A Cisco certification has been known to be a great step forward in kickstarting a career in networking or strengthening your current portfolio. There are many advantages in getting Cisco certified. Here our top 10 reasons.
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1. You’ll Be Certified by the Networking Leader
Cisco pioneered routing and switching technologies–and continues to lead the way, with the greatest market share and largest installed base in the industry. The overwhelming majority of today’s Internet traffic travels over network pathways built with Cisco infrastructure products. When you’re trained and certified to work on Cisco products, your skills will be more marketable and more in demand. In fact, IDC recently found that 70 percent of IT leaders look for certifications to prove job applicants are qualified.1
2. Certification Is the Foundation That Networking Careers Are Built Upon
Ever since the program began, Cisco certifications have been coveted by network engineers and employers all over the world. According to recent research from IDC, Cisco skills are among those most included in hiring requirements–more frequently than 97 percent of all skills requested.2 The need for an intimate understanding of network infrastructure and protocols, and how they work together, has always been relevant. Now, that need is intensifying. A Cisco certification provides you with the knowledge and expertise to succeed in networking as technologies evolve. The program teaches you to install, monitor, and troubleshoot the network infrastructure products at the very heart of the Internet of Things (IoT).
3. Certification Gives You More Career Options
With a Cisco certification, your IT career path has seemingly limitless possibilities. In fact, IDC found that seven out of 10 organizations look for IT certifications when hiring or promoting.3 You can apply your core skill to technologies such as cloud, collaboration, data center, network programmability, wireless, and security. These growing specialties are propelling IT forward. With Cisco by your side, you’ll be uniquely prepared to take your career in whatever direction you want to go.
4. Certification Prepares You for Network Evolution in the Digital Era
As business becomes increasingly transformed by digitization, the network infrastructure is experiencing radical change. Much of the manual process of operating traditional networks has given way to a programmable network architecture that depends on virtualization, automation, analytics, cloud service management, openness, and extensibility. Recent IDC research has revealed that network engineers and architects are some of the most important future IT roles to help support these changes. Professionals looking to advance in IT networking today need to embrace this shift. Cisco offers Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) to leverage the power of today’s network and is committed to helping you align to it.
5. Certification Keeps You Current on All the Latest Technology Changes
Technology continues to change rapidly, and IT professionals are working to keep up. Sixty-four percent of IT professionals worldwide are either currently training for a certification this year or plan to; those who are currently certified are almost twice as likely to be actively pursuing new certifications.4 In addition to encompassing major network architecture shifts such as Cisco DNA, Cisco continually surveys the changing IT landscape for technological developments that have an impact on our certifications and your job role as a networking professional.
6. Certification Helps You Stand Out with Your Employer
According to Global Knowledge, more than 90 percent of IT professionals believe certifications lead to a more effective staff.5 By pursuing your Cisco certification, you’re telling your employer that you want to excel in your career. Managers notice that kind of initiative. There’s also credibility associated with Cisco certifications. IDC found that 82 percent of digital transformation leaders believe that people with IT certifications help accelerate innovation.6 In addition, prospective employers routinely use a Cisco certification as a search engine term or as a criterion for identifying job candidates.
7. Certification Helps You Learn from Your Peers
As more professionals earn Cisco certifications, a vibrant learning and career development community called the Cisco Learning Network has grown. This community is made up of IT professionals worldwide and provides valuable support, as members help one another study, learn, and pursue their IT goals. When you become a member of the Cisco Learning Network, you gain immediate access to study groups, training videos, peer-to-peer advice, and an impressive wealth of exam information.
8. Certification Gives You a Full Range of Training Options
There’s more than one way to learn. Through our Cisco Authorized Learning Partners, we offer a complete suite of flexible training options to make it easier to earn your Cisco certification. You can enroll in instructor-led training, a virtual classroom experience, or hands-on labs. In addition, our authorized publisher Cisco Press offers a wealth of resources.
9. Certification Helps Increase Your Paycheck
Salaries for IT networking jobs continue to grow, and your Cisco certification increases your earning potential. According to the 2018 IT Skills and Salary Report from Global Knowledge, in North America, certified IT staff earn 22 percent more than their non-certified counterparts, a difference of $15,913. In Asia-Pacific, certified IT staff earn 45 percent more.7 In addition, many organizations frequently offer lucrative rewards and recognition for employees who earn Cisco certifications.
10. Don’t Forget: There Is Value in Recertification
When it comes time to recertify your status as an IT professional, you can be confident that the certification process will remain a powerful, industry-recognized way to validate your knowledge. That’s because Cisco continually monitors its certifications to ensure that they are keeping pace with IT requirements. When you adopt the attitude of a lifelong learner and recertify, you make sure you are up to date in the training that you have worked hard for.
1,2,3,6IDC InfoBrief, "20 Most Significant IT Roles You Should Consider," March 2018.4,5,7Global Knowledge, 2018 IT Skills and Salary Report.
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