hi
dose anyone here taking cnna (cisco network associate certification) network?
i prep for exam i like to talk to someone who does too

I am trying to get my network + right now. I know that doesn't help, but just thought I'd throw it out there.

I got my CCNA a few years ago...

that cool, who do you like it so far?

I took that course in high school. I didn't take the test though. I had to transfer, and the other school didn't offer the program.

Is it worth it? I read somewhere that since people are posting the questions on the internet that certification has lost its' value

Oh geez. Well I have not looked into them for years now. I took the A+ umteen years back and about 10 years back started on the MCSE, just to find the certs weren't worth the paper they are written on.

At least back then they were so "not real world" applicable it was rediculous. I stopped the MCSE after the first two cores, because I already had like 7-8 years of hands on work under my belt. And I was doing contract work back then for some major companies and got selected many times over any of the certs, because in the interviews they would give you "real" scenerios and I was able to give them "real" answers from experience and not from a book.

So not sure how they are veiwed today and if they are any better. So do research well, because they use to be a waste of money, and it was not cheap back then.

Just be careful.

i just know that ccna expire on 3 years!
cnnp on 3 or 2 years
and even expert on 3 /2 years

that just crazy! to be (student whole you life) updated ever 2 years !

Wow doesn't sound like a good investment. Man. What a about a degree

i am taking now CCNA, it's so hard but worth it
i like it

lost value!!

i don't think so cisco is leader on market. he build hardware (more that half network hardware is cisco made )and code it's software .

Whew! That's good to hear.

Nah, again, you are looking mainly at "book smart". Some can be helpful, don;t get me wrong. But having the aptitude and the talent is key, then add experience and you have a good combination.

I have been doing it now 17+ years and have done well, only because I had "the knack" for it.

Computers and networks can do some really wild *ss things for absolutely no reason. Have had tons of people ask, when they find out I work in the field, "my computer did such and such..blah blah blah" I would ask, ok, when did it do that? they would say like 3 months ago. I would say has it done it since? they would say "no", then I would say, then don;t worry about it!

I earn my living in "troubleshooting" "design" and "configuration". My systems and networks do NOT fail. Only ONE system down in 17+ years! (Yeh I a damn proud of that!) many have just "retired", they simple got too old to run the new applications...but they still RUN!

But that is KEY. You can do well IF you have the TALENT to do it. Half the people or more out there get into it because a person MAY make good money in it..but ONLY if they are good.

It can be one of the most frustrating feilds to be in (especially troubleshooting) People would ask "how long will it take to fix?" In some things you can give a time frame..but in others, I can say "It may be 5 min or 5 days...hopefully not 5 weeks or 5 months!" And thats just the way it is.

Will grant you, Cisco is the best networking setup around and has been for years..bar none.

But just because someone has the CCNA doesn;t mean squat. Point in fact, about 8 or 9 months back, I got called in on a project that there was TWO previous CCNA's on. They messed things up so bad, took me almost two weeks to get everything in that network reconfigured properly (8 main servers and 135 workstations, centralized, plus three satelite locations) And the systems have no hickup'd since. Just pointing out, just cause they have the peice of paper, does not make it valuable.

Sumthing....I agree with you so much I 19 yrs. experience in Telecomm/IT Infrastructure design and support as well as A+, Network+, CCNA, CCNP, CNE, CNE 3, CNE 4, MCP, Security+ and a degree in Electronics Engineering. I have found that certs. don't make a good trouble-shooter/design engineer....but they are a little better then just "joe-blow" I got a leatherman's tool and I'll fix it.

And a lot of employers use them as an entry-level qualification tool so that you have at least some type of exposure to hardware and software.

Oh I understand. And should clarify, if a company is willing to pay the tab for the cert(s), then by all means grab them!!! Hell, its FREE then! But I would not waste my own money, because that use to be expensive (not sure what they are charging today for them).

But clearly nothing will replace or overtake talent and experience...because in this field it can drive you nuts even with good amounts of both, because you are dealing with something that can be extremely complex at times. And when you are working for a Fortune 500 company and they have 1,200 users down due to a systems/network crash, you better know your stuff, because your job is guaranteed to be on the line then.

Only about 3 more years for me, then I'm out..retiring. The only computers i want to see are the ones I am having target practice with!