CCNA provides the road map to decide on a career
Taking the first semester in Grade 12 paved the way to a future in networking.
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| I had an idea, but after I took the course I was sure I wanted to go to community college and take networking as a profession." - Randy Armstrong Cisco Certified Network Associate |
It's a daunting task for any student to decide what they want to do for a career. Randy Armstrong didn't know either but as soon as he took the first semester of the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) program at Forest Heights Community School, in Chester, Nova Scotia, he knew. "I had an idea, but after I took the course I was sure I wanted to go to community college and take networking as a profession," he says.
Bernie Van Doninck taught Armstrong his first semester of the CCNA in grade twelve at Forest Heights. He says the Cisco course really filled a void for the kids. "From a technology perspective, there was not a lot happening in schools. With Cisco, kids are really seeing what a technology career is like. It's advanced and fills the void for an appropriate level."
Van Doninck remembers when he was teaching Armstrong. "He grasped the material and his interest was definitely there." Van Doninck feels the course was also important for the impact it had on Armstrong's career choice. "He hadn't realised what technology would be like as a career, but after the course he knew he wanted to do it. This was a 'wow'!"
The high school course Armstrong took, Applied Network Technology, and the teacher training for Van Doninck was supported through the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) CollegePrep partnership with school boards. CollegePrep was established to assist students in their career choice and their transition to post-secondary education. Armstrong is an example of the importance of this partnership.
After high school, Armstrong decided to take the two-year diploma in Information Technology - Systems Management/Networking Concentration at NSCC. Through an articulation agreement, which allows students to achieve credits for high school courses, he received a credit for the first semester he had taken of CCNA. He chose, though, to take it again as he had enjoyed it and it was a good refresher.
After receiving his diploma, Armstrong decided to take the Computer Network Technology advanced diploma, a one year post-graduate program offered at the Burridge Campus of NSCC. Dave Arthur is a faculty member at the college. He says the program focuses on networking, including additional Cisco courses Panduit Network Infrastructure Essentials, Fundamentals of Wireless LANs and Network Security.
Arthur says, "Our association with the Cisco Networking Academy gives us industry- standard training material and helps us provide relevant lab facilities." The information in the courses has a broad application across the networking field. "Everything has some bearing no matter whose equipment you're using. A very high percentage is transferable," he adds.
Armstrong is currently working for Keane, an outsourcing IT company, on the account administration team for Morgan Stanley. His manager, Michael Deschenes, is himself a CCNA so he knows the benefits of the certification. "It definitely helps for figuring out latency/connectivity issues and reasoning why things are slow." Deschenes also points out it will definitely improve Armstrong's ability to advance in the company.
Advancement is certainly on his agenda. Armstrong's motivated and looking to move up. "In the future I see myself as a senior network administrator, with a couple of certifications under my belt such as Cisco Certified Network Professional and Fundamentals of Network Security." Sounds like his grade twelve semester of CCNA has paved the way to a very bright future.
February 2006
