Mcse or ccna
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purple_minion
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They always get you with the prerequisites. All I wanted to do was take advanced mathematics for physics but nooo....
Also might add that if you are going into business certs don't really matter, but they look good to business clients I've heard.
tecmjl1981
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To the OP, it all depends on what you mean by less costly. I have both my MCSE and CCNA and I would say between study guides, labs and tests they came to about the same in price for me to study for on my own.
The MCSE is 7 tests and with most books you buy for your MCSE you can get a free trial of server 2003. I would build 1 powerful computer and run a flavor of virtualization software on it (Microsoft Virtual PC/Server or VMWare Server) 3 windows server 2003 virtual machines and 2 XP (or Vista depending on your OS test) virtual machines
The CCNA is 2 tests, but you will need to build your own lab, now people have said that you can use Boson NetSim, SemSim, or GNS3 (free open source Cisco Simulator) but you need to have smartnet inorder to download valid IOS images. Personally you can get all you need from e-bay.
My CCNA lab was 1 2500 series router, 3x 2600 series routers, and 3x 2900 series switches, and 3 back to back cables to connect them. and if you progress with your Cisco studies (CCNP and CCIE) you can reuse most of the equipment that you get into a different lab. Plus if you have no Cisco experience, it doesn't hurt to see what a router/switch looks like, how it operates and so on. With Cisco study guides, Cisco Press is your friend. The best written certification manuals/study guides around.
These are just my opinions, and if you want any help or have any more questions don't hesitate in asking.
The MCSE is 7 tests and with most books you buy for your MCSE you can get a free trial of server 2003. I would build 1 powerful computer and run a flavor of virtualization software on it (Microsoft Virtual PC/Server or VMWare Server) 3 windows server 2003 virtual machines and 2 XP (or Vista depending on your OS test) virtual machines
The CCNA is 2 tests, but you will need to build your own lab, now people have said that you can use Boson NetSim, SemSim, or GNS3 (free open source Cisco Simulator) but you need to have smartnet inorder to download valid IOS images. Personally you can get all you need from e-bay.
My CCNA lab was 1 2500 series router, 3x 2600 series routers, and 3x 2900 series switches, and 3 back to back cables to connect them. and if you progress with your Cisco studies (CCNP and CCIE) you can reuse most of the equipment that you get into a different lab. Plus if you have no Cisco experience, it doesn't hurt to see what a router/switch looks like, how it operates and so on. With Cisco study guides, Cisco Press is your friend. The best written certification manuals/study guides around.
These are just my opinions, and if you want any help or have any more questions don't hesitate in asking.
cmonova
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cost
Money wise more than likely MCSE would be less money. For any Cisco cert unless you have a job where you get the hands on then training it is rather hard without buying the hardware or online simulations for training.
It also depends on what you want it for. If you are in business for yourself do you see yourself going after "business" clients? If so do you think there would be a greater need for the "MCSE" or "CCNA/CCNP"? In that case I would say MCSE.
If it's for your own personal growth or to market yourself to actually work somewhere then I would sugges this route:
A+
Net+
MCP
CCNA
This way you cover all the bases for most positions. I have always had a hard time hiring anyone that just has say a CCNA or CCNP certification. To me they did the cert due to knowing the value only. But in reality they do not have the necessary skills to actually do the work. If you don't understand "general" networking a CCNA is pretty useless
Hello,
Thinking about going after one of these certs. Can anyone reccomend which one might be the better choice and the less costly? And can they be obtained through home study or do I have to take them at a training center?
Thanks
Money wise more than likely MCSE would be less money. For any Cisco cert unless you have a job where you get the hands on then training it is rather hard without buying the hardware or online simulations for training.
It also depends on what you want it for. If you are in business for yourself do you see yourself going after "business" clients? If so do you think there would be a greater need for the "MCSE" or "CCNA/CCNP"? In that case I would say MCSE.
If it's for your own personal growth or to market yourself to actually work somewhere then I would sugges this route:
A+
Net+
MCP
CCNA
This way you cover all the bases for most positions. I have always had a hard time hiring anyone that just has say a CCNA or CCNP certification. To me they did the cert due to knowing the value only. But in reality they do not have the necessary skills to actually do the work. If you don't understand "general" networking a CCNA is pretty useless
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