Am I on the right Track?
Hey everyone, long post but I really need an outside perspective. I've been feeling stuck lately and want to know if I'm thinking about this the right way or just venting into the void lol.
I currently have my A+, Net+, working on Sec+ to renew my other certs, CCNA (good until summer 2027), and a Bachelor's degree. My plan is to spend the next 6 months studying for the CCNP ENCORE, then go after a concentration exam after that. My day-to-day is pretty hands-on with switch configurations, IP reservations, AAA server, and working with vendors on port and address requirements for new devices in our OT networks. I submit Jira tickets to our Enterprise team for firewall changes and DHCP scope additions, but I do have read access to the firewall. The work is fine, but the deeper stuff like routing changes and firewall configs always gets handed off via ticket. I want to actually own that work someday, not just request it.
I've tried reaching out to people here for mentorship and guidance and I basically get crickets. Nobody seems interested in helping others grow. And from what I can see, certs and technical skills don't really get rewarded at this company. It feels like the people moving up are the ones playing the corporate game — talking the talk in meetings, working the politics — not necessarily the ones with the deepest technical skills. To make things worse, my company is now switching to Extreme Networks which seems super GUI-focused. I'm worried that moving away from Cisco CLI is going to hurt my resume and slow down my growth long-term. At this point I'm pretty set on getting the CCNP and then starting to look elsewhere — somewhere that actually values technical growth.
Is 6 months a realistic timeline to be ready for the CCNP ENCORE, or am I setting myself up to rush it? Also, am I overthinking all of this, or is this a solid plan?
I feel like I'm doing the right things but just stuck in the wrong environment. Would really appreciate any advice from people who've been through something similar. Thanks!