The CCNA is NOT an Entry Level I.T. Certification

Cisco CCNA certification is not an entry-level IT certification so stop acting like it is stop pretending like it is and stop telling people that it is yes I know this video is going to cause a ton of controversy and I've already gone through this on LinkedIn I will put the link to that in the description below where I asked if you had the choice between choosing somebody with a Cisco CCNA certification or the CompTIA A+ certification which person would you choose just based off the certification alone and there was tons of comments I think I've had over like 50 comments on that over 9000 views for that post and of course it was mixed it was a big mixture there majority of the people said that they wouldn't choose the person with the CCNA and there's many reasons for that I'm not discrediting the CCNA one bit the CCNA is an extremely valid important and amazing certification that you can get but if somebody is coming to you and asking you hey what certification should I get if I'm looking to get in IT I'm looking to get into an entry-level job what's the best certification it's not the CCNA it's an intermediate to advanced certification so there's nothing about that that is friendly to new people who are looking to get in IT it's a great certification to have yes it is only specifically geared towards Cisco Networking and as you probably already know the world of IT is vast it's huge and there's so much to be learned 99% of the time as an entry-level IT professional you will never touch a Cisco switch you will never touch the network that you will be working in 99% of the time and I could tell you from my personal experience from entry-level to mid-level to senior level positions that I've held I was not allowed to touch the network we had network administrator's for a reason that was their job they handled that and as the positions I was in as not a network administrator didn't need to know anything about the networks now I did because I that on my own time and I did held other positions where I did have to have some of the Cisco knowledge to configure a VLAN or configure a port on a switch very basic stuff right stuff that really you could learn and obtain the knowledge from just by watching a YouTube video and at the end of the day when it all comes down to it you don't even need a certification to work in i.t to get an entry-level job there have been plenty of people who have been hired with no certification no degree and no experience because as entry-level positions are concerned you will learn everything that you need to know getting into it right they're gonna teach you everything you need to know about entry-level IT and having a Cisco CCNA yeah while it looks good any other certification looks just as good I assure you of that and if you go and look out on indeed.com or any other job site and search for top t a+ certification for instance you're gonna find thousands of jobs requiring you have that certification and yeah you're gonna find a ton of other jobs requesting the CCNA certification as well majority of the time they're gonna be for positions that are more advanced than entry-level or it's going to be for an entry level networking position and many times you know you can obtain these entry-level jobs in networking obtaining a CCNA but I mean those are few and far between and I know I'm gonna get comments from people like I I did it I was able to do it congratulations and good for you anything is possible in this field anything and everything it's all about you like at the end of the day like again like it's it's you the person behind the screen who's watching this video if you have the aptitude the personality the enthusiasm met that specific job is looking for you're gonna get hired doesn't matter what certification you have it's an entry-level position if you understand that like entry-level position means you don't need experience like you don't need to have certifications you don't need to have a degree because you learn everything on the job so yeah while you could get noticed maybe slightly more for having a CCNA ultimately it doesn't matter who cares that you have a CCNA I don't care I'm not gonna hire somebody just cuz I have a CCNA it doesn't tell me anything about the knowledge that they have to do an entry-level IT job so you just throw it out the window I'm gonna hire somebody because I like them because they have the enthusiasm the the thought process to do whatever it takes to do entry-level things you know fix a printer change somebody's password all the things that you learn on the job right so I'm not discrediting the CCNA by any means I'm not telling you that it's a bad certification I'm telling you that it's not an entry-level certification which leads to like people saying well I'm gonna choose somebody with a CCNA because it's more advanced certification it shows that they're capable of learning this material and and passing an exam right well it's still it then the date doesn't show you that they have any knowledge right I would trust somebody more with the A+ certification because that certification shows you the fundamental knowledge of entry-level IT it's specifically designed for this like they developed the A+ with entry-level IT jobs in mind the CCNA they didn't so having this knowledge of the CCNA could be completely useless to you and you might find that after somebody tells you to go out and get your CCNA you just hate networking you know yeah I don't want such a network for the rest of my life you don't like it I completely understand that's cool go get something like an A+ or an MTA Microsoft technology associate certification even an MCSA the fundamental knowledge that you're gonna learn from those types of certifications alone are going to better help you in an entry-level job then a CCNA will ever help you in an entry-level job and people are going to say well getting an A+ is easier yeah it's easier right it's many people say this all the time it's an easier certification to obtain