Training in Cisco is designed for people who want to learn about routers and switches. Routers connect networks of computers over the internet or dedicated lines. It's a good idea that you should start with your CCNA. Don't be tempted to go straight for a CCNP as it's a considerable step up - and you really need experience to have a go at this.
It's very probable you'll get a job with an internet service provider or a big organisation which is located on multiple sites but still wants secure internal data communication. These jobs are well paid and in demand.
Getting your Cisco CCNA is perfectly sufficient to start with; don't be cajoled into attempting your CCNP. Once you've got a few years experience behind you, you will have a feel for whether you need to train up to this level. If so, your experience will serve as the background you require to take on your CCNP - which is quite a hard qualification to acquire - and mustn't be entered into casually.
A lot of training companies only provide basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); very few go late in the evening or at weekends.
Beware of institutions who use call-centres 'out-of-hours' - with the call-back coming in during office hours. It's no use when you're stuck on a problem and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
We recommend that you search for training programs that have multiple support offices across multiple time-zones. Each one should be integrated to give a single entry point together with access round-the-clock, when you want it, with no fuss.
Never make the mistake of compromise when it comes to your support. The majority of would-be IT professionals that can't get going properly, would have had a different experience if they'd got the right support package in the first place.
The market provides an excess of work available in IT. Picking the right one in this uncertainty is a mammoth decision.
Perusing a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is no use whatsoever. The vast majority of us have no concept what our own family members do for a living - let alone understand the subtleties of any specific IT role.
Arriving at a well-informed resolution really only appears from a methodical analysis of several shifting key points:
* Personalities play an important part - what things get your juices flowing, and what are the areas that put a frown on your face.
* Do you want to get certified due to a specific motive - for instance, is it your goal to work at home (maybe self-employment?)?
* How highly do you rate salary - is it the most important thing, or is job satisfaction higher up on your priority-list?
* Because there are so many different sectors to gain certifications for in the IT industry - you will have to gain a basic understanding of what separates them.
* The level of commitment and effort you'll commit getting qualified.
For the average person, getting to the bottom of these areas requires a good chat with someone that knows what they're talking about. And we don't just mean the certifications - you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations besides.
Commercial certification is now, undoubtedly, beginning to replace the traditional academic paths into IT - but why is this?
Corporate based study (to use industry-speak) is far more specialised and product-specific. Industry has realised that this level of specialised understanding is essential to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical marketplace. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the dominant players.
Essentially, only required knowledge is taught. It's not quite as straightforward as that, but principally the objective has to be to focus on the exact skills required (along with a certain amount of crucial background) - without trying to cram in every other area - in the way that academic establishments often do.
What if you were an employer - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. What is easier: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, trying to establish what they know and which vocational skills they've acquired, or choose particular accreditations that specifically match what you're looking for, and make your short-list from that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability - rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.
Consider only training paths which will grow into commercially acknowledged exams. There are way too many trainers proposing minor 'in-house' certificates which aren't worth the paper they're printed on in the real world.
Only nationally recognised certification from the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Adobe will be useful to a future employer. - 33376
It's very probable you'll get a job with an internet service provider or a big organisation which is located on multiple sites but still wants secure internal data communication. These jobs are well paid and in demand.
Getting your Cisco CCNA is perfectly sufficient to start with; don't be cajoled into attempting your CCNP. Once you've got a few years experience behind you, you will have a feel for whether you need to train up to this level. If so, your experience will serve as the background you require to take on your CCNP - which is quite a hard qualification to acquire - and mustn't be entered into casually.
A lot of training companies only provide basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); very few go late in the evening or at weekends.
Beware of institutions who use call-centres 'out-of-hours' - with the call-back coming in during office hours. It's no use when you're stuck on a problem and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
We recommend that you search for training programs that have multiple support offices across multiple time-zones. Each one should be integrated to give a single entry point together with access round-the-clock, when you want it, with no fuss.
Never make the mistake of compromise when it comes to your support. The majority of would-be IT professionals that can't get going properly, would have had a different experience if they'd got the right support package in the first place.
The market provides an excess of work available in IT. Picking the right one in this uncertainty is a mammoth decision.
Perusing a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is no use whatsoever. The vast majority of us have no concept what our own family members do for a living - let alone understand the subtleties of any specific IT role.
Arriving at a well-informed resolution really only appears from a methodical analysis of several shifting key points:
* Personalities play an important part - what things get your juices flowing, and what are the areas that put a frown on your face.
* Do you want to get certified due to a specific motive - for instance, is it your goal to work at home (maybe self-employment?)?
* How highly do you rate salary - is it the most important thing, or is job satisfaction higher up on your priority-list?
* Because there are so many different sectors to gain certifications for in the IT industry - you will have to gain a basic understanding of what separates them.
* The level of commitment and effort you'll commit getting qualified.
For the average person, getting to the bottom of these areas requires a good chat with someone that knows what they're talking about. And we don't just mean the certifications - you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations besides.
Commercial certification is now, undoubtedly, beginning to replace the traditional academic paths into IT - but why is this?
Corporate based study (to use industry-speak) is far more specialised and product-specific. Industry has realised that this level of specialised understanding is essential to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical marketplace. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the dominant players.
Essentially, only required knowledge is taught. It's not quite as straightforward as that, but principally the objective has to be to focus on the exact skills required (along with a certain amount of crucial background) - without trying to cram in every other area - in the way that academic establishments often do.
What if you were an employer - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. What is easier: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, trying to establish what they know and which vocational skills they've acquired, or choose particular accreditations that specifically match what you're looking for, and make your short-list from that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability - rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.
Consider only training paths which will grow into commercially acknowledged exams. There are way too many trainers proposing minor 'in-house' certificates which aren't worth the paper they're printed on in the real world.
Only nationally recognised certification from the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Adobe will be useful to a future employer. - 33376
