How to Get The CCNA Certification
Posted by ccnaguy
CCNA stands for certified Cisco network associate. CCNA certification is one of the most respected associate level certifications in the IT industry. Having CCNA certification can certainly open many doors for someone including allowing that person to gain entrance into the career field of professional networking. However, passing the exam to gain CCNA certification isn’t exactly easy.
First, you need to prepare yourself mentally for this endeavor. Gaining CCNA certification is no easy chore. It will take a lot of dedication, hard work, and time. First, decide exactly why you want certification. You must also decide if that reason is worth what you will have to sacrifice to achieve this goal. If you do you believe you have the drive to do so, you will need to spend the next three to six months preparing for the exam.
Due to the fact it will take a lot of hard work, you will need to sacrifice a good deal of your free time. This can have a negative impact on your social life. However, if you believe it is worth the effort, you should forge ahead.
The next step is to obtain proper study materials. This part of the task may be slightly confusing. There are a lot of books, study guides, simulators, and so forth on the market. However, you will certainly need to obtain a few CCNA books to help you study properly.
The CCNA books published by Cisco Press are more than likely the best study materials you can find. You should at least obtain two books by the author, Wendell Odom, named ICND and INTR. These books contain information you need to know for the exam. Better yet, they were both written to be readable by new comers to networking.
You should also purchase a simulator. You need one so you can build up your confidence to the point you feel like you know what you’re doing. A simulator computer program will work best. An alternative is using real equipment. However, that can be prohibitively expensive so you should probably stick to a simulator. If you need help while performing simulations, there are specific forums for Cisco certification where you can ask for help.
Now you will need to begin studying. This can be quite difficult to dive into as a complete newcomer. Knowing binary math and subnetting can be helpful to giving you one leg up on the material. It is perhaps a good idea to read the study books you purchased through once to just get an idea of what they are about. When you read through them a second time, you can try to really get a good grasp on the material. Use the CD-ROMs that came with the books to help you study and practice possible exam questions.
Next, you should actually schedule the exam. Schedule it well in advance. This will help give you a goal that will provide you with the motivation to keep studying. Go back over all the material and study it again until you know it forwards and backwards. If you keep cramming until the exam date, there will be a good chance that you will pass the exam.
Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!
Will Getting the CCNA Certification Help With Your Career?
Posted by ccnaguy
Today’s modern business world relies more on technology than ever before. This reliance has placed educational emphasis on areas that have been largely ignored in the past. Computer networking is one of the areas that is rapidly becoming compulsory knowledge for anyone desiring a solid career in the modern world. While adding pressure, this new emphasis is also creating opportunity for those wise enough to shore up any holes in their educational record. The CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is one piece of certification that more businesses are looking for every day.
Technology Jobs
High level technology positions are unique in the business world because they generally require both a secondary degree and tech-specific certifications. One of the ironies of the requirement is that most tech department managers could not care less about the degree. This narrow field requires specialized knowledge in the task at hand. Such knowledge can only be demonstrated by applicants who have achieved tech-specific certifications. While it is theoretically possible to study CCNA books to develop a complete understanding of the subject, it is rare for someone to demonstrate complete understanding without a formal class.
Being CCNA certified demonstrates to the hiring decision maker that the candidate for a position has learned and been tested on the knowledge needed to excel in the department. Someone who has studied CCNA books but not actually achieved certification could be every bit as qualified as another candidate who has actually gained certification, but the company, when choosing between complete strangers, will always give the nod to the certified candidate. Given the choices of hiring a candidate who may or may not be qualified and someone with a paper stating that they have been tested and demonstrated their qualification, it should be no surprise that they prefer to choose a known quantity. Technology jobs, unlike many other areas of a business tend to drop new hires immediately into their work with little or no additional training. Because of this, they must choose candidates that they are confident already possess the knowledge to successfully do the work.
Non-Technology Jobs
For modern business, communication is more important than ever before. Within an office, the most common method of communication is sending data through the computer network. Even when it is not a requirement of the job, CCNA certification is an advantage similar to being able to speak a foreign language. The competitive advantage of certification exists for two reasons – saving money today and being versatile for tomorrow.
A large portion of tech support time is spend fixing problems caused by end users who are unfamiliar with the technology they work with. For a company choosing between candidates, the non-certified candidate immediately represents a larger cost to the company than the certified one because the odds of the certified person creating downtime and tying up tech support resources through ignorance are far smaller.
While it many not be a job requirement at the time of hire, no one can predict what skills will be needed down the road. The strongest companies are able to evolve with changing needs. Hiring employees with the broadest skill set possible maximizes this versatility.
Whether it is a technology career or not, the bottom line is that getting the CCNA certification will always help with a career.
Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!
