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#254

Jeff Roe (User)

Fresh Boarder

Posts: 5

Which way do I go... 3 Years ago

Karma: 0

Greetings all...

I am somewhat new to networking and have decided to take the plunge and go for my CCNA, for starters.
I was planning on registering for the CCNA course offered by the local community college which will run from July until late Feb '11 (at a substantial cost, i can assure you) but since finding this site and it's insurmountable wealth of knowledge (and cool hardware)I'm wondering if my money wouldn't be better spent with the hands on knowledge gained from one of the many kits you offer. I, like most people here, learn more from "hands on" but I don't want to cheat myself out of anything.
I don't think the course offered is a "Cisco recognized" course (I.E. - not from the Cisco Networking Academy) and let's face it, the kits offered here are a lot more affordable than the class.

What should I do...?

Thanks...

Jeff

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#256

CiscoKits Admin (User)

Administrator

Posts: 270

Re:Which way do I go... 3 Years ago

Karma: 7

Hi,

All you points are excellent and right on with how many people think. What I have foudn is the Cisco CCNA certification is a great certification as a compliment to their current skills. So usually the person going after a CCNA certification has a Microsoft or other certification already. I think that is the perfect student to self study the Cisco CCNA certifcation for all the points you mentioned such as costs, time, hands-on, etc.

So if you have really no computer experience such as Microsoft, +/Net+ or such...a class would be a better solution for you. But if you have a base understanding of TCP/IP and also you have some computer networking certification...then I really think the self study way with hardware is the way to go as it is much cheaper, you can do it at your pace, you own the equipment and can train whenever you want...and it is a good excuse to get away from the husband/wife and kids!

Bob

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#258

Jeff Roe (User)

Fresh Boarder

Posts: 5

Re:Which way do I go... 3 Years ago

Karma: 0

Hey Bob, thanks for the reply...

While I don't have any certifications, I do have a good understanding of TCP/IP, networking basics as well as cabling and terminations.
I worked for years with a voice/data contractor before getting a job with a school district as desktop/network support. That was followed by a year with a telecom contractor doing system installs and troubleshooting and even took a 2 day class on one of the first VoIP systems from 3Com. The work kinda dried up after that and I wound up changing fields and now work for the airlines but i've always kept up with the changes in technology.
It sounds like the classes are the way to go and possibly suppliment that with hands on lab work at home.

Thanks...

Jeff

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#259

CiscoKits Admin (User)

Administrator

Posts: 270

Re:Which way do I go... 3 Years ago

Karma: 7

Hi,

You do seem to have a lot of hands on experience which will be very helpful. The one other way you can approach it before dropping a large amount of money on a class is to ge thte CBT video with the kit. For $50 you get 22 hours of lecture/instruction. In my opinion, it is an awesome value when you compare that the videos normally sell for $200 a pop. We just have a special contract with Palestra Training when we bundle them in our kits.

That may be a good way for you to go if you do realy understand TCP/IP. For those that really don't, at the beginning stages they sometimes need to have an instructor they can easily ask questions so the instructor can whiteboard it.

I hope that helps.

Bob

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