If you’re reading this post I am sure you want to become a network engineer specializing in Cisco networks. It usually takes several years of trial and error before you can become good at administrating Cisco networks, and this is definitely a problem for some people.

There are certainly some things you can do to help speed up the learning process and demonstrate to any future companies that wish to hire you that you have the pre-requisite experience and networking skills to perform effectively at the job. I will attempt to share with you some of them in this post.

Here are 2 things you need to have which might help speed up the learning process and help you become effective more quickly:

1. CCNA Certification And Skills – You should get your CCNA certification to kickstart your networks career. The CCNA is generally accepted to be the must-have entry level networks certification.

And because Cisco is the biggest player in the enterprise networking market, having a CCNA certification will indicate to a future employer that you have the relevant networking skills to be able to configure and troubleshoot small to medium-sized enterprise networks.

2. Configuration Experience – There are many people who will resort to cheating in order to get their certification. In order to stop this, Cisco has made the certification exam more difficult. Many companies also conduct their own internal test so as to determine which candidate has real skills and experience and who actually obtained their CCNA certification in an dishonest manner.

This is why you need to get some hands-on configuration and troubleshooting skills which will demonstrate to your future company that you have what it takes to finish the job. If you have the relevant command-line configuration skills, once you are hired, you can become effective in your new job as soon as possible.