but you know what it opens up the door even further for you getting an IT so if you are still looking to get your CCNA after you've obtained your a plus go get your CCNA and advance your career in networking or revenge your career wherever the hell it is that you're looking to go it's not something that should be considered as entry-level it's not thing that people should be saying go get this for your certification and the reason I bring this hall up the reason why this even exists right now this whole video that I'm doing right now is because in one of the Facebook groups I'm part of somebody posted a video that some other youtuber did where he said always get your CCNA for your first certification never get a CompTIA certification but at the end of the day you don't have the required skills and experience and knowledge that somebody with an A+ would have and I know the right this is totally going to offend you that I'm saying this and I'm so completely sorry not really there's no reason why somebody should be getting their CCNA as their first IT certification unless I guess if they really want to get a networking job which again it's very rare that somebody is their first IT job gets any type of networking position it happens yes everything can happen and like I said you don't even have to have an IT certification to get into IT you only have to have a degree to work in IT and many times you're gonna find you don't even have to have experience because it's all about you yes you the person behind the screen right now if you have the ability to shine through in an interview you can land a position it's possible there have been many people who have landed IT jobs with no certifications no degrees no experience and hey they're working an IT and we should know nobody is sponsoring me in this video CompTIA has absolutely no part of the cisco no part of this microsoft no part of this nobody else I'm sponsoring this video Zak from IT career questions is telling you what's up because I think it's a disservice to entry-level IT to tell people to get the CCNA and I know you guys are gonna flame me in the comments and they're gonna have many people supporting me in the comments but I welcome each and every one of you to share your opinion so don't just say that's wrong you're you're wrong you're an idiot bla bla bla bla bla tell me why tell us why tell the community why because it's it's silly to get people involved in something that's so advanced when they don't need it they don't even need it unless they want to get in the networking it's absolutely ridiculous to tell them to get a CCNA and you should know this by now you should understand this you should understand where I'm coming from and sharing this my thoughts right and sharing my opinion you don't need it and to people out there again saying CompTIA certifications are useless you're wrong you're absolutely wrong you go out on any job site and search for CompTIA certifications and thousands of people thousands of employers are looking for people who are CompTIA certified and the knowledge that you learn it's geared toward entry-level period and it's easier to get so why not introduce somebody to IT at a level that is better understandable to them then you know tango get your CCNA which is honestly it's complex right that is a complex certification and yes anybody I said this before say it a million freaking times anybody can go out and study for a certification and pass the exam some people are amazing at taking tests some people are just amazing at retaining knowledge to go and pass these exams it's great wonderful good for you you still don't have the required experience even sometimes the knowledge that it takes to do some of these jobs because as a new person IT experiences King experience far outweighs anything else as far as this field goes because what you're gonna find what you're going to learn is that every single IT job that you could potentially go to it's so completely different from one another that every time you set foot into a new environment they're going to teach you how they do things what you need to know in their specific way now you're gonna think when you learn some things about networking that every single organization has their network set up the same right wrong you're gonna think that everybody has their Active Directory for instance set up the same wrong or group policy or a CCM or whatever the case may be everybody does things differently and learning the knowledge on the job is what's going to help you the most so getting into entry-level IT again don't need a certification don't need a degree don't need an experience I know broken record right you can get your foot in the door with anything go get an I tell certification go get your comp TI TF plus certification go get a security plus certification help go get a pen test plus certification go get your EC Council's ceh certification they're not sponsoring this that's just ironic right but it's just going to help you get noticed period any certification is going to help you get noticed again goes back to you know people just say like you know obtaining the CCNA certification shows that you have this aptitude to learn this more advanced material well sure I respect that I understand that and as a matter of fact there's plenty of other youtubers out there and plenty of other people that I respect and admire and Duan lightfoot is one of these people who tell people get your CCNA I respect his opinion I understand where he's coming from I'm not saying he's wrong I'm just saying I think there's better options out there and I'm not trying to start anything with him or anybody else I'm just trying to say I personally feel like telling people to do this to go down that route isn't necessary it's not what people should be doing to get their foot in the door I mean again going back you don't need anything just go apply for any freaking entry-level IT job I know that all they want R experience they want this they want that well at the end of the day they're gonna teach