Last night, I started work on the "Network Addressing and Basic Troubleshooting" online course over at the Cisco Networking Academy.
In a previous post, I was somewhat leery about starting the online course. My thinking is/was to drop the online courses over at the Cisco Networking Academy and re-start studying for Cisco's CCNA certification.
The main issue(s) is that the CCNA certification possesses high recognition. It is an IT certifcation that is in high demand by various organizations that use a computer network. Plus, the rewards of having the CCNA certification on your resume and on your LinkedIn profile are very high indeed. The CCNA certification will instantly elevate your job application. Let me put it another way. You shouldn't have any problems finding a good paying IT job once you have the CCNA certification. If you cannot find work with a CCNA certification on your resume, then you might be doing something wrong or you shouldn't be looking for an IT job.
On the downside, studying for the CCNA certification requires a H-U-G-E amount of time and dedication to complete.
On the other hand, the online courses available over at the Cisco Network Academy are supposed to take less time and effort to complete. Plus, you can add the course completion badge to your LinkedIn profile and resume as soon as the course is completed. According to the Cisco Networking Academy, once you complete the four basic networking courses that are available, you are then eligible to take the certification exam for the CCST certification in Networking.
Cisco also has a CCST certification available for cyber security operations. Yes, the CCST certification in cyber security operations is also on my To Do List. Interestingly, some of the networking online courses are pre-requisites for the CCST in cyber security operations.
For now, my goal is to get an entry-level position in either networking or cyber security operations by completing these online courses available from the Cisco Networking Academy.
I really haven't decided on whether to take the CCST certification exam(s).
That said, the CCST certification is meant by Cisco to be an entry-level certification to either the CCNA certification or Cisco's own cyber security certification.
Anyway, instead of dithering, I am plowing forward with the online courses from the Cisco Networking Academy.
After all, the online courses from the Cisco Networking Academy, including Packet Tracer, are FREE.
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