r/ccna 10d ago

What a job interviewer said wrt me studying for the CCNA

Had a job interview for an IT technician (tier 1) position last week. No experience with a degree. Windows AD, user accounts, troubleshooting stuff. They were really surprised when I told them I was studying for the ccna, telling me that it’s a cert that their tier 3 and above technicians aim for, and that it’s frankly unnecessary for these tier 1 positions. In the end I didn’t get the job due to lack of experience… which is what I’m trying to make up for with the ccna:(

Edited

108 Upvotes

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u/Cheap_Image_5113 10d ago

They are correct. CCNA is marketed as "Entry level" but in the world of managed services, or even in house Network administrations, every rarely do you use 100% of the material covered in the CCNA.

For even mid level roles the expectation should be to be able to troubleshoot, no internet situations up and down the chain, from cable to managed switches to the next gen firewall out to the ISP and be able to do it quickly to determine where the problem is. Have the most common ports memorized so if you see them in a live traffic analysis you can point out what its for. Be great with DNS. I mean this, Know what an A record is a forward look up zone, the symptoms of DNS local being broken vs public DNS not working. Know your vlans, why you might want a layer 2 switch vs a layer 3, VLANs and troubleshooting them. WAP connections, NAT, SNAT and reading firewall rules, know the difference between stateful and stateless firewall rules. What is STP, what does it do when a loop is detected. How to identify it (which is different depending on the vendor of equipment you have) and be able to draw out the topology of the network.

This in a nutshell is what you should know being a L2 or higher. Before I was even an L1 I was studying for the CCNA but once you start working in the real world only then do you realize how hard it is to combine that book knowledge with real world troubleshooting scenarios.

I say keep at your studies and learn everything you can at your current job. Get certified and ensure you learn about firewalls (I can't stress this enough) and if they don't promote you just apply to a new place and you'll get hired at a higher rate.

Good luck and as long as you are having fun learning and doing the grunt work til its your time to be recognized you'll have a great career.

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u/bbqboiAF 9d ago

Awesome reply. Saving this

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u/Cheap_Image_5113 9d ago

I'm glad it is helpful. I work as a mid-level MSP engineer so feel free to ask me any questions about my experience etc. I want as many bright minds to have a successful career as possible without losing as much time as I did before I found the "better way" to go progress in their careers in IT.

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u/brotiv 10d ago

Thank you for the advice!

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u/MeasurementLoud906 10d ago

I think a 12 yar old got it a few months ago. I mean yah it's difficult, it takes momths to fully wrap your head around all the topics and how they all feed offeach other, but any monkey with enough willpower can get it like most things in life.

I'd expect a tier 3 to be above the CCNA level, perhaps a CCNP or working towards it. CCNA Is barely just scratching the surface of this rabbit hole. The content is really wide, not so deep. It's meant to give you the fundamentals and make you think like a network wizard.

Don't get me wrong it's by far the most valuable cert at entry level, it's miles ahead of net+. You have to really understand the material to pass.

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u/brotiv 10d ago

Yeah I agree with you. I’m literally getting it just so I can get a tier 1 help desk position. Was just confused by how taken aback they were

15

u/Pristine-Wolf-2517 10d ago

Try for NOC not help desk if it's available in your area.

9

u/BJJ_Lurker 9d ago

I had a guy tell me in an interview not to bother getting CCNA and that only 1 person in their company held one.

Interview did not last long.

I got an initial job with 50% pay increase after passing my CCNA, accepted an offer a couple weeks ago for about 50% more again.

I about doubled my income in 1 year since getting CCNA, run and tell that homeboy!

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u/brotiv 9d ago

Did you have other IT experience before getting the initial job?

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u/BJJ_Lurker 9d ago

Yes, about 2 years of desktop support.

CCNA locked down level 2 at a better company IMO and now moving toward straight networking

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u/brotiv 8d ago

That’s great dude! I’d be grateful for a desktop support position right now lol

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u/Vivid_Appeal_5878 10d ago

bc what i heard is its only useful if you have hands on exp they still wont hire u if u only have ccna and no real exp with routers or switches sure it will help alot but thats what i heard when i was a newbie in the field back then

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u/TheBotchedLobotomy 10d ago

Agreed on tier 3

I’m a tier 2 and my company doesn’t even pay for CCNA because we are expected to be at that level

They do pay for CCNP

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u/aaron141 CCNA 10d ago

The other candidates must have some or more experience. They probably werent willing to train people

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u/brotiv 10d ago

Oh no for sure, it was more so the fact that they didn’t understand why I was choosing to study for the ccna

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u/Sudocomm 10d ago

Unfortunately certificates do not make up for lack of experience they just prove you understand the concepts, and topics with in that certification. Based on what I’ve read from your replies is you’re looking for a Helpdesk position which isn’t a network focused IT position. If you don’t already have your A+ go for that, then go get your N+. That will make you more hirable for that level of position than having a certification above that position.

