Thanks for sharing! I am almost done with my CCNA, and I wonder if after that I should take some Juno path - which one do you recommend? Should I maybe start CCNP instead? My goal is to learn networking really really well, and learn all protocols and every corner of networks and enterprise network infrastructure. I don't know if I will ever be a network engineer, but I'm in the point when it gets more and more tempting for me.
this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2023
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Ahh man this a tough question to answer without knowing your current skillset and what you would like to do in your career. I can try to give you some general, albeit a little biased, advice from my POV that could help you decide.
So, firstly, I would hold off on CCNP until you get a network tech/admin job and get some experience under your belt. Generally, when people see CCNP they expect people to have at least 2-3 years experience. Having the cert without the experience, while good for learning, can rub some hiring managers the wrong way. They might see you as a "brain dumper" that just gets certs to fluff resume but has no practical experience. Not all of them would, but there is a lot of fucking idiots in IT that make it into HR/management and they have very backwards views on these things because people that cheat do exist.
What I would do is finish your CCNA and then maybe look at JNCIA-Junos (the fast track course for those with CCNA already). You'll find JNCIA-Junos isn't as in-dept as CCNA. I would say this cert is more equivalent to the old CCENT. It's mainly an introduction to JunOS.
The reason I suggest going this route is that you will have your CCNA, which will give you a good foundation on protocols and general networking, then you'll also be able to speak to some JunOS as well, making you more well rounded. After this, focus on getting a job and some experience under your belt.
Now, as far as the industry trends are concerned, we are seeing more and more places kick Cisco to the curb in favor of Juniper and Arista the most, followed shortly by Aruba. If you work at any serious routing shop, they will almost definitely have Juniper MX routers on board.
Being able to have SOME JunOS knowledge will give you a leg up over the average CCNA. As you start to reach toward mid-career, I think you'll find that knowing MANY vendors products/platforms will put you leaps and bounds ahead of your peers.
Does this makes sense?
Thank you so much! It was very helpful. I'm looking for some entry net technician, net admin job now, so I'll go Junos first then, after my ccna. I got confused cause if I asked anybody for detailed networking books and certs, people say cisco immediately, not rly as recommended vendor certs, but also detailed general networking resources with application on cisco gear. I agree learning various platforms will benefit me. Thank you for advice, it clarified a lot for me.
Cisco does a decent job at teaching general networking concepts, but most of them are "the Cisco way", which I despise. Juniper is a much more standards-focused vendor vs magical bullshit like Cisco. The downside is that Juniper assumes you know networking already and doesn't do that great of a job at teaching.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Cisco, unfortunately, is still the most prevalent networking vendor. This means the jobs are more plentiful and the skillset is more saturated in the market. Most people are mega fanboys of Cisco and either are too stupid or too ignorant to learn other vendors, which limits their thinking and skillset growth. Cisco is very much a cult.
Get some experience and see what makes you happy, then pursue that knowledge. Ultimately, if you aren't happy with the work then your career will be miserable.
Thank you for all your insight. My dream job is one day to be in a red team, but it's a long term goal. I want to get experience first for few years working with networks and learn as much as I can abt them and enterprise infrastructure. When I started diving deeper into this realm, I started thinking it'd be great to build and manage networks as well, this stuff seems like a pure wizardry sometimes! More I learn, it gets more interesting. This way or another, I have to learn them back and forth. I think multiplatform approach is good. Thx!
You're very welcome. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have more questions about networking or the industry. I'm about 9 years in and have a boat load of certs from many vendors.
I may end up closing this community in favor of the networking community [email protected] as that sub/instance is more active and I mod over there too. If you can't reach me on this account, I also have @[email protected] that I'm more active on.
Also, if you would like to keep in contact on LinkedIn, I can PM you my page.
Food for thought :)
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this info!
Very welcome. It’s a great program. Best vendor training on the market, hands down. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Thanks for the reminder. Maybe it's time to finally get my JNCIE-SP