Planning a Career in Information Technology - Take CISCO Certification

CISCO certification provides new career opportunities in technologies both current and the developing ones. Planning a career in Information Technology, we highly recommend acquiring an IT certification. There are various kinds of IT certifications that one can go for; you just need to choose the one most relevant for career. There are different certifications available for professionals, be it programming, networking or technicians.

There are many companies in the market who are well known in the field of hardware equipment’s but Cisco is among the leaders. Cisco systems are the pillar of many a computer networks across the world. Based in on this expertise, Cisco has also come up with numerous technical certifications to test an individual’s knowledge on computer networks.

How to Start Cisco Journey:

It all starts with CCNA, which stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate, which checks your skills on installation and configuration of Cisco products. Later, one may proceed with CCNP and finally the CCIE. To test all basic aspects of networking, people take CCNA certification which is specially designed for the same. The exam is a proper mix of various theory and practice-oriented questions.

CCNA exam consists of a set of multiple-choice questions and is an online exam. With minimum passing percentage of 84.9%, the results get declared immediately which means 849 questions should be right out of a total of 1000. CCNA is a highly recognized certification and has huge demand in the market. People who are CCNA certified are able to manage to get a better position in the company. As the Cisco networking is widely used; you will always see a demand of CCNA professionals. The employer always shows confidence on the person holding the CCNA certificate, with respects to networking, especially when it comes to Cisco devices.

There are many individuals who plan to start their own support services in networking; CCNA provides amazing scope for such individuals. Small companies do not usually involve full time engineers for networks but they do look out for such certified individuals to support their systems as in when needed. After clearing the CCNA exam, one becomes eligible to appear for the next level of Cisco certification, i.e., Cisco Certified Networking Professional (CCNP). This certification tests the professional’s ability to handle huge networks which has node size of 100 or more. VPN is one of the examples for this.

CCNP professionals possess exceptional knowledge about the concepts like switches, applications of wireless networking, routers etc. Employers always pay them more than the expected salary as the number of professionals with CCNP certification are very less and are always in demand.

Last but not the least, the most valuable and an Expert level of Cisco certification i.e. the CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert). Though there are no prerequisites, it is recommended by experts that the candidate must possess minimum 3 years of networking experience before attempting the CCIE exam for the better understanding of it. As of September 2009, there were only 17,756 CCIE qualified individuals in the world.

Expert Level Certification:

Rewards come with the challenge and that is what a CCIE certification exam is all about. Industry assumes that a CCIE certified professional has an expert level and in depth knowledge about the concepts of networking. Don’t be surprised to find out the salary of a CCIE certified professionals in $100,000 mark.

Benefits of doing CISCO Certification for Networking Professionals:

• Beneficial for recruiters: A survey conducted recently shows that certifications weighed 49% whereas degrees weighed 51%.
• Unique learning network: Cisco Learning Network uses the social network as a platform for learning.
• Knowledge with experience: Doing the course, you will learn new skills that help you take your career to the next stage.
• Enhance career: Certifications, especially CCNA is considered good for the career growth of network professionals.​
• Building block: When you get CCNA, you are automatically qualified for other certifications of Cisco.
• Employer's choice: Every employer in the field of Information Technology is keen to employ certified professionals who are competent.​
• Proof of certification: you will be given the CCNA certificate, letter, and card from Cisco.

Note: All the above CISCO Certifications provide measurable growth in IT career and improves the chances of getting higher salary.