Preparing for the CCNP

Even though it's going to be at least 6 months maybe even a year before I start my quest on towards CCNP I've been going through the Cisco CBT's on the Cisco Learning Network. I've been doing 1 CBT a week but might make that 2 CBT's a week until I officially start the studies for CCNP. This is mainly so I don't become complacent with the material I've learned during the CCNA but the work I'm doing at my job now is also helping out a lot. I popped my cherry and configured my first official Cisco Router in a production environment which was really cool and I can't wait until I get to take on more router configuration tasks. For now I'm mainly focusing on learning how to use Cisco Unity Server, Call Manager, and various other tools for configuring VoIP Phones. I'm learning so many new things but the best part is that I'm enjoying the new things I'm learning, this is for sure the side of IT I want to stay in!

Life in the Networking Field

Well I passed my CCNA a little over a month ago now, since then I've finally made my way into the world of networking a few weeks after the CCNA. I'm currently working for a ISP in the NOC (Network Operating Center) downtown in St. Louis. I'm really enjoying my work so far and I'm seeing that there is a ton of stuff to learn! I've been mainly handling simple VoIP tasks and monitoring routers/switches for any indicators of having problems or circuits going down. One thing i didn't realize that the CCNA won't teach are the many acronyms in the world of networking. I'm learning a bunch of new things such as what a LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) is along with gaining a fuller picture of how the internet works on a wider scale with all the big ISP player.

After i gain a better understanding of my my job role and get some experience under my belt I'm moving on to the CCNP. I have been reading up on what I'm going to need and I know that this next cert is going to be a challenge but it should be fun to. hopefully by the time i finish my CCNP and gain even more experience at my exciting new career I'll have a fuller understanding of this thing called networking. Who knows maybe by then I'll be thinking about gaining the highly prestigious CCIE!