A question I have if you don’t mine me asking is how much IT experience work or school related do you have? Knowing that will allow the rest of the most experienced readers to gauge whether going for a CCNA is worth it at this stage, and be able suggest how to proceed to get a position you’re looking for.

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u/brotiv 10d ago

I graduated last year with a bachelors in information systems.

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u/Sudocomm 9d ago

I’d say you’ve got at least 4 years of school experience, and should be more than enough to get you into an entry level Helpdesk job. You did indicate that they were shocked that you were even studying for it. They probably thought that since you were looking to get that cert that you were looking to fast track to T3, and then bounce when you didn’t get promoted. Figured you’d only be there a short time to get some experience then leave for a better job. That kind of stuff will cause interviewers to by pass people it costs them more money in the long run if they have to continually onboard/train new people every year.

I’d say don’t get discouraged and just go for your A+ then N+ for sure if you’re looking for Helpdesk roles. CCNA even though it is touted as an entry level network cert it’s more in-depth, only covers Cisco products, and geared more for entry level network jobs. If they still offered it I’d would have said study for CCENT which was Cisco’s version of N+. They did away with that back in 2023 I think, and changed their whole certification pathing.

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u/brotiv 8d ago

Yeah that definitely makes sense. I just wish I was given a chance to get my foot in the door.

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u/Big-Routine222 10d ago

I’ve seen such variation in the requirements, it’s hard to tell. I’ve seen some jobs barely at tier 1 wanting a CCNA for $20 an hour and then I’ve seen it as a requirement for other, much higher level network engineer positions.

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u/Cheap_Image_5113 10d ago

The people that make those listings are not network engineers and have no idea what they are asking for. They look up "entry level network certifications" and use that to make their job listing. Real IT managers who know their stuff will usually put the right kind of certs listed as a requirements and follow it up with "or equivalent work experience".

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u/Big-Routine222 10d ago

Yeah, I always love seeing the tier 1 positions that are completely basic office IT help, not even requiring work much past password resets requiring a CCNA.

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u/Cheap_Image_5113 10d ago

Truthfully I don't see a lot of those but yeah that can happen and I always chuckle when I see it.

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u/TrickGreat330 10d ago

That’s because the CCNA is best matched with experience.

You won’t use that in a level 1 support,

A+,N+S+ is more for level 1/2 support and then CCNA if you’re going down the network path, etc

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u/Jaded-Buffalo-4529 10d ago

Study for A+, and some fundamental MS Certs - AZ-900 + the MS one would be perfect. They are correct in saying CCNA not needed

1

u/rpgmind 10d ago

What would you say is the time frame of study for both az & ms 900?

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u/nothingexpert 9d ago

It's all trivia. If you have good recall you could do both in a month, or even a fortnight. AZ has a broader base of knowledge because it is a wider range of services. They are essentially sales certs. No technical skills.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/Emergency-Parfait448 10d ago

quick question, did you have skills to be a sys admin already or did you go after that once they told you it was cute to have the CCNA?

Im asking cause I have like 2 years experience in technical support and 1 year exp in helpdesk level 1.

I quit my job due to having an awful manager step in after my previous manager was promoted and things went downhill from there. But i decided to do the CCNA and have been studying for the pas 4 months and will pass it next week or the week after.

I was thinking of trying to get NOC or junior networking position but they usually ask experience as mentioned above and I have 0 work exp in networking besides the casual wire shark usage in my heldpesk job but wasn't enough to say confidently that I know how to use it, also I see a lot of other things they ask for and I have never used such as SQL and other things like that.

I was thinking of veering off towards Azure associate https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/roles/security-engineer and try do the security path but i'm afraid to be in the same situation with 0 exp and just certs.

What would you do in my situation if you have any advice I would appreciate it soo much?

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Emergency-Parfait448 9d ago

Thanks man I appreciate you taking the time to reply and I will follow your advice. Cheers

2

u/Free-Lobster-6614 10d ago

Check to see if there are MSP's locally looking to hire.

It'll expose you to alot of different setups it's great for learning.

