Cisco qualifications ain't what they used to be

The Link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/25726.html

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Traditionally, Cisco is the best manufacturer certification to have under one's belt, so far as networking salaries are concerned.

But, alas, the gravy train is shuddering to a halt, with weak telecoms and networking equipment markets, and the sheer popularity of Cisco certification, meaning that demand no longer outstrips supply.

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Didn’t a similar thing happen to MCSE?

I'm currently working towards my CCNA so this caused me a little concern after first reading this. Then I remembered that certs and more or less just for getting your foot in the door so you have a chance to prove you’re self.

If anyone has an opinion on this I want to here it.

Holy S*it 700 post all ready. Seems like just yesterday I had my newbie tag on. :)

Well as a Cisco Certified Network Associate and Network Professional, I say I share your fears. I still have two years of college left, so I won't really be able to utilize those certifications to get more advanced positions, and I'm certainly worried about the market share that Cisco has. Fortunately, while the entry level certification (CCNA) is starting to get flooded, CCNPs are still fewer and farther between, and there are still only a few thousand CCIEs in the entire world. Bottom line is you can't rely on one cert to get the job like you used to. Look into many of them (I'm looking at MCSE and/or CISSP), and get the right combination for the jobs you are interested in.

Basically, your certifications and level of certifications should indicate to your possible employer what kind of job status you are looking for. For instance, if I was looking to be a NOC help desk person, I'd probably get my CCNA and that is it, but if i wanted to be a network analyst, and didn't have a whole lot of job experience, I'd look for CCNP or even CCIE.

Let's not forget about experience...that is the biggest thing, even above and beyond certifications. Even if you have a CCIE, you are probably not going to get a senior network position out of the gate, but you may just move up quickly if you know your stuff and display that.

Just my 2 cents...

Regards,
Wizeman

I too am looking into getting those certifications, and when I read this, I was a little disturbed. But oh well, I think it's a lot more useful for people to get more than one certification under their belt in the first place. I wonder how many certifications are possible for one person to get?

yeah, certifications don't count nearly as much as experience do. Before I went out looking for a job I had gotten my CNA(Netware), CCNA(cisco), Net+(comptia), and MCSE(M$). It still took me about 3 months to find a job, I was pretty open too, I would have taken any net admin job, or even help desk, but alas even compUSA wasn't hiring and their staff doesn't seem very knowledgable most of the time(sorry to offend any of their staff that may be here, just my own person experience.)

Greg

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Originally posted here by waytallgel
yeah, certifications don't count nearly as much as experience do. Before I went out looking for a job I had gotten my CNA(Netware), CCNA(cisco), Net+(comptia), and MCSE(M$). It still took me about 3 months to find a job, I was pretty open too, I would have taken any net admin job, or even help desk, but alas even compUSA wasn't hiring and their staff doesn't seem very knowledgable most of the time(sorry to offend any of their staff that may be here, just my own person experience.)

Greg

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i agree 100%, i feel that if a person has 15+ years of experience or some guy has cisco systems certification..i would rather hire someone with more experience than some kid right out of college or something....and i just realized that cwk9's avatar is the Ghost character on starcraft..(best model too...)

maybe it's me.. but don't degrees have more pull than certs.. i mean, i'd probably hire someone who graduated with a degree in CS from Carnagie Mellon before hiring a guy with a bunch of certs.

Sargx:

That is a common misconception. Most people think CS degrees prepare you for anything computer related, and that is blatantly false. As a student who is getting their CS degree from a tier one tech school, I'm going to tell you that there are maybe two classes offered here that has anything to do with systems level networking, and NO classes for systems administration. A lot of a CS degree is actually very math and rhetoric (logic) oriented. Basically, you learn how to program properly your first year, and then the next 3 years you spend learning how to prove that you can program something efficiently, or that you can't program it at all, or learning to specialize in certain types of programming.

It is for that reason that I went out and got a job as a systems administrator and got my certifications and will continue to get certifications until I get a full time job after I graduate in 2004. I figure on top of their resume value, certs also "force" me to rigorously know the material associated with a subject I'm interested in.

So in response, if I were hiring for a programming job I'd certainly go for a CS major, but if I was looking at a CS major vs. a person with a bunch of certs for a Net admin job, I'd go for the person with the certs every time (assuming they could show me they knew the material associated with the certs).

Regards,
Wizeman

Yeah, I see your point. I'm a CS major too. I just think that yeah, they have the certifications, however, having a degree kind of gives me the perspective that I'd be prepared for a wider range of problems, due to the wide range of classes. Specialization has it's benefits, no doubt, so does generalization. I think it all comes down to the individual, as long as you can bullshit in your interview, you're in.

I must say, this thread really caught my eye. I have my CCNA and CCNP certifications, and a small amount (2 years) of experience in the field. The Cisco cert's seem (at least to me) to be heading in the same direction that the m$ ones went. Junior colleges all over the place are teaching these classes, this did not use to be the case... Back to the old supply / demand chart.. Do i need to go into detail when supply goes through the roof, and the demand stays the same (or even declines)? :(

Most of the positions I have seen available around here recently have been more focused on experience than the certifications (which is a good thing, in my opinion). But I also feel for the people straight out of college who can't find entry level jobs to get experience.

If I was to go back and start over, I think I would try to get as well rounded as I possibly could, and avoid getting sucked into one area (routing / switching for example). Just my 2 cents.

So are there any certs that are in high demand anymore or are all certs in general going down hill? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It might just mean employers are starting to look past certs which is ok with me.

I think that CISSP certifications are in demand now-a-days because of all the security and disaster recovery scare. But by definition you can't even get that cert unless you can show them you've worked in the industry for 5 years as something besides entry level positions.

Regards,
Wizeman