CompTIA or Cisco? - Revisiting CCENT vs Network+ in 2019 | CCNA | MTA | MCSA

About this video

NetworkChuck revisits his earlier advice against CompTIA Network+ and compares entry-level paths: Cisco CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician, also ICND1, half of the CCNA) versus vendor-neutral CompTIA Network+. He says both teach solid networking fundamentals including subnetting, but Network+ is broader and shallower — covering software-defined networking, IoT, wireless, cloud, virtualization, storage area networks, next-generation firewalls, gateways, disaster recovery and security — while CCENT is more practical and hands-on with Cisco CLI, which he argues transfers because many other vendors copied Cisco commands. Using his own Indeed searches at the time of recording, he reports about 670 US jobs for CompTIA Network+ versus 477 for CCENT, but over 10,000 for CCNA, and notes many postings list Network+ or CCENT interchangeably. As a hiring-manager heuristic he says CCENT signals progress toward CCNA, while CompTIA branding reads as entry-level. On cost, citing 2018-2019 prices, he says CCENT was $165 versus Network+ at $319, so CCENT plus ICND2 totals about $330 for a full CCNA. He praises CompTIA A+ for landing help-desk work and Security+ for DoD/government requirements, notes Microsoft’s MTA as its entry route, and advises viewers to search LinkedIn/Indeed for the job they want and match the certifications those postings require.

Key takeaways

• Network+ is a broad sampler of networking and adjacent IT topics; CCENT is narrower but more hands-on with Cisco CLI that transfers to other vendors
• Per the creator’s Indeed search at recording, Network+ listed slightly more entry jobs than CCENT, but CCNA listed over 10,000 — CCENT is halfway to CCNA
• On the creator’s 2018-2019 pricing, CCENT ($165) cost about half of Network+ ($319), and CCENT + ICND2 (~$330 total) yields the more valuable CCNA
• Choose CCENT/CCNA if you know you want to be a network engineer; choose Network+ if you are undecided or want a networking base before cloud certs like AWS/Azure
• Reverse-engineer your cert choice: search job postings for the role you want in your area and pursue the certifications those postings actually list

Episode details: published December 19, 2018 · 21:20 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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