How To get a JOB with a CCNA (Network Engineer) | CCNA Routing and Switching

About this video

NetworkChuck interviews his brother Cameron about how Cameron landed a network admin job after earning his CCNA. Chuck says Cameron makes between $60,000 and $70,000 a year with a CCNA, an A+, just over a year of IT experience (about 9-10 months help desk plus 4-5 months computer repair), and no college degree. On the resume, they advise putting certifications at the top, listing most recent experience first, and adding a certification in progress in parentheses, which Cameron says shows continual learning and helps with HR resume screening. Cameron mainly used LinkedIn, turned on career interests, used a LinkedIn Premium free trial, and applied to over 30 jobs, including ones he was only remotely qualified for. The job he got actually found him: a recruiter reached out, he says likely because his fresh CCNA appeared in a search. The process moved through a recruiter screen, a phone interview with technical questions, then three in-person interviews in one day. He describes wearing a suit, standing to shake hands, showing passion through energy and talk about his home lab, admitting honestly when he did not know firewalls, and surviving a surprise whiteboard exercise diagramming a three-tier network and defending a favourite routing protocol. He says the employer later told him his ambition and genuine interest set him apart, then assigned him mainly wireless work he had to learn on the job.

Key takeaways

• Put certifications at the top of the resume and list an in-progress certification in parentheses to signal continual learning and pass HR screening
• Use LinkedIn actively: professional photo, career interests turned on, job alerts, and Premium to see how you rank against other applicants
• Apply broadly, even to roles you are only remotely qualified for; Cameron applied to over 30 jobs
• In technical interviews, stay fresh on fundamentals, explain your reasoning, and admit honestly when you do not know something instead of bluffing
• Visible passion helps: talk about a home lab and show ambition to keep learning beyond the CCNA

Episode details: published December 12, 2018 · 25:26 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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