CCNP has a substantial increase in value as an opportunity to enter mid-level contracts inaccessible to those who only have Associate level Cisco certs. Most of the time when you see a CCIE headline on a job offer it'll say in the details that they prefer a CCIE but will take a CCNP with experience.
Posts by Ceb
3 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Jun 2013
It's now or never for old sysadmins to learn new tricks
I've been involved in contracts since I left the military and recently added technical instruction to my repertoire. I've found that being in the business of instruction keeps me from getting pegged into a specialist's role and eventually eliminated from the market. When new technologies come down the pipe I have word they're coming and time to prepare. As well, being an instructor relies on charisma as much as expertise, so I found myself nodding along to what I saw in most of this article.
As stated in the article though staying in isn't for everyone. In this industry you're constantly learning new information. While it's certainly true that older technologies drop off the plate eventually, you certainly pile it on a lot faster than it falls off.
India's eager IT grads fall for fake interview scams
Re: ouch...
Nah. The scam we have here is college itself. Unless you're in the hard sciences or mathematics... college is wasted money.
Even if you assume that you'll make more out of the college gate then you would without a degree, the overwhelming debt most students wind up with and the interest they pay on it more than overshadows that extra money.
Most students are better off out of high school to go to trade schools or pick up industry specific certifications and get to work.