CISCO Careers

I work in I.T.and I'm considering doing some CISCO training courses to keep up with the industry.Is this a wise move or is it a case that there are so many people out there with CCNA and CCNP qualifications that its a case of having missed the boat a long time ago. I already hold a BSC in I.T.

Is this the type of work you want to do and am good at? That's the 1st thing to get right.

I'm no expert in Cisco, but would imagine there's always a need for someone certified with experience. Have a look at the recruitment websites to estimate demand.

Good luck!

CCNA is pretty worthless, CCNP is relatively valuable (IMO of course) but you must have experience as well. Both qualifications are worth very little without actual hands-on experience,

There will always be a need for good Networks guys. however nowadays they are just one of the bunch as so many people are up to speed.
If I was to give one good bit of advice to someone who wanted to get involved in Networks it is to be organised.
If you do your exams, know what you are doing and can prove to a company that you can document and diagram your work so it can be follwoed then you are in business.
The industry is full of people that have to reinvent the wheel every time there is an issue

Tip I'd give to distinguish yourself from the pack. Networks people that can also write complex scripts and have UNIX system admin skills are very rare. Someone that combines network and systems knowledge is like gold dust.

Well, from a quick look on the jobsites:

CCNA - [broken link removed] - 28 jobs
CCNP - [broken link removed] - 26 jobs

Seems to be a lot of people with CCNA & CCNP qualifications out there at present. Trouble is trying to find people with the appropriate experience. If you have a good deal of Cisco equipment in your organisation at the moment i'd suggest going down the Cisco route & using your current company to gain the experience.

In my opinion specialising is a good way to go. Consider specialising in areas such as security as well as networking. It's a growth area, there are few people who have a clue what they're doing and the pay is generally quite good as well.