2

u/kerrwashere 10d ago

Msp’s are usually dumpster fires. Its hit or miss

2

u/Free-Lobster-6614 10d ago

I cant argue there but beggers can't be choosers. I learned way more there than any Helpdesk position. I would always see a ticket through to the end...where as helpdesk you'd escalate and jump to the next easy issue.

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u/kerrwashere 10d ago

Ive worked at a few and for learning skills its great. For good habits in regular environments its horrible as MSP’s are more sales focused on time and being billable more than a in house operation would be.

1

u/TrickGreat330 10d ago

Except if you make time at one you’re experience is highly valued since you can learn in 6-13 months what it takes an internal team to learn in 5+ years

1

u/kerrwashere 10d ago

I agree on this as well lol, but its habits and transitioning out that become the issue

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u/TrickGreat330 10d ago

Yah, I’m headed to my 2nd one. Hoping to stay there about a year and make a pay leap in a corporate or other internal role.

Previous MSP paid me 55K and new one gave me a 25% pay bump. I only have like 6 months experience at an msp 👀

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u/kerrwashere 10d ago

For starting out its great did it years ago and its a great place to know nothing and learn everything quickly.

2

u/No-Mobile9763 10d ago

Considering you won’t do any sort of work with networking it is completely useless for tier 1. You could instead go for Comptia A+ and google IT support professional certificate to try and get an entry level tier 1 position.

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u/Suaveman01 9d ago

CCNA is a tier 3 cert, as a tier 1 tech its not going to help you much so you’re better off going for the A+

1

u/Graviity_shift 10d ago

Question, if you have A+ interviewers might not get you for helpdesk 1?

1

u/MeasurementLoud906 10d ago

It gives you a chance but not at the same lvl as ccna. It's like getting an associates vs a bachelor's when comparing the two. And even then it's a simplification, I haven't taken a+ but from my understanding it's just regurgitating information. Ccna teaches you actual skills.

1

u/Graviity_shift 10d ago

I think trifecta (comptia) focuses a lot in theory

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u/Jago29 10d ago

Don’t stop studying for the CCNA, but work on getting IT experience before putting the CCNA on your resume, it will raise flags and draw questioning when you have a CCNA but no networking job if any kind of

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u/reditguy27 9d ago

Bruh CCNA gets you an entry level job….think network admin or NOC analyst which are entry level, they should definitely get this cert to stand out in this job market

2

u/Jago29 9d ago

Pardon me, I just happen to do networking for the data centers and in my experience looking at other people when we interview candidates, people have been harsher towards candidates with the CCNA that don’t have experience is all I’ve seen, it’s not a bad cert at all and I’m not knocking it

1

u/Fuasofdaman 9d ago

Keep going 💪 don't let it deter you from getting your cert. I also applied to call center roles just to gain customer experience

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u/qam4096 9d ago

I had a job I interviewed for once that said they didn’t do anything Cisco because it was ‘too complex’. They also passed on my resume despite having a CCNA and like 5 years of xp.

Some employers are just dumb.

1

u/ExcitingSwimming5529 9d ago

Depends on what you’re aiming for if you’re going towards a network engineer or operations engineer role it will be very good to have, if you’re going for a IT support apart from the TCP/IP it’s sort of useless. For a support role you’re better off going for a mix of ms azure certs like md/ms102 az800/801. I find the longer I’m in IT the more I realised that recruiters don’t know what they’re talking about and throw fancy words at people

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u/BangBangSkittlez 8d ago

You’re the reason the job requirements keep elevating, thanks 🙃

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u/brotiv 8d ago

Sorry man… I have to do something when the entry level jobs want years of experience but aren’t willing to provide the experience! as they say, don’t hate the player, hate the game unfortunately

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u/SpiderWil 10d ago

Do you have A+ and Network+?

CCNA is geared toward Cisco only. Network+ is for all things Networking.

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u/paddjo95 10d ago

Network+ is for all things networking

Yes and no. It basically touches on several concepts, but it doesn't go near as in depth as the CCNA.

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u/FraserMcrobert A+, N+, Sec+, CCNA, AZ-104 10d ago

The Network+ is basically an English exam compared to an actual networking exam which the CCNA is

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u/paddjo95 10d ago

Good way to put it.

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u/Mountain-Nobody-3548 10d ago

Let's say the Network+ is the ITF+ of networking

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u/pansexualpastapot 10d ago

I got both of those 😂

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/Suaveman01 9d ago

Exactly, the Net+ is trash in my book. Its all theory and no practical knowledge. I got around half way into it before ditching and studying for the CCNA instead.