On Thu, 7 Feb 2002, Frederik wrote:
> Following the discussion on certificates going on here, I myself am in no > doubt that they will help you on finding jobs whatsoever.The question I have > is: How can you obtain certificates and probably save money? > I have talked to an admin at our company who is currently trying to get an > MCSE cert, and he told me when learning from the books instead of attending > courses you are able to save a lot of money (only 1500-2000$ for an MCSE).Is > anybody out there who knows how much I would need to spend at least for > certificates (any kind) and give some hints on how to save money on obtaining > them? Especially links in Germany would be very helpful. It depends upon the cert, really. For some things it's absolutely required that you have hands on experience and if you don't have the resources to get that experience then a classroom is going to be your best bet. For common technologies like Microsoft NT/Win2K and Cisco that's probably not going to be a problem, but who is going to have access to a Firewall-1 box that they can just play around with at their leisure? Also, some people learn better in a classroom or with an instructor. Personally, I can read books on most subjects, but sometimes my eyes just glaze over completely. As far as my own personal experience, I have 7 years of experience with Cisco gear and found the CCNA to be a walk in the park. I purchased the Sybex Exam prep book and basically just answered the review section at the end of every chapter. If I had a problem with a section I went back and brushed up on it. The questions in the book were very close to the exam and prepared me for the format well. But it's mostly common knowledge stuff dealing with the ISO model and pretty basic information. Since there was very little Cisco specific information and it covers mostly the building blocks of networking, I could have ready any book that stresses the ISO model and probably done well, but it would not have prepared me for the test structure. My pursuit of the CCNP has not been nearly as easy, but that is to be expected given the differences in format. The CCNA is one very general test while the CCNP is four tests covering very specific areas. With other areas, like firewalls, the concepts are the same across product lines. You've got you packet filters and your application proxies with variations and hybrids here and there. The firewall certification documentation that I've seen deals more with administration and implementation specifics and less with the actual technology. The best way to cut costs that I've found is to find a study group that you can meet with and share materials and experience. Sometimes someone in the group will also have access to equipment and software to get hand on experience that you might not normally get. Regards, -- Joseph W. Shaw II - CCNA Former Sr. Specialist: Information Security @ Enron Broadband Services. Please hire me before I resort to a life of crime, panhandling, or Amway.
