Cisco certification is possible self-study?

seedfox

Certifications and Experience together is definitely important. You can definitely self-study if that is a platform that works for you. If not, look into network classes. I tend to lean towards self-study as that works for me. Going for your CCNA is a good first step to understand the fundamentals. However, most individuals with CCNA (this includes CCNP and some CCIE) are paper certified with no work experience. I would recommend looking into a NOC (Network Operation Center) position to help build your network experience and the CCNA you have. In the position, go for your CCNP. If you truly love networking and want to make a career from it, go towards the CCIE and/or CCDE track. I have been a Cisco CCIE for the past 7 years and this is the path I took and it has been worth it. So go for your CCNA, get a position as NOC or technical support role, then pursue CCNP/CCIE/CCDE, etc. CCNP’s normally make around 70-80k. CCIE with good level of experience can make around 110K and up. Those numbers may vary depending on the market and the company. As for training, there are Cisco press book, videos, configuration guides, etc. Also buy Cisco hardware from ebay to enforce your hands-on. And one last note, being very motivated make this process easy and enjoyable. Hope that helps a little.