Usefulness of certification programs like CCNA

Replies

• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  I've spent some time in the IT industry and have interacted with several people so I might say a few words.
  
  CCNA is valuable. If you wish to make a career in networking, then CCNA might give you an edge over others. It might help you get a job or make your profile look better than others with a similar profile as yours.
  
  But the real advantage of certification lies in the knowledge it offers to you. I've had interviewed a candidate who had a certification in a similar technology; but couldn't answer a few basic questions.
  
  So, first identify whether you are interested in networking by finding out more information about the kind of jobs available to networking engineers, ask questions on forums (CE's a great place to ask questions). Once you think you want to make a career in networking; start preparing for CCNA. You might even join a good institute that will help you prepare for that certification.
  
  Once you get the certification, keep developing your knowledge. It will definitely help you in your career.
  
  I hope this answers your questions. If you have more questions, please ask them below. All the best!
• 

  ashwin sarangula

  thank you sir. but i would like to know if there are any online resources for preparing for the examination? i mean it is difficult for people like me to attend the classes because of the college throughout the day. and let me know is it enough to learn through online courses or is it compulsory to attend any private classes?
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  I'll tag #-Link-Snipped-# to help you. She's an experienced networking engineer. I searched on Google for online resources to prepare for CCNA and found a ton of them.
  
  On a related note - you need not go for CCNA right away when you're in college. Why not go for CCNA during holidays? That way, you will have free time to prepare for CCNA and you'll be able to focus.
  
  Online resources are mostly scattered and the ones that offer training are 'paid' - and I'm not sure if they are credible. But if you wish to make a start, why not simply list out the topics for the exam and then start collecting information? You can always ask your questions in the networking section here on CE so that engineers here can solve your doubts and answer your questions?
  
  I'll leave the discussions open for other CEans to respond to you.
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  ashwin sarangula

  thats fine , sir.even iam looking forward for some more views from other CEans. And i have a lot of time left to prepare for exam. so i can easily follow the guidelines of others. any way thank you for your response.
• 

  durga ch

  Hi,
  
  Just wanted to know how you came about to know about CCNA certification ? Is your interest in networking feild, guided you there? or someone told that having a cert will help you find a job?
  Answering these questions is important, as the certification process is lengthy, and diverse. Not only you become a CCNA after you certify, you will also be responsible for renewing your certification every 3 yrs or so.
  As far as resources are concerned ,There are videos by Keith Barker on you-tube (micro-nuggets) and they are free. For sims, you need to get your hands on GNS3 (freeware), but it runs only on cisco IOS . So a better idea would be to enroll in some institution, to get access to the labs (Real equipement).
  
  Apart from Cisco press books, Cisco website provided huge amount of information related to generic networking as such.
  
  If in the process of reading, you get any doubts, feel free to post here,
• 

  ashwin sarangula

  durga

  Hi,
  
  Just wanted to know how you came about to know about CCNA certification ? Is your interest in networking feild, guided you there? or someone told that having a cert will help you find a job?
  Answering these questions is important, as the certification process is lengthy, and diverse. Not only you become a CCNA after you certify, you will also be responsible for renewing your certification every 3 yrs or so.
  As far as resources are concerned ,There are videos by Keith Barker on you-tube (micro-nuggets) and they are free. For sims, you need to get your hands on GNS3 (freeware), but it runs only on cisco IOS . So a better idea would be to enroll in some institution, to get access to the labs (Real equipement).
  
  Apart from Cisco press books, Cisco website provided huge amount of information related to generic networking as such.
  
  If in the process of reading, you get any doubts, feel free to post here,

  thank you for your reply madam. actually i have found out ccna as a foundation for a good job in good mnc. that is my basic thought. i will definitely follow your suggestions and try to clear the course.