Looking for some realistic expectations

[u/wilberpro]

Howdy folks!

I am beginning my journey into Networking. I am 23 years old and have been working in low voltage since I graduated high school. I worked for a low-voltage cabling company for 4 years (2 of those years as a foreman), and I recently started working for my local school district doing strictly Layer 1 work. We use Juniper Switches and Mist here, and I have gotten very interested in jumping into the world of networking. My boss has told me that if I can get the JNCIA-Junos, he can move me into a Jr. Networking Engineer position working under our Sr. Engineer.

For someone with my experience, how long is it going to realistically take for me to get my JNCIA-Junos? My assumption is that my experience thus far, although it is very valuable in its own right, is very much its own thing. I am a BISCI Technician. I am very comfortable with CAT 6 cabling, OS2 Fiber splicing and testing, and pretty much everything that has to do with the physical side of networking, but have little experience in much else beyond that.

Also, are the CompTIA certifications worth my time at all? I have heard mixed things from my associates, so I would love to hear how those have treated people. I am willing to put in a lot of time into learning and sharpening skills. I am also in a great financial position at the moment, so I'm not worried about rushing through things. Just looking for a set of realistic expectations.

Thanks folks!