Question : Changing carreer from Programming to Networking, thinking about CCNA or MCSE

Hi All,

I'm feed up with programming/web development and was thinking about going into the networking side. I was wondering about the job market for networking/admin type of stuff. I was wondering which certification I should get, such as CCNA, MCSE and other related stuff. Which certification is in demand now?

Thanks for the input,
Beginner

Answer : Changing carreer from Programming to Networking, thinking about CCNA or MCSE

Hi,

If your thinking about getting into the networking side of things both certifications mentioned are in demand at the moment. The main difference being that if you go for the MCSE route it will lead to you most likely going to work within a company which is heavily reliant on Microsoft technologies, this in turn will deprive you of working with all other technologies related to networking in my opinion (e.g Linux, Apache etc.).

The CCNA is a good starting point for networking as a the technology is widely used today.As is the certification.

Perhaps the best path I could suggest would probably be to start with 1 or 2 vendor neutral certification such as Comptia's Network+ and Server+. Once you have those attained (which shouldnt take long depending on your current level of profeciency) you could move on to the CCNA\CCNP\CCIE path. After you have achieved those you will have a good foundation and technical knowledge of networking and can then decide which direction to take your career (e.g Microsoft , Linux etc. specialisation).

Hope this helps.