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dolicf
Sep 12, 2010
Definitely take the two tests. CCENT isn't really even a thing, like, to the level that I chuckle to myself when I see people listing it in signatures/resumes, but there are still several good reasons to take the tests separately.

1) You split the costs between two tests, so you have less material to cover in each given test. This way, if you bomb one, you're only out $125 or whatever it is rather than a full $250.

2) The second test covers a lot more of the Cisco specific 'harder' material. The first test is a lot of basic networking. I haven't taken the combined test, but from what I hear, it tends to place more emphasis on the ICND2 material, so you'll likely have a higher percentage of those 'harder' questions.

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dolicf
Sep 12, 2010
RHCE probably wouldn't be too difficult and would be worthwhile to grab. My company has the highest number of RHCEs in the world (short of Red Hat itself and the US Government... if you count that as a company) and even we don't have any positions that absolutely require it as far as I know. Strongly preferred for some, sure, but not a requirement (at least to be hired).

Even Red Hat itself doesn't require the cert outright, except maybe for instructor positions that require the cert in order to teach the material. Most of the positions say something like 'RHCE certified or ability to become certified within 30 days of hire'.

That said, I'm pretty proud of mine, despite the fact that I didn't find it very challenging when I sat the exam about two and a half years ago. Maybe some day I'll have a shot at RHCA.

dolicf
Sep 12, 2010
Disclaimer: Haven't actually sat the test, though I was prepping for quite a while before I got sidetracked and had the opportunity to be instructed by someone who has been writing questions for the bank for over a decade.

None of the questions are particularly difficult. Because they draw on the community to generate questions, you'll undoubtedly get a few from someone who would rather test your reading comprehension than your understanding of the material, so expect questions that try to trip you up. Read all the questions and answers thoroughly.

There are something like ~10,000 possible questions you can get. Think about what kind of people tend to have CISSP certifications. Chances are, most of the ones you know have a background in one or two specific disciplines. People tend to write questions on the subjects they know the most about, so you're more likely to get questions from certain domains than others. It should be pretty obvious which ones. Hopefully you have a background in a few of them; focus your studies on the areas you're weakest in that you think will have more questions.

dolicf
Sep 12, 2010
Get a CCNA. Security+ is basically a joke cert that is pretty much just an HR checkbox.

Edit: Or better yet, do both. Security+ can be studied up for and passed with no prior IT knowledge in like a week tops.

dolicf
Sep 12, 2010
I agree. With that level of experience, you shouldn't have trouble passing the RHCE. Just make sure to study up on what the test covers, as there are definitely some outliers that you probably haven't experienced before.

Also, be aware that you must pass the RHCSA in order to become RHCE certified. It doesn't matter if you do it before or after you pass the RHCE, but without the RHCSA, passing an RHCE exam gets you nothing.

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dolicf
Sep 12, 2010
Here's a complete list straight from the source.

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