using technet, virtual academy and lab work.

Obsolete01

Head The Wall wrote: »

The A+ and Network+ exams Look pretty basic compared to what you will be covering in Server 2008. You might be better off starting out on Windows 7 (exam 70-680) first as it is easier to follow and it will also give you an idea about how you can manage the self study.

I passed 70-642 last week and decided to get the MS press books for the remaining two exams as I don't think the sybex one was great. Saying that I still don't think the book is going to go into the detail I need so I will still be using technet, virtual academy and lab work.

After having a good think I reckon the ccna would suit me best.

So I just need to figure out what is the best way to learn/study this.

Head The Wall

You'll have to start of with the CCENT first. The cheapest option is to get the book and try that, if it doesn't work out then try plan B.

RADIUS

Obsolete01 wrote: »

After having a good think I reckon the ccna would suit me best.

So I just need to figure out what is the best way to learn/study this.

I already PM'd you all this info

Maysa07

Obsolete01 wrote: »

After having a good think I reckon the ccna would suit me best.

So I just need to figure out what is the best way to learn/study this.

Head The Wall wrote: »

You'll have to start of with the CCENT first. The cheapest option is to get the book and try that, if it doesn't work out then try plan B.

I am half way through the CCNA course ( Part time - two nights a week )
and have the CCENT exam before xmas if i want, It's optional .

So fair the course is going 100 mph as there is tones of materiel to cover.Have to say.. I take my hat off to anyone who self's study this and passes the CCNA. Even doing the course in college you really have to put the work in outside college, well for me anyway :pac:

I took the Discovery Path http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/get_involved/careerPath.html

nin2010

If you want to become CCNA qualified I'd suggest you skip the courses. They are expensive and the majority of them are 1 week or 2 week booster courses and are aimed at companies paying the fees for educating their employees. I did a few of them and I actually found training videos to be more beneficial to me.

I would recommend you watch the CBT nuggets training videos and use a free program from Cisco called packet tracer to do simulation labs. You can watch a training video and then attempt to go build the network yourself in packet tracer. If you get stuck you can always go back to the video and watch parts of it again, you can't do that with a booster course.

For preparation for the exam I found the Test King exam questions to be the best as they not only tell you which multiple choice question is correct but also explain why it is correct so you don't have to go searching through the cisco book for the answer. On top of that you can buy a Cisco press book or look out for a deal on an ebook version for Kindle. I find the Kindle application installed on pc or using a kindle/ipad better for studying as you can highlight text, search the book quickly, take notes and go back to all of these very quickly when doing a review.

There is a weekly deal on ebooks on this website also, you might get lucky and see the CCENT or CCNA book show up.

http://www.ciscopress.com/deals/

Maysa07

Yeah the booster courses are not great, A guy i work with is doing one. It started in mid September and finishes next week.

I started mine in October and it finishes in April at a cost of 1.700 Where as my friend paid 999.00. there is also five Saturdays involved ( Lab workshop - hands on )
The tutor i have is excellent and it's a Cisco network academy. This is his forth year teaching this course so he knows the pace and has a high student pass rate . We have not done a Saturday yet as he is keeping them till after xmas in Discovery 3.
as nin2010 said Packet tracer is essential.

charliefs

Hi guys,

Can I ask if you don't mind if anyone has any experience of studying CCNA through FAS training centres? I have been thinking about this lately as I'm being made redundant in March and have been checking out different options of studying for the CCENT/CCNA.

There's a Blended Learning CCNA FAS course coming up in April which would mean a one evening a week workshop for 15 weeks, I have read through a good bit of the material already and have the course videos - CBT but also like the idea of the hands-on aspect.

Any advice appreciated.

Obsolete01

nin2010 wrote: »

If you want to become CCNA qualified I'd suggest you skip the courses. They are expensive and the majority of them are 1 week or 2 week booster courses and are aimed at companies paying the fees for educating their employees. I did a few of them and I actually found training videos to be more beneficial to me.

