Students who complete a Cisco Certified Network Associates degree and get certified are qualified for various jobs in the Information Technology industry. These include careers like network engineer, WAN administrator, network administrator and technical support specialist. Duties include monitoring and repairing company or school computer networks to ensure uptime for reliable communications. This may include Local Area Networks, or LANs, for small companies or Wide Area Networks, or WANs, for large corporations. Some CCNA degree holders also work at a help desk to provide computer support. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer support specialists earned a median yearly salary of $46,260 in May of 2010. At $69,160, network and computer systems administrators were earning an even higher median income.
The curriculum will vary to some degree from school to school. However, Cisco has a recommended curriculum. This includes security threat mitigation and introduction to wireless networking terminology and concepts. CCNA degree programs that you are thinking of attending should also include skills training. Some of the specific topics covered in a CCNA course include Internet Protocol, or IP, VLAN, EIGRP, Ethernet, access control lists, Serial Line Interface Protocol Frame Relay and Routing Information Protocol Version Two. Ensure that any degree program you decide to attend has at least these topics in the curriculum.
There are a number of options when seeking an education as a Cisco Certified Network Associate. Schools typically offer a specific certificate just for CCNA training. This can take just a few courses. For example, North Seattle Community College requires only three courses for the certificate. However, students may take only one course per quarter. This type of CCNA course is ideal for someone who already attends college for a computer networking degree or similar subject. Conversely, other schools offer an entire CCNA education in a shorter period of time. For example, the standard time for the Education To Go CCNA training course is 100 hours of self-paced online study.
College Contact has a directory of schools that offer CCNA degree or certificate programs. As of October 2011, the directory has 36 programs in 18 different states. You may also find directories of additional schools at the ITCareerFinder and Education-Portal websites. For convenience, you may have an interest in an online or correspondence school. However, keep in mind that this is a technical job that generally requires hands-on skills training. Selecting a CCNA degree program with a live skills component will assist you in passing the certification test and applying book knowledge to real-world IT job skills.