Should I take the CCNA before graduating, or wait until I have job experience?
🎉🎉 Hi ! I'm a student graduating with an IT degree this August and I also have an opportunity to take the CCNA rn. My original plan was to take the exam before graduation, but now I'm wondering if it makes more sense to wait.
It seems the networking job market is very competitive, and many NOC or junior network-related roles ask for 2-3 years of experience. Since the CCNA is only valid for 3 years, I'm worried that if I earn it now, a large portion of its validity might be "used up" while I'm working in an entry-level IT role (help desk, desktop support, etc.) before I can realistically move into networking.
Would it be better to:
Take the CCNA now (in the hopes that it could actually get me into an entry-level 0 exp networking position)
or
Wait until I have around 1-2 years of IT experience so I can maximize the certification's active period?
😩😩😩