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Curious about what most CWNA certified folk use their acquired knowledge for. Your own business? the boss man requires it? A hobby out of control?
Has it strengthened your position within your professional circle or is it brushed off and your still just the tech guy that can fix the XP machine and get it back online?

Hmmm...

1. Not in business for myself - however I do perform consulting when the call comes, the project in interesting to me, and of course if the price is right.

2. My boss mentioned the CWNA as preferential in his opinion over the CCNA Wireless, but it is not "required". More of a nice to have the knowledge. We use certs like an insurance policy.

3. A hobby out of control - well for me this is probably true given the extent of the labs I have in mind for it and some experiments I feel I need to see and compare first hand using the scientific process.

4. I've been using the CWNA and the CCNA Wireless pretty much side by side to help make my current Wireless projects more seamless and correct from a design/function point of view.

5. Again my boss respects the cert and has earned his CWSP so earning it will improve his vantage of my wireless skills - however, the proof is in the project. So far I've shown some expertise with the products these past 2 years (almost) and have been able to support my clients as the "Go-To" guy for wireless while at the same time continuously growing my true knowledge and capabilities. If the desktop guys can't get a client to work, I'm the guy they go to. I always get it sorted out pretty quickly.

I would say that my CWSP has given me more exposure in my current position than my CWNA.

There are too many entrenched EE's (Masters, PHD's etc) around my company to ever win a design argument. They are very good - they're just not as perfect as they think.

But with security I've got them beat, and they know it. Having my CWSP, CEH, and CISSP (now expired) gives me lots of "professional" credibility. The CWSP is the icing on the cake.

Really, the knowledge that goes along with my CWNA is truly invaluable. I use it EVERY single day. And much to the engineers disdain, I very often find problems with their stuff. Often that isn't until after the gear has started going out the door, but that's my job, and I strive to do the very best job I can.

it teahing you how to make a wireless network so it recognize you the devices you will need and how to connect them to gether and configure them

but before the cwna course you must take cwts course that teaching you the fundamental of wireless and spread spectrum

I just fell in love with wireless technology. People are still afraid of wireless ( for some reason ). It was just my self-motivation to go for wireless; and now I am jumping into WiMax and LTE.

and I agree with Wlanman09. The knowledge that goes along with CWNA/CWSP is truly invaluable

Farooqui

What are you doing in WiMAX and LTE, how are you developing your knowledge there?

Its certainly an area I would like to know more about, I was involved in WiMAX but have no LTE exposure

I am currently reading stuff about LTE, I have some WiMax exposure but what I hear from Huawei, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent ... LTE has some strong points already, even it has not come yet. So I would recommend a book which covers both WiMax and LTE. Its in-depth but you can just read a couple of introductory chapters and impress a few people ;)

Mobile Broadband - Including WiMAX and LTE by Mustafa Ergen

There is another book you can read, I read a few chapters and its filled up with all sort of information :)

"3G EVOLUTION : HSPA AND LTE FOR MOBILE BROADBAND"

by

Erik Dahlman, Stefan Parkvall, Johan Sk?ld and Per Beming

Personally I fell into wireless on a project when I was second line support, the guy running the project was useless and had no interest in the technology.

I love it a little a a hobby but I am employed as a wireless consultant, however, I recognise that I need and want to know more than just glueing the products together. I am the wireless go to guy.

I am using the certs to fill those gaps and its bee enlightening here with the knowledge of some of the guys.

I have set high targets for myself which are cCEI and CWNE in 2 years, I already have about 6 years wireless experience so filling the gaps isnt too hard, its not easy neither but my experience lets me know what they are and what I need to know.

Mainly its developing and understanding at the packet level for me, developing an intimate knowledge of beacon packets, RADIUS handshakes, etc. Its not easy as I also probably have some bad habits I need to break.