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1. GNS3 or real hardware
2. Depends on your personal preference. I took ROUTE first because I was least familiar with routing.
3. 1 exam independently. Price is somewhere around 250€, probably the same in $. Depends on your own pace but it took me two years.

Thank you for your kind answer

I was thinking of 1-2 years + as well because I work 10+ hours per day most of the time.

The thing is that this is a huge investment for me (books + exams) and I want to get prepared as much as I can.

I am curious to know whether the topics/materials from the books cover everything about the Network Professional certificate ? Would be great if someone can answer on that.

Okay, so my CCNP R&S&Tshoot books just arrived, but I have a few questions before I start studying. (not sure if this is the rightful topic for this)


1. Should I use GNS3 or CPT for building the labs?
2. Should I first go through the Switch -> Route -> Troubleshoot book or ?
3. How are the exams being taken ? 1 exam per book or 3in1 ?I am totally confused - also what is their price ? What is the ETA for a person with a full job time to 'learn' everything that he needs for the exams ?


That's that for now I hope someone will be kind enough to answer

yep the comments above are dead on. You either need to find an entry level NOC position or find a solid company and grow fro the bottom.

Do start working on your CCNP, there is no reason to slow your studies and knowledge growth down. Just keep focused on getting experience any way you can. At your current position have you talked to the network manager and expressed your desire to move onto the team? Start working with the network engineers and help them with what ever they will let you. Beg for a spot on network projects no matter how small.

Well basically the company I am currently in is a small company with around 10 employees. We have a system admin who is also a network engineer, support, etc ... You get the point I hope .... There ain't much to be done about it.


I am studying for 70-410 MCSA installation and configuration as well before I continue with CCNA studies.

If by NOC you mean Network Technician, I doubt I will have any luck finding one, due to most companies wanting an already trained and expirienced person.


Also, I would gladly accept tip in what I need to master/know in order to have a chance to apply for a networking related job.


Thanks, You guys are quite helpful already!

Basically I only got a response on 1 out of 50ish CV's for interviews so that makes it 1. Also I am currently working as a junior Desktop Engineer (which ofcourse, has little to no connection with Cisco...). The key thing is that most of the firms in my country want a person who they will not have to train and stuff. Which is a pain in the ass because I can't find a job if the min. requirements for every single place I applied to is to have 3+ years of experience etc.

I haven't realized why this happens, but I am not the only one to notice that. Maybe because the market here is small ... I mean other than the banks and 3-4 companies, I barely know of a company that uses Cisco equipment or works with it.

Hi guys,

I am not sure whether it is the right place to ask this question, but I have been searching the sub-forums and I found no place where a member can ask for an advice.

The thing is, I got my CCNA last year and to sum it up, I think I know everything about it but I have no real experience with any of it. (I only tested/worked on GNS3 and CPT due to no firms wanting to hire a jr. network engineer(not sure if there is a name for it as well)

Now my question is whether I should start learning the CCNP R&S+Tshoot and will it improve my chances to find a job as a network engineer ?


Thanks!

I would like to pass the CCNP R&S (already ordered the books) and MCSA but I am afraid that it will not help me improve my skills by a lot due to not having any "real world" experience with Cisco environment (God bless GNS3 and CPT..)