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You don’t need experience to break into a lucrative network engineering career.
The right mix of fundamental and hands-on Cisco certifications can equip fresh entrants with enough knowledge and credentials to nail down junior roles and quickly begin advancing.
Specifically, smart newcomers are combining three key building blocks—CompTIA’s A+ and Network+ certs along with Cisco’s CCNA certification—to open up starter network engineer jobs and growth trajectories without needing years of previous IT experience or networking expertise.
Let’s explore why this combo of A+, Network+ and CCNA packs the essential training for network engineering success from scratch:
CompTIA A+
CompTIA A+ Jumpstarts Core IT Competency Even budding network engineers need a solid IT grounding before specializing. That’s why A+ comes first—it broadly covers computing fundamentals from hardware and operating systems to security and troubleshooting.
While not network-specific, A+ ensures you “speak the language” of IT. Its vendor-neutral nature also means professionals and hiring managers view it as a career springboard cert on your resume.
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Network+ builds critical networking basics to overlay essential network basics onto your A+ foundation. We’re talking network hardware, transmission types, installation, configuration, media, topologies, protocols, security.
This sets you up to understand basic design and functions of networks…key concepts to grasp before managing enterprise environments. Approaching CCNA already familiar with networking terminology and components makes for much easier learning.
Cisco CCNA
Cisco CCNA Makes You Industry-Ready for Network Engineering
The CCNA then takes your Network+ knowledge to the vital Cisco-specific and practical level needed for network engineering roles.
Through a combo of video courses and hands-on labs, you master skills like:
- Installing, configuring, operating Cisco gear like switches/routers
- Managing network devices and configurations via IOS CLI
- Troubleshooting connectivity, performance, security issues
- Identifying/securing against cyberthreats, attacks
Essentially, CCNA embeds the Cisco technical and critical thinking proficiency companies desire in network engineering pros right out the gate.
The Bottom Line
Not being able to boast years of networking tenure and experience shouldn’t deter you from pursuing your network engineering aspirations.
The trio of A+, Network+ and CCNA bestow the well-rounded infrastructure, networking and Cisco capabilities to demonstrate genuine readiness for associate-level network roles minus experience.
HR managers and IT leaders view candidates with this trifecta as committed to a network engineering path and worth betting on. They check the boxes of competency meaning you’ll pick up internal tools and workflows quicker than those without fundamental knowledge.
In as little as 8-12 months, earning an A+, Network+ and CCNA can equip you with the credentials, vocabulary and hands-on abilities to dramatically shortcut starting your network engineering career.
While a bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science or management information systems are preferred by some employers, certified skills can override that expectation, opening doors sooner.
Now rather than later is the time to make a career change or progress faster into network engineering by earning an A+, Network+ and CCNA.