Which Cisco Certification is Right for Me?
Cisco offers four levels of career certification for anyone looking to enter the IT profession: Entry, Associate, Professional and Expert.
The global community of Cisco-certified professionals numbers just over 1 million professionals, with 20,000 of those being Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE-certified). Expert certification level includes 5 different CCIE certifcations, plus CCDE (Cisco Certified Design Expert).
Entry Level Certifications
CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) certification validates the skills required for entry-level network support positions, the starting point for many successful careers in networking.
Candidates should have the knowledge and skill to install, operate and troubleshoot a small enterprise branch network, including basic network security.
CCENT certification is the first step toward achieving CCNA, which covers medium size enterprise branch networks with more complex connections.
Associate Level Certifications
The first step in general Cisco Career Certifications begins either with CCENT as an interim step to Associate level, or directly with CCNA (Cisco Certified Networking Associate) for network operations or CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate) for network design.
In June 2008, three new CCNA certifications were launched to address market demand for skills in the area of voice, wireless and security. CCNA is a prerequisite to a three of these exciting paths into networking. Think of the Associate level as the apprentice or foundation level of networking certification.
>> CCNA Security CCNA Voice CCNA Wireless
Professional Level
The profesional level in general Cisco Career Certifications such as [Cisco Certified Networking Professional CCNP (Cisco Certified Networking Professional), CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional), CCDP (Cisco Certified Networking Professional), and CCIP (Cisco Certified Internetworking Professional), each fall within a different career paths (or tracks) for meeting varying employment needs. Think of this level as the advanced, or journeyman, level of certification that shows expertise with networking foundations.
Expert Level Certifications
This is the highest level of achievement for network professionals, certifying an individual as an expert or master in IT. For over ten years, CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert), has identified networking professionals with the highest level of expertise. Less than three percent of all Cisco certified professionals earn their CCIE.
The CCIE certification has 5 areas of focus including:
Article From: https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/docs/DOC-2270
Robin Lee :: Aug.10.2008 :: Articles And Tutorials :: No Comments »