help me decide on a cert path

berky

2[H]4U
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Aug 28, 2001
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So I'm thinking about finally going for an "IE" level cert. I'm just not sure which direction I want to go and wanted to get some feedback. I only know of a few of these certs in existence and even fewer that I'd potentially be interested in.

What would be the best path to go down in regards to ROI? I want to maximize my potential return based on what's the most valuable to industry now and in the next many years.

So far I've focused mostly on certs that don't expire, but figure it's about time to move on up.

So, of all the advanced certs out there, what would you go for, and WHY? I dont' have any cisco certs yet, but I do have the juniper base-level cert. So, I'm not committed yet to any particular path.

My skills are mostly on routing/switching in the datacenter and security, but I don't want to limit myself, so I'm still open to whatever.

Anyway, just looking for thoughts, ideas, and whatever you have to say.

Thanks.
 
Well if you don't have any cisco certs yet, your first task is to at least get to CCNP level. Then you can decide if the CCIE is worth the price. Not very many people pass it on the first try, probably less than 10%, so expect to spend a few thousand just on the CCIE.

CCNA is harder to get than the CCNP. The CCNP is spit up in to three tests, they cover a much narrower scope than the CCNA test does. If I were to do it over again I'd probably just do the CCNA in two tests, ICND1 and ICND2 instead of the combined version. It was a lot to study for one test.

Even after going through all of that and getting the CCNP, you will never get a CCIE if you aren't doing that stuff every day. They just don't give you the time on the CCIE test to make mistakes or think too long on something.

If I were you, I'd look at getting wireless certs, or something like palo alto certifications. More stuff is going wireless, not less, so that is always in demand, and the palo alto firewalls are on, well, fire right now.
 
Well I'm a CCIE but I haven't done any job hunting since I got it so I can't comment on if the ROI is worth it or not yet. Whether you want to go that route or not is up to you really. It's a highly specialized exam that will make you an expert on a lot of skills you will probably never use. But if you find it interesting it's not that bad once you get through the first pass on all the material.

The troubleshooting portion was catastrophically more difficult than any test I have ever had in my life, in any subject. The config is a lot more reasonable since you have tons of time to fiddle around and build things out exactly right.
 
So overall, do you think it's more worth it to pursue lots of "low level" certs vs going for a single "high level" cert?

anyone have experience with or know of anyone that took the Cisco Certified Architect? That one really sounds interesting to me, but I don't know if it's worth the time and effort.
 
It really depends where you are in your career. At some point you just need to weigh the time/cost of getting a new cert and see how it fits into your resume and career plan at large. A handful of entry level certs is good when you are starting out but when you have a lot of experience they become less important. At that point you should start thinking about specializing, going deep on a particular subject, and get a high-level cert. That will then help set you apart from all those entry level people and get you a nice bump in salary/responsibility.

Remember that certs are just one part of a well-rounded resume. Everything counts, e.g. education, certs, experience, awards/employer recognition, not being a dirtbag (a lot of IT people struggle with this), and being able to interview well/able to convey your thoughts and ideas effectively.
 
I've found a good plan is to have a lot of general skills while specializing in one or two areas of expertise. This makes you valuable in general administrative tasks as well as the 'go-to guy' for specific tasks. This of course is dependent on the company you are with and the work you do. Myself, I have generally intermediate-to-high level Linux/Windows administrative skills, but I chose to focus on networking as my specialization, with a sub-focus on security.
I can't program myself out of a wet paper bag, but I'm not tasked to do much at all with programming; my team knows where my strengths lie and good management would know how to leverage those skills.
 
It really depends where you are in your career. At some point you just need to weigh the time/cost of getting a new cert and see how it fits into your resume and career plan at large. A handful of entry level certs is good when you are starting out but when you have a lot of experience they become less important. At that point you should start thinking about specializing, going deep on a particular subject, and get a high-level cert. That will then help set you apart from all those entry level people and get you a nice bump in salary/responsibility.

Remember that certs are just one part of a well-rounded resume. Everything counts, e.g. education, certs, experience, awards/employer recognition, not being a dirtbag (a lot of IT people struggle with this), and being able to interview well/able to convey your thoughts and ideas effectively.

i have about 9 'accelerated' years of experience and a master's in IA (accelerated meaning I was thrown into large datacenter engineering work right when i started so it certainly wasn't like some basic small business network for multiple years). I'm at the point in my career where i'm definitely a 'go-to-guy' for most things, and I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades. I'm really just trying to get my 'payday' so-to-speak. I'm sure it sounds awful saying it like that, but meh, it's the truth. I feel like I'm in the "you get 2% raise this year regardless of how well you do" rut.

anyway, regarding the certs... i don't want to spend all the time doing something only for more money. I want it to be interesting enough so I don't give up. What I'd really like is just a sorted list of 'most-in-demand' certs, so I can find the highest one that would interest me.
 
...not being a dirtbag (a lot of IT people struggle with this).

Seriously, this will be your best asset if you even remotely know what you are doing. I have filtered through dozens of businesses and hundreds of home clients. And 99/100 anyone that had prior work done was in a pissy mood from the whole experience when they met me.

Me treating customers with respect, fessing up when I screw up, and giving the whole picture, both the good and the bad, has proven to be my #1 asset.

As for the certs, it all depends what you want to do with your career. It looks like at this point you already are in a position to pick something and specialize in it, but again, it depends on you. Do you want to specialize in VoIP or Networking? Pick up upper level certs from Cisco. Do you want to handle administration of servers? Yes? What kind? Microsoft and Redhat being the popular ones.

You really need to just sit back and decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, and go from there.
 
I have a floor bed of certs.

I'm working on my CCNA, and security paths at the same time..
The future is in security. Period. No matter how awesome you build it.
If its not secure, its just not going to be made for the future.

If you want to settle on a stable and growing environement. Choose anything
with auditing / penetration testing, white hat hacker stuff.
 
I have a floor bed of certs.

I'm working on my CCNA, and security paths at the same time..
The future is in security. Period. No matter how awesome you build it.
If its not secure, its just not going to be made for the future.

If you want to settle on a stable and growing environement. Choose anything
with auditing / penetration testing, white hat hacker stuff.

I echo this. I recently moved from IT support to the Security side of the industry and security is the most important aspect of IT now and for the foreseeable future. I haven't taken my CCNA or CCNA Security yet, but I've taken the CompTIA Security+ and it's a real eye opener, at least to me. Colleagues I know who have taken it have said the same thing. No matter what you do in IT, having an understanding of security principles is very beneficial.
 
yeah, my biggest problem has always been that I have so many interests, it's difficult to pick a specialization. I'm thinking I should maybe focus on SDN and whatever might help me in that arena. I'm not sure if there are certs for that yet though.
 
I have a floor bed of certs.

I'm working on my CCNA, and security paths at the same time..
The future is in security. Period. No matter how awesome you build it.
If its not secure, its just not going to be made for the future.

If you want to settle on a stable and growing environement. Choose anything
with auditing / penetration testing, white hat hacker stuff.

I certainly don't disagree with you there. I have a wealth of knowledge in security practices, I've just never dealt with the operational side of it (from a SOC perspective).

I'll certainly keep this in mind.
 
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