you everything anyway I've said this if I said it once I said it twice I said it a thousand times by now I just want to help people get into IT I want to help people and give them the best knowledge that they can possibly get to get their foot into the door and once you get your foot in the door from there you can decide where it is you want to go whether you want to get into security whether you want to get a networking system administration doesn't matter like get your foot in the door and figure out the rest from there obtaining something like an CompTIA certification which again by all accounts is so much easier than any other certification out there it's a check mark on a box that helps you get noticed so obtain that study for the CompTIA A+ certification in six weeks and go pass it you're more than likely not going to study from the CCNA in six weeks and pass it while some people can like we've said that's just not as likely so the point of this video is helping you is sharing some knowledge in this telling people to stop really being toxic to the new community of IT professionals because that's not the route to go guys that's really not and again you're gonna tell me I'm wrong you're a idiot and all these other things sorry for all the language very passionate about this because I want people to step foot into this field and have the best possible experience that they can and while again that's I said I said this you know obtaining a CCNA certification for your search first certification is great it it can be wonderful for you it still doesn't show that you have anything other than piece of paper right like that piece paper anybody can obtain a piece of paper I don't piece of paper we're out there right sorry right right right read their it security plus certification just a piece of paper it's me it's gonna be me that that gets me the job because I have amazing wonderful personality and I could talk to people and I can communicate my thought process to people and I can explain things to people that they understand not using stupid tech terms 24/7 actually explain things to people in a way that they understand it and communicate with people in ways that they appreciate right there's there's so many other barriers that you should be looking at to a you know to to gain more expertise from than just obtaining certifications you know there there's just a lot so I encourage you guys to go out unlinked in read this post read all the comments that you know were left there there's a lot of great opinions that were shared there whether it's me telling you twon lightfoot network chuck IT tester or Bill Gates himself telling you you know this is the best route for you ultimately like we don't know like we can't tell you for sure because every single employer out there is looking for something different and just because you have one of these certifications doesn't mean that that's why you got the job and I know people are gonna be out there well like I didn't get a job until I got the CCNA certification I went through 17 job interviews and it wasn't until I obtained my CCNA that I got my first job well guess what maybe it was the 17 interviews that you went through before where you were crafting your interview experience that's what helped you get the job not a piece of paper right like truth and depending on your area it that's a huge part of picking the right certification if you're looking in your area and you see that many jobs are requiring a CCNA well yeah sure maybe a CCNA could be right for you if you see that it's all across the board I'm still gonna say go take your A+ and at the end of the day I'm always going to tell you to go take your A+ for your first certification if you're looking to get into IT the knowledge that you obtain from that I think far outweighs the CCNA when it comes to entry-level IT work that's very important that you understand what I just said the A+ far outweighs whatever you will learn on the CCNA when it comes to entry-level IT work 99% of the time you will never touch a network in an entry-level IT position unless it's a entry level networking position I hope you understand this I hope this gets through to your head because it's very important that you understand before you start flaming me in the comments again not trying to start any trouble with anybody not trying to be an not trying to tell anybody that's wrong not trying to tell anybody that they're right I'm just trying to share knowledge that I think will help people break into this field in the best possible way the easiest possible way and ultimately help them lead to a successful IT career again if you want your CCNA go out and get it don't let me stop you don't let anybody stop you but never tell somebody to get their CCNA for their first certification because I think there's a better option out there yeah not telling you're wrong for telling somebody to get their CCNA first or first certification I just think there's better options because I think the other certifications help round out the knowledge a little bit better and again easier more obtainable it still helps you get noticed because thousands of employers look for people with the CompTIA certifications that's all I got for this video I know I'm gonna piss you off or maybe I'm gonna make you happy maybe I'm gonna have tons of people agreeing with me either way I'm just trying to help and if you have something to share leave it in the comments but give an explanation for the love of everything in this world share your experience share your knowledge with the community because this channel primarily targets affects and reaches people who are brand new to IT so that's it you guys have something to say you know what to do that's all I got in today's video as always take it easy sorry for swearing

Channel: I.T. Career Questions

Views: 120,180

Keywords: IT Career Questions, cyber security, it careers, technology, information technology

Id: VI8Lv5ilO34

Length: 18min 56sec (1136 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 30 2019