Cisco’s New Associate Level: CCENT Certification

New Entry: Jerry Seinfeld + Microsoft = Apple Killer? http://tinyurl.com/59zw2k [...]

Weblog
About
Archives
Subscribe

Cisco’s New Associate Level: CCENT Certification

Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 09/26/07 at 03:09:54 pm

I found out that Cisco Systems launched a new certification this past summer called the CCENT or Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician. The CCENT certification is designed as an entry point that’s at the half-way mark of the CCNA education. The neat part about how they designed the CCENT is it’s just the ICND1 portion of the CCNA course so you can essentially get two pieces of paper instead of one.

I wish they had this going when I was doing my CCNA training as I could have gotten a jump into the industry much quicker out of High School. I’ve learned over the last couple years that unless you get in on an internship or you’re just getting out of college with a 2 or 4 year degree that it really isn’t easy to get into a lucrative IT job. While I may have achieved that goal now, having something to show for myself earlier in the game would have made it much easier.

The new associate level will definitely make it easier for students who might have an interest in a networking career and want to easily move up in their Cisco training. I say this because the problem with most High Schools that offer Cisco Networking Academy courses is that they only offer the ICND1 portion of the CCNA and the rest has to be taken in a college or IT workshop environment. At least that was my personal experience.

I ordered the new Official Exam Certification Library 3rd Edition (CCNA Exam 640-802) that was released in August. I figure I could use the newest edition since mine is a few years old (I think it was printed in 2001, ick). Also, I just might look into taking the exam for the CCENT. Even if it’s a step backwards it would be nice to have another Cisco certification to add to my resume especially if I plan to go for the CCNP in the next couple years.

I’d be interested to know if High Schools / PSEO or entry level INT courses at the local community colleges and such are shifting focus towards getting students prepared for the CCENT as it may be a more realistic starting point.