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MCSE VS. CNE

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by chanha

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HELP!
I am looking into getting certified, but I wanted to know which certification is more marketable - Novell's CNE or NT/Microsoft's MCSE. Eventually, i do want to broaden my marketability with more certifications, but which should I start with?

7 replies

by 630111

Visit one or more job-search engines, select the area in which you live, and do a search on MCSE. Then do a search on CNE. Compare the numbers - this will answer your question.

Cheers!

by rzan

Yes there may be more MCSEs' out there than CNEs', but 80% of those MCSEs' are paper certs who don't know a memory chip from a hard drive. Not to say that there aren't paper CNEs' out there, but being a CNE myself, I can say that it took me years of blood, sweat, lab work, and many hours of grueling over technical material to get certified. Also, Novell's certification exams are much more rigourous than Microsoft's are. Although I am not an MCSE (MCP in NT Workstation only), I have learned NT quickly because my Novell experience has set the ground for me. I too was once faced with this question of which certification to pursue, but I was advised to do Novell first. DO NOT pay attention to all the mmarket hype that Novell is dying and that Microsoft rules. Contrary to popular belief, many large enterprises use Novell and NDS as their backbone and run NT servers as clients off of Novell to function as application servers. And, once you are a CNE, you are exempt from taking NT Networking Essentials if you wish to pursue an MCSE. Novell Networking Technology exam is far more dificult that Microsoft's but it wall pay off because you will definitely know your stuff.

by edward clint

That there are paper certs says nothing about the cert itself... except that it has to be in *demand*.

Exactly how is it you can say CNE is more rigorous than MCSE, if you arnt an MCSE?

I am not one saying Novell will die, I really dont know.What I do know is that Novell has been losing money over consistent quarters, and their stock price is not doing well either. I also know Microsoft is booming and pervasive as it ever was, though admittedly the 2k adoption is slower than they would like.
I know you can get work as a CNE and there are big corps that rely heavily on Novell.
But the cold hard fact of the matter is, those corps are a drop in the bucket of Microsoft-lovin corps. And that makes an MCSE more valuable and more beneficial to any IT person. We all are lookin for a job at some time(s). I would rather appeal to the whopping majority of companies.

As usual, its as wise to fully buy into the hype as it is to fully ignore it.

-Ed

by hip-man

As a CNE, and current Novell diehard I have to agree; there ain't as many openings for Novell as there is for Microsoft. Don't limit your future UNLESS you have a specfic NOVELL based company in mind and are assured of hiring e.g. YOU ALREADY WORK THERE!

Betamax may have been a better product, but it too is gone.

When it comes time to feed your kids, its better to be assured of consistent money in your pocket!

Might want to look into CISCO certification, for same reasons!

by jackzero

MS has a bigger market of course. I'd go for MCSE. But truth is that MCSE is much easier than CNE. I got my MCSE in 4 weeks while working full-time. I learned alot but not enough to run a network. The CNE taught me enough to run a network. Banking, financial, hospitals and schools still use Novell. The rest of the sheep follow MS. Either way, I'm going for my Masters and leaving this cert crapp behind

by shyamalg

As for marketabilty go for Mcse.... as it is known among several people. But if you want to know technical know-how's in-depth then novell has worth seeing at it.... not microsoft & its technologies.
So, it is conculded both of these have their worths depending upon your requirement.

by another butthead

I can say because I am MCSE and CNE. I got my CNE first. It was much harder. The tests I took for MCSE were easier and more confusing than the straight forward Novell questions. Most of the Novell tests were adaptive and were cut a dry. The Microsoft questions were vague and misleading. You needed to know the "Micrsoft" answer to get it right. I passed all of the M$ tests first time through. I got nailed on Novell's tests twice. The study for each line was different. The Novell tests were each unique and covered different material. The M$ O/S tests were mostly the same. Novell was much harder. The market fot Novell is softer but a lot of the M$ only shops are gone now. There is a folld of MCSE's who used to be in IT. If you go to an M$ consulting firm and ask about Novell they will give you the M$ asnwer that Novell is dead and M$ has all the answers. Their Novell expert is the guy who has done the most migrations! Seeing a CNE means they know you take your career seriously.

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