TLDR: I am not talking about the CCNA material (which is great for learning networking, albeit a bit too much detail for software devs), I am asking about the certificate itself, is it worth it to spend months preparing for the certificate, spending $300 on it, passing it and then putting it on your resume? Does it matter if I am open to move to DevOps positions in the future?
Background: I am a self-taught Software dev with about 4 YOE, and in order to teach myself Networking & CyberSecurity, stumbled upon this Jeremy IT Labs UT Course on CCNA. The course has been tremendously helpful in teaching me how networks actually work. It has a lot more detail than I what I needed (the ios cli, labs & configuration etc), but it has been worth it so far (I’m on day 55). However, now I am wondering if I should spend the money and effort to actually get the CCNA certificate itself. (I know 1 course is not enough to pass that certificate, I will have to spend many more hours diving into the details, memorizing things and making connections between concepts and topics)
You already have some experience, so I’d suggest working with your employer to pay for the certification and classes rather than going out of pocket.
Either they will pay and you’re happy, or they’ll tell you it isn’t valuable for your role and that also gives you valuable information