Value of CCDA? 4

[SteveTheGeek]

All,
I'm a network admin at a relatively small company (under a dozen offices worldwide) currently taking ICND-1&2 in order to get smarter on WAN stuff; the company has been steadily merging and upgrading IT infrastructure lately after a couple very lean years but no one has taken a comprehensive look at WAN connectivity since... well, ever.
I see a lot of discussion here on CCNA and CCNP, but I'm going to be involved in design as much as troubleshooting and it looks like CCDA covers the sort of skills I'm going to need. Is there a reason most people seemingly aren't bothering with CCDA?

-SteveTheGeek
MCSE+I, CNE, A+, and a bunch of other old certs

 

[maczen]

CiscoGuy would be the person for you to talk to.. He has had his CCDA for quite a while now but I believe that most employers look for CCNA/CCNP and basically hands on type certs... Architecture and design are often more a managerial position in most people's eyes... However, CiscoGuy once told me that the CCDA helped him a LOT with a much deeper understanding of network infrastructure in general so I added it to my list.. I personally think that you are definitely pursuing it for the right reason...

I have found no good data online that shows the CCDA/CCDP in regard to money but most surveys seem to omit these certs because the majority of CCDA/CCDP's out there also have other more popular Cisco certs.. (Like CiscoGuy who is also a CCNA/CCAI)...

There is no doubt that if a position became available that required design and implementation of the design of a new network then one of the selling points that you would have for yourself in the interview would be that you have a Cisco Certification specializing in Network Design.. But you would most likely want to be a CCNA/CCNP as well as that is where the implementation comes in.

This is my humble opinion so please take it with a grain of salt. I have been researching the heck out of certs lately and all I know for sure is that I am not sure exactly which direction to go right now.. LoL

Currently looking at:

CCNA (Security, Voice and Wireless) OR
CCNP OR
CCDA OR
JNCIA-ER (Juniper.. This would be followed by more Cisco) OR
Net+/Security+

Alone, I believe that the CCNP would be the most useful tool here but I am in the Navy (Just crossed IT) and have a while to go before I have to worry about job hunting in the civilian world (hopefully)... That said, I can pretty much go in any direction that I want.. I am seriously considering attacking all of the CCNA certs but not if I have to retake the Routing and switching CCNA to do so as I took the older 640-821/640-811 exams.

B Haines
CCNA, FOI

 

[lerdalt]

I've had people recommend that I go for my CCNDA/DP, but looking at the blue print, I'm just not interested at this time. I went down the path of CCNP/IP because it was more related to what I work with on a daily basis.

I do think there is value in all the certs, it's just a matter of what the interest is.

 

[Cluebird]

In the ladder of certifications, design is considered more difficult than implementation so CCDA/CCDP is slightly higher than CCNA/CCNP respectively. To properly design networks you should have sound understanding of what is required for implementing the design, hence most designers get NA/NP first. That said, in industry most companies already have designers (usually well paid) and need to hire more implementers rather than designers. Thus, the CCNA/CCNP tend to get hired more often than CCDA/CCDP.

 

[CiscoGuy33]

SteveTheGeek,

I agree with Cluebird - before you try to secure or design a network it is best to understand how the network works. I would consider CCNA to be the baseline for ANYTHING more in networking!

I got my CCNA first and then had a free test at a Cisco Networkers convention that was coming up so I took about 6 months and put the time into CCDA - it has helped me on the job and in teaching CCNA! Understanding networking at the CCNA and CCDA level has helped me where I work, for me a BS and then masters will help me more then CCNP or CCDP. Each person needs to look at how a cert will help them in the goals they are working towards!

Why do most people not bother with CCDA - I think most figure once they have CCNA after their name the best move is on to CCNP and then CCIE because of the jobs/employment. You will not see a ton of employers looking for CCDA but you will see CCNP and CCIE !!!!!

Hope this helps!


E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[SteveTheGeek]

Thanks for the replies, you've all been very helpful. I just passed the CCENT exam late last week, and have the ICND-2 class scheduled for mid-October. Given that, I'm going to get a couple CCDA books and start getting down to brass tacks on design concepts for the next month, take the ICND-2 class, study for and pass the CCNA exam, then not too much longer after that take the CCDA as well. At that point the at-work project will be starting to take shape and I can decide whether to go further and start on a formal CCNP track or switch over to Microsoft and update my NT4 certs.

 

[SimonDavies]

Having had the CCNA cert in the past I hope I can offer some advice re the MS\Cisco route.

A few years ago I found myself in the position of being able to take the time off to do both the MCSE and CCNP, I scheduled a 3 month period of continued training to accomplish both tasks. Unfortunately all the good will in the world didn't allow for the tonne of information that I would have needed to take in to accomplish that task and in the end I had to look at where I wanted to be certification wise as well as what my work usually entailed.

I decided that due to the nature of my work I would be better served sticking with the MS route rather than diversifying into Cisco as well (by that time my 3 years were up and I hadn't renewed my CCNA), I was spending more time with MS products than Cisco and the lack of Cisco on work on my CV wouldn't inspire people to hire me.

Moving forward to today, I am a consultant working for myself using the skills I got from my 2003 MCSE as well as the experience I have gained over the years. I know that had I gone down the route of getting both the CCNP and the MCSE my career would have suffered because of it (jack of all trades, master of none).

My advice to you would be to decide where direction you want your career to go, if it's down the Cisco route then go down the Cisco route, if it's down the MS route then stop at the CCNA and go down the MS route. It's really very tiring and a lot of hard work to maintain certification in 2 difficult areas.

Simon

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[NettableWalker]

All good advice from people here.

I started in IT a long time ago with a CCNA and then spent many years mainly working with MS servers and very little Cisco work. i then stalled in my career and got tired of servers and desktops and end users. I studied very hard for about 9 months and got a CCNP (and recertified my CCNA) and within a few months was working at a global car manufacturer as a LAN engineer. I've read and studied almost constantly since and now 1 year later I am a technical lead on a global outsourcing project. I earn more than 2x as much as i did in the old MS days, i am happier in my daily life than ever before and i would just say that if you want something, go for it. learn to love the subject. get inside it, become curious. i did a CCDA a few months ago out of curiosity, i learned a fair bit. but it's another cherry on the top of a large pyramid of knowledge. i would say CCNA- CCNP, then anything else you add to that solid base will help you immeasurably.

just my story... so far.

 

[maczen]

I am following a similar path NettableWalker,
I enlisted in the Navy as an AT (Avionics Electronic Technician) and have been doing that for the last couple of years. This was an invaluable experience as I have learned a lot about electrical theory, various signals and frequencies and just a lot of really cool techie stuff. I just crossed to the IT side and am looking forward to that aspect of the Navy and all of the experience there is to gain there. I am just beginning the certification track. I currently possess the CCNA as well as the ETA FOI certs. I am working on the CCNA Security and will be perfectly honest, Cisco did not make this certification easy. It is a completely different animal than the CCNA R&S cert but it is VERY interesting. There is not much difference between a CCNA R&S lab and a CCNA Security lab. Primarily, you just need a server or two as well as an ISR (x8xx) router.. 1801, 1811, 1841, 2801 or even the 851 or 871...

Ultimately, I am hoping to do 20+ years in the Navy then convert to the civilian sector with a Masters and a CCIE (or two.. LoL) as well as 20+ years of IT experience. We will see how this goes but that is the game plan.

B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI