I'm probably not best placed to advise as Ive been in the networking business for about 20 years...

A lot depends on where you are and what you want from it (career wise).

I've been a network engineer, network designer, consultant and even head of networks in a pair of ISP's (at the same time).

What I would say is that where I am now ( a LARGE multinational ) it's all about software and automation. Look to NFV (network function virtualization) but you will need some knowledge of networking and software. I run network engineering teams in both Dublin and the USA and almost all.of.my engineers are working of automation of network configuration and operations.

When I got my CCIE back in 2000 I was about the 5th or 6th in Ireland (I did CCNA back in 1999) but in todays market you need to be able to differentiate from everyone else.

There are many sides to networking - wireless, security, microwave, switching, routing etc....

It's a small enough community all the same - ecooney and I worked together for a good few years (unless there are two of them with a fetish for M3 cabs)......

Look at any qualification as a building block. I don't see any difference between self learning Vs taking a week long course. Both will give you a grounding but it will mean you will know you have more to learn. There are many niches and each can be very rewarding in their own right...

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk