CCNA.........CCIE

[ZeroCool]

Hey I've just bought a book called CCNA jumpstart and seriously thinking about following through all the way to CCIE. I this really something in demand (a good career choice) or should I stick with JAVA programming?

[Ghost_Hacker]

Hmmmmm...That's a hard one, as both are good choices. The questions you might ask yourself is "do I have more networking knowledge or programming knowledge?" and " which do I enjoy most?".

If its just a "show me the money" thing. Then CCIE is proably the better choice right now. These folks, with the experience to go with it,can demand six figure incomes. Don't quote me on this but I belive JAVA developers are pulling in around 75K to 90K based on experience.As a JAVA developer you may also want to keep an eye on the demand for C# skills.


Hope this helps

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Comment heard from a Klingon programmer.

"Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!"

[ZeroCool]

Thanks for in insight.

[Ass3mbler]

Did someone rent the movie "Hackers"?

Originally posted by ZeroCool:
Hey I've just bought a book called CCNA jumpstart and seriously thinking about following through all the way to CCIE. I this really something in demand (a good career choice) or should I stick with JAVA programming?

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Assembler,

Bow before me for I am r00t

[Ken Thomas]

I just completed the first semester of the CISCO Acadamy curriculum at the local JR College here, and I have had the CCNA JumpStart book for several months. I've spent a lot of time in that book. I also have Todd Lammle's CCNA Certification Kit which consists of his book and a virtual lab. I can't say anything about the virtual lab because I've not actually gotten into it. As for the book, it is excellent. I use Lammle's book to supplement the studies in the CISCO class studies. The ISBN for the book is 0-7821-2647-2 and it is available from amazon.com and other book outlets, both on line and off line.

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"If you don't stretch and grow, your 'status quo'."

[This message has been edited by Ken Thomas (edited 12-19-2001).]

[Blue Vitriol]

I am unfarmilliar with java programming but can say that the CCIE is about as close to ucorruptable as certs get.

Many certs are losing value because people gain them without any real knowledge or experiance. The CCIE puts you up against a board of your peers. 90% of all people who take the test and lab fail reguardless of how many times they take it.

If your a CCIE you are the real deal and basically in the position to demand what you want, where you work, how many hours, what your salary is...

I met a CCIE once. His e-mail was forwarded to his pager and once he passed and they entered him into the database he recieved eight job offers from the time he left the lab till he got to his car in the parking lot. This was early in 2001 however before the economy fell down.

While it does not make you an instant millionare or grant you preternatuaral powers being a CCIE is one of the best positions to be in if you are into networking.

Blue Vitriol

[jsk2315]

I recommend the CCIE path (kinda biased since I am a CCNA and workingon the CCNP at the moment). It basically comes down to which you most enjoy: networking or programming. If you have no preference, it comes down to money....

A good Java programmer will make about $75-90k/yr. A CCNA can expect $40k+, a CCNP can pull $60k+, and a CCIE (Doctorate of Networking) commands at least $110k.

Good Luck!

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CCNA, CIW, iNet+, Network+, A+, RCE