The certification pathway we recommend for Perth graduates: which certifications to take, in what order, what each one is worth in the job market — and why hands-on skills matter more than any certificate.
Graduate Network / Security Analyst
↳ it's lines 2 and 3 that get you the interview
When you graduate with a cyber or IT degree, you're not the only one. Hundreds of other students finish with the same qualification, the same units and the same assignments.
So when an employer has fifty applications for one junior role, what separates you? For most graduates, the honest answer is GPA — and that's it.
The graduates who get hired fastest used their study years to build something extra: certifications backed by real, hands-on skills. They don't just stand out on paper. They walk into interviews already able to do the work.
There are hundreds of certifications out there. You don't need them all. These four, in this order, each build on the last and each open a new part of the job market.
Every organisation has a network — small, medium or large. Understand how networks work and you can walk into almost any organisation and be useful from day one.
Not a networking certification, but one of the smartest additions you can make. Every business needs to manage its users, devices and access — and most do it with Microsoft.
The certification that proves you're serious about networking. It takes you well beyond Network+ into the enterprise networks that large organisations depend on.
The fundamentals of cyber security — and how cyber incidents affect a whole organisation, not just its technology. It sits last because you can't defend a network you don't understand.
| Certification | What it proves | Why the market needs it | Roles it opens | When to take it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Network+ | You understand how networks work, across any vendor | Every organisation has a network | IT support, helpdesk, field tech | Early in your degree |
| 2 · Microsoft AD | You can manage users, servers and access | Most businesses manage identities with Microsoft | Sysadmin, M365 admin | Mid-degree |
| 3 · CCNA | You can build and troubleshoot enterprise networks | Cisco runs many large campus networks | NOC, network tech, junior engineer | Mid to late degree |
| 4 · Security+ | You understand how to protect an organisation | Australia faces a growing cyber skills shortage | SOC analyst, security admin, GRC | Final year or just after |
Sources: Frost & Sullivan (Active Directory usage); AustCyber and Jobs and Skills Australia (cyber workforce), as publicly reported.
Build deep routing and switching skills.
Network+ → CCNA → Security+Security sits on top of networks and systems. Build both first.
Network+ → Microsoft AD → Security+The full stack makes you employable almost anywhere in IT.
All four, in orderIf you studied practice questions and passed, you have a certificate. You don't have the skill — and the first technical interview will expose the difference.
We believe in hands-on skills, with or without certifications. Repetition deepens knowledge, and deep knowledge becomes mastery. You don't get comfortable configuring a switch by reading about it. You get comfortable by doing it, again and again, until you no longer need to look anything up.
The difference wasn't talent. It was what they built while studying.
During, if you can. Finishing a certification plus hands-on lab work before graduation means you apply for jobs already standing out, instead of catching up afterwards.
Because cyber security sits on top of networking. Attacks travel across networks, and defences are built into them. You can't defend a network you don't understand.
No. Pick the track that matches where you want to go. But every block you add opens more roles, and the full stack makes you employable almost anywhere in IT.
Yes, if you already understand networking basics well. If you're new to networking, Network+ makes CCNA far easier.
Our Network Accelerator Programs cover CCNA (enrolling now), Network+ and Security+ (coming soon), all face-to-face in Perth.
The Network Accelerator Programs give you the certifications and the hands-on skills — face-to-face, on real equipment, in Perth.
Market figures from Frost & Sullivan, AustCyber and Jobs and Skills Australia as publicly reported. CompTIA, Network+ and Security+ are trademarks of CompTIA, Inc.; CCNA and Cisco are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc.; Microsoft, Active Directory, Entra ID and Azure are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netlabs365 is not affiliated with these companies.
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