How to be a Cisco Certified Collaboration Engineer

The Cisco Collaboration Certifications are all the rage in today’s IT world. If you know someone with a Cisco Collaboration certification, you must already be aware of the job and growth opportunity they have. The Cisco Collaboration certifications are gaining popularity day by day, which is why we bring you this article, telling you all about the certifications and how you can become a CISCO Certified Collaboration Engineer. Let’s get started.

What is a Cisco Collaboration Engineer?

The job market for Cisco Certified Collaboration Engineers is huge; you could be network video administrator, network video operator; network video engineer, communications engineer, collaboration sales or systems engineer and much more, having opportunities to work with private or government co-operation. According to BusinessNewsDaily, the CCNP and CCIE Collaboration certifications are among their top 5 certifications.

The Cisco Collaboration Engineers aim to improve their skills, knowledge and step up their career ladder, via the CCNA and CCNP Collaboration certifications. There are three Cisco certifications included in this program:

• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Collaboration (3-year program)
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Collaboration (3-year program)
• Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration (3-year program)

How to achieve a CCNA or CCNP Collaboration certification – A step by step guide

Step 1: Choose Your Certification

All three certifications aim to enable you to achieve a variety of skills, thus your first step is to choose the certification that aligns with your vision and career requirements. Here is why you should choose the following:

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Collaboration

IT professional who is into fields like network video engineering, collaboration engineering, and IP telephony, then this certification is for you. This certification aims at teaching professionals to establish and furnish the skills necessary for video, voice and network engineering. Your job responsibilities could be basic video endpoint configuration and provisioning and support of Cisco collaboration solutions.

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Collaboration

The aim of this certification is to differentiate Cisco collaboration and unified communications network engineers who design, deploy, configure, and troubleshoot Cisco collaboration and unified communications applications, devices, and networks, and might also support voice, video, and messaging applications across their corporate networks.

Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration

If you are an IT professional who can implement, maintain, and support complex Cisco IP telephony networks and unified communications solutions, and are keen on adopting new technological practices. Considered to be tougher than some experts, this program is perhaps the most challenging of the three, thus possibly more valuable. Your choice should also be based on the demand of any of the three certifications in your country/city and the company you want to work at, as their popularity may vary from place to place.

Step 2: Research – Know the Prerequisites and Requirements

It is important to know what you are getting yourself into. Researching the study material, and skills on which you are tested is important, but you should also know the requirements to fulfill to sit and pass the certification examination. Here are the requirements for the following:

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Collaboration

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: To complete the certification, you are required to pass the following examinations:

• 210-060 CICD
• 210-065 CIVND

Training: Although not essential, one is recommended to be trained at the following:

• Implementing Cisco Collaboration Devices (CICD)
• Implementing Cisco Video Network Devices, Part 1 (CIVND1)
• Implementing Cisco Video Network Devices, Part 2 (CIVND2)
• CCNP Collaboration

Prerequisites: A Cisco CCNA Collaboration or any Cisco CCIE certification

Requirements: To complete the certification, you are required to pass the following examinations:-

• 300-070 CIPTV1
• 300-075 CIPTV2
• 300-080 CTCOLLAB
• 300-085 CAPPS

Training: Although not essential, one is recommended to be trained at the following:

• Implementing Cisco IP Telephony