Should I try to get certified in computer networking?

Question

I have no other experience with computer networking so I am wondering if this is a wise choice. It's an 8hr class and in the class details it says "must have some experience with networking." What do you guys think? How hard can it really be?

Answer 1

Dude, you say you have no experience with networking but the course says you MUST have this. You will not be able to be certified after an 8 hour class if you have no experience. Do you know what a subnet is? Do you know many subnets there are in the address 192.168.1.0 if the subnet mask is 255.255.255.224 ? That alone takes some folks 8 hours to learn. If you don't know then don't go to this 8 hour certification prep course, instead take some intro courses, such as the Cisco courses that another poster mentioned.

Answer 2

I would go for it! I am a retired Network and Systems Admin from the New Mexico State Police. I can tell you from experience that knowledge and experience will only get you so far. Get the paper that SAYS you know it! That makes a big difference in getting hired! Most of those doing the hiring don't necessarily have the experience and knowledge so they value the piece of paper more than the resume with a list of experience! An 8 hour class is nothing. When you complete it, continue getting all the certifications you can acquire! Go for your Cisco Certified Network Engineer if networking is where you want to go. If you want to do server administration, then get the networking basics and get your MCSE. These sheepskins are more valuable to you than the time and money you will "invest" in obtaining them! Then go out and back up your paperwork with enough experience to actually do the job!

Answer 3

You'd be surprised, some of the concepts (like subnetting) don't fit into your head easily as a beginner.

A CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) course is a basic networking certificate and it's 5 days long, Cisco have started running an introduction course to that because people with no experience were struggling with it.

There's far more to networking than you think. It's an excellent career though and one which will keep you employable for a long time.

Answer 4

well if you like to play around with networking gear then you should.if you dont know what a router is then maybe not,this is stuff that u would learn but because of the time and money required in learning networking it mite not be a good idea if you cant connect your own pc to the moden in your house,and trouble shoot your connection.There is a lot of trouble shooting involved with networking,and also router programming.if i were u and u are thinking about getting into networking i would get a good book and start reading it.if u can understand what u are reading then spend 10 buck on e bay and get a cisco 2500 router
connect it and play around a bit.if after that it looks like something u would like to do then go for it.It's a smaller loss getting a 10 dollar router and not liking it then enrolling in a school and getting a 10 thousand dollar bill

Answer 5

Hi, I am a network engineer and I have network certifications as well. I highly recommend that you do take this class, information Technology is a hot market and very rewarding. It has work well for me, I recommend that you go to cisco academy which is available at high school level or college level. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Networking is a advanced technology that requires many years of experience along with many certifications and a extreme understanding of abstract concepts relating to binary, hexdecimal and data technology.