CCNA or MCSE

[dazzaboy]

Hi all,

I'm a regular in the PC h'ware threads but have never entered into discussions in the certification threads, erm... until now.

Ok, in a few months time I will have the opportunity of taking either the full CCNA or MCSE courses and just wondered which one will give me the best career options at the end.

I know they are completely different angles of certification but just wondered if anyone can offer any advice here?

I am based in England btw.

Thanks,

DaZZaBoY

 

[gwildfire]

Well first off as you said completely different fields, but here goes anyhow.

CCNA is a very good Cert to hold, as your in the UK, one thing there is, plenty of jobs for a Cisco Guru. Just go to

http://www.jobserve.com

and put in CCNA or CCNP. Like most things experience is the Key though! You can't expect to do one Cert and earn £35K! CCNA is better is you want to go down the networking/ISP type route.

MCSE lost a bit of value a few years back, but has worked its way back to having some Kudos in the IT World. This Cert requires 7 Exams Vs CCNA 1 (or 2 for the 2 Exam Option)

It is hard to compare these Ive done a couple of MCP certs and found them easy (please dont flame me for saying this) and have been no use to me in the Networking World.



Visit

http://www.Cisco-Engineer.com

for free Cisco rack access.

 

[dazzaboy]

Thx for the reply.

The more I think about it, the more I'm swaying to the CCNA route anyway. Plus, the previous tutor I had for earlier IT quals is running the CCNA so that's another bonus. ;o)

Cheers.

 

[iolair]

Having worked on and earned Novell's CNE, Microsoft's MCP, Sun's SCSA, and Cisco's CCNA, I can tell you that the CCNA and the Sun certs carry much more weight in the US than the Microsoft Cert. Since Netware is dying out over here, there's not much call for it anymore, but a few years ago, it would have been equal to the Cisco CCIE. From testing experience, the Novell and Cisco tests seemed the toughest, and, imho, the most worthy. One important question you should ask yourself is, What do I enjoy doing the most?

Iolair MacWalter

Iolair MacWalter
Director of IT