I would recommend you watch the CBT nuggets training videos and use a free program from Cisco called packet tracer to do simulation labs. You can watch a training video and then attempt to go build the network yourself in packet tracer. If you get stuck you can always go back to the video and watch parts of it again, you can't do that with a booster course.

For preparation for the exam I found the Test King exam questions to be the best as they not only tell you which multiple choice question is correct but also explain why it is correct so you don't have to go searching through the cisco book for the answer. On top of that you can buy a Cisco press book or look out for a deal on an ebook version for Kindle. I find the Kindle application installed on pc or using a kindle/ipad better for studying as you can highlight text, search the book quickly, take notes and go back to all of these very quickly when doing a review.

There is a weekly deal on ebooks on this website also, you might get lucky and see the CCENT or CCNA book show up.

http://www.ciscopress.com/deals/

Ok thanks for the great advise...so it looks like distance learning is the way forward.

So there's only one more question....what book would you recommend I buy?

neonman

nin2010 wrote: »

If you want to become CCNA qualified I'd suggest you skip the courses. They are expensive and the majority of them are 1 week or 2 week booster courses and are aimed at companies paying the fees for educating their employees. I did a few of them and I actually found training videos to be more beneficial to me.

I would recommend you watch the CBT nuggets training videos and use a free program from Cisco called packet tracer to do simulation labs. You can watch a training video and then attempt to go build the network yourself in packet tracer. If you get stuck you can always go back to the video and watch parts of it again, you can't do that with a booster course.

For preparation for the exam I found the Test King exam questions to be the best as they not only tell you which multiple choice question is correct but also explain why it is correct so you don't have to go searching through the cisco book for the answer. On top of that you can buy a Cisco press book or look out for a deal on an ebook version for Kindle. I find the Kindle application installed on pc or using a kindle/ipad better for studying as you can highlight text, search the book quickly, take notes and go back to all of these very quickly when doing a review.

There is a weekly deal on ebooks on this website also, you might get lucky and see the CCENT or CCNA book show up.

http://www.ciscopress.com/deals/

Full agree with nin2010. I went the self study route myself and split the exam in two i.e. ICND1 and ICND2. I thought ICND1 was a breeze and knew 20 minutes into it I had it in the bag. ICND2 was harder I needed the full amount of time allowed for the exam to complete it.

What i used to pass:

Todd Lammle CCNA: http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Certified-Network-Associate-Edition/dp/0470901071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354715274&sr=8-1&keywords=CCNA

The Cisco Press book for CCNA is horrible to read but great if you have trouble sleeping you'll be in a deep sleep in no time reading it.

CBT Nuggets great videos to watch

Packet Tracer is a must I would recommend having it open all the time while studying so you can put in the commands as you learn them. And build your own little networks.

Once you feel you're ready for the test get onto how2pass (paid site) and test yourself to see what you know and dont know. Go over the stuff you have trouble with. Once you're scoring 90%+ on the how2pass exam tests you're ready for the real deal.

Good luck.

Neon

Obsolete01

neonman wrote: »

Full agree with nin2010. I went the self study route myself and split the exam in two i.e. ICND1 and ICND2. I thought ICND1 was a breeze and knew 20 minutes into it I had it in the bag. ICND2 was harder I needed the full amount of time allowed for the exam to complete it.

What i used to pass:

Todd Lammle CCNA: http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Certified-Network-Associate-Edition/dp/0470901071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354715274&sr=8-1&keywords=CCNA

The Cisco Press book for CCNA is horrible to read but great if you have trouble sleeping you'll be in a deep sleep in no time reading it.

CBT Nuggets great videos to watch

Packet Tracer is a must I would recommend having it open all the time while studying so you can put in the commands as you learn them. And build your own little networks.

Once you feel you're ready for the test get onto how2pass (paid site) and test yourself to see what you know and dont know. Go over the stuff you have trouble with. Once you're scoring 90%+ on the how2pass exam tests you're ready for the real deal.

Good luck.

Neon

Regarding the NBT videos do you have to subscribe as I have taken your advise and got the Todd Lammle CCNA book and want to watch the videos as i go but said you need to subscribe to watch them :S