mcsa or ccna ?

[mfg]

I'm in a quandry here. I have completed my A+ and Network+ and am considering which way to go.

Should I follow a Cisco track or go the Micrsoft route?

I know I can use my two present certifications towards MCSA but that isn't a driving force if Cisco is better.

(A little background, I've serviced for copiers up to and including Digital Color, the RIPS (computers) that drive them; am now looking to forward myself in this rapidly changing field. I seek the knowledge to help with this and/or possibly lift me out of the hardware quagmire I am in.)

[desmocat]

I would lean more towards the Microsoft way, because the WAN segment is still absolutely dismal at this point in time.
This(WAN) is more geared towards the Cisco end, and you will be fighting against people with CCIEs, and those with quite a few years real world experience for jobs.
There was an article in my local paper Sunday about VPs from Nortel working at Home Depot for 10 bucks an hour.
If that ain't tough times, I don't know what is..

The days of just having a cert or several of them and landing a job are gone for a long time, if not forever.
They are most useful for help in determining a choice between 2 equally qualified people for a job, and having them will give you an advantage over someone who doesn't.
Hands on, real world experience is king right now, so look for that if you can, while going after whichever cert you choose.

Also, the pendulum has swung back in favor of a BS or higher degree, away from 2~3 years ago when technical certs carried as much or more weight as a degree.


Narrow focus specialization is on the way out in my opinion, companies are now looking for people that can basically handle everything, from the networking, to the desktop support aspect, as well as knowing a little programming or database management skills.
IT project management seems to be a pretty new but increasingly sought after skill as of late, it is being offered in some of the better online Uni's such as Devry.

Having a degree in this will be good, because it shows you have the know how to see a project from start to finish and by doing so, you will more than likely have some good experience with all aspects of the project as mentioned above.

I have a CCNA as well as an A+ cert, and I am still wanting to get into the IT field full time. I will not give up, but realize that in theses days, it might be a long tough road ahead.

Sorry to paint such a bleak picture, but things are still bad and it looks to be a while longer before they open up again.

[SeanC]

Both certifications are good. It just depends what you want to do though. If you want to become a Cisco technician being able to diagnose and fix problems on any of their products then that's the way to go. The networking knowledge can also be applied to other networking technology.

Microsoft is also good, IF you want to be a Microsoft person. The way things seem to be going with Linux taking over the back end of networks (e-mail, web, FTP servers, etc...) an MCSE is getting to be worth less and less (IMO) because there isn't much focus on the desktop OS's.

I've found I know more about the Windows desktop OS's then some MCSEs. Scary thought.

Now I'm not trying to persuade you to go the Cisco route because there are the negatives that Desmocat mentioned.

Clear as mud?

Sean

[Darthgary]

I took Cisco semmester 1, 2 and 3, but did not get around to 4. It did not have much to do WAN at all actually, the WAN part was more towards summester 4 which I did not get into yet.

They are both good, I prefer CISCO