CCNA and MCSE?

Question

Hi, I wanted to enroll into CCNA and MCSE, as I am very keen in learning computers. People say that it’s a great certification… But many of my friends are CCNAs and MCSEs but we all are working in the same process/lob’s. In some aspect they do have more knowledge than me, but it does not make much of a difference in the career. What do you say. Or is there any other course you would suggest?
Any reply would be highly appreciated.

Answer 1

Both certifications provide flexibility and some companies are sticklers on 'being certified' in order to hire you but like you said if you are where you are and equal to others in pay that are certified then you are breaking even. The questions you need to look at are:

Do others that have the certs make more than you solely because of it, Where you want to go in the future is it required or make you more desirable, and the last thing is if you really want to do it or could you tap your friends knowledge to get more experience.



Of course the other thing is the money out of your pocket or can you get the current company to pay for the training? If it is out of your pocket, how much, and is it worth the investment compared to the next level $ up if you had it. I am fully MCSE but make less now than I did before certification because of the economy. I have never been able to win in the I.T. field because of the cycles it does. Just look at the market, compare positions, pay and the investment you would need. Good Luck

Answer 2

Candidates have the option of gaining the certification by passing two tests (ICND1 640-822 and ICND2 640-816), or one single test (CCNA 640-802); the two-test option has the advantage of allowing the candidate to focus on certain subjects.[1]



The certification is valid for three years; at that time a CCNA holder must either



re-take the CCNA or ICND exam, or

take and pass an exam for one of the Professional (e.g., CCNP) or Specialist level certifications (excluding the sales specialist exams), or pass the CCIE written exam.

These exams are known by their corresponding numbers. When the curriculum of the exam changes the exam number also changes. The current exam number for CCNA is 640-802 (from 15 Aug 2007). New ICND Part1 (640-822 ICND1) and ICND Part2 (640-816 ICND2) available from 15 Aug 2007. Part 1 by itself will give you a CCENT.



These exams are conducted by authorized test centers at a cost of $125 USD each for the ICND1 or ICND2 exams and $150 USD[2] for the full CCNA exam.



There is also the Cisco Networking Academy, which brings the CCNA and CCNP curricula into traditional educational institutions in over 150 countries.[3] Students enrolled in Cisco Networking Academy can request exam vouchers that allow them to take the retired exam for an extended period of time.[4]



Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (or MCSE) [2] is the best-known and premiere Microsoft certification. It qualifies an individual as being able to analyze the business requirements for information systems solutions, and design and implement the infrastructure required. As of 2007, the MCSE is available for two different product lines; Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, each of which requires a different set of exams.



For the MCSE 2003, candidates must pass six core design exams (Four networking exams, one client operating system and one design exam) and one elective exam, for a total of seven exams. For the MCSE 2000, a candidate needs to pass five Core Exams (Four operating system exams, one design exam) and two electives. For the MCSE NT 4.0 (retired), a candidate needed to pass four Core Exams (Networking Essentials, Windows NT Workstation, Windows NT Server and Windows NT Server in the Enterprise) and two electives.



The topic of these exams include network security, computer networking infrastructure, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and other topics of both general networking interest as well as specific Microsoft products.



There were also specializations available for the MCSE's along different tracks. For 2003 these tracks where: Security, Messaging. To obtain these specializations it was required that you do an associated Elective, design and then an extra core exam.[3] The denotation that is usually used for these on resumes etc is MCSE:Security, and MCSE:Messaging. There were also MCSA specializations.

Answer 3

Hello. The logical thing is to start with the CCNA cert (but you don't state what kind of experience you already have) then find yourself a job then go for your MCSE cert. Read the following...



When Can The MCSE Certification Be Overkill?



http://www.certification-exam-help.com/mcse-certification.html