a) when people say break... they don't mean destroy. They mean fucking up. Fixing your own mess is the best learning tool. But it's not like your expensive lab is going to explode if you fuck up or something.
b) You don't need a 25k lab for a CCNA, something like this is more than enough:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cisco-CCENT-CCN...SwAHZUNzDx
You could get by with half that gear to be honest. I know people that have gotten their CCNA doing self study and only using virtual (emulated) labs without any real networking hardware.
But in my opinion you will learn way more if you can "touch the hardware"
CCNP you start needing a real lab like the one in the link, and CCIE starts to be quite tricky on your own. But up to CCNP, totally doable.
The problem will be getting real world experience in the workplace. Certifications are just paper, no employer takes them seriously without real experience to back them up.
b) You don't need a 25k lab for a CCNA, something like this is more than enough:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cisco-CCENT-CCN...SwAHZUNzDx
You could get by with half that gear to be honest. I know people that have gotten their CCNA doing self study and only using virtual (emulated) labs without any real networking hardware.
But in my opinion you will learn way more if you can "touch the hardware"
CCNP you start needing a real lab like the one in the link, and CCIE starts to be quite tricky on your own. But up to CCNP, totally doable.
The problem will be getting real world experience in the workplace. Certifications are just paper, no employer takes them seriously without real experience to back them up.