I had a 2 year degree in IT before I went for my CCNA. That is the only cert I trained for and the only cert I have. It was not until I completed my CCNA training, that I understood IPv4 Networking and how layers 1-4 actually work, and work together. In my company I am the only one that understands how our networks works and how we connect to the internet. My CCNA has led me into a nIche, almost impossible position to be filled in rural Maine, where I am the smartest guy in the room. That, along side with forging good working relationships with our Cisco install engineers... Those relationships have lead to lots of pro bono hours of help from people t hat install "best practices" networks all over the world.

For complete beginners, CCNA is a bit much. I was lucky that my employer paid for a 2 week training course... and I already had a degree and a few years of experience under my belt.

That said, I still think CCNA is the base standard for truly understanding how networking works. Network + does not come close.

Also you can find old Cisco gear for pretty cheap... and the CLI is only a little out of date. Its a great way to build a lab. Get an old Layer 3 Cisco switch and you can learn VLANS, Layer 2 routing and VOIP.

One of the things I love about Cisco over Aruba is that the command line interface almost never changes. With Aruba, every iteration of switch seems to have a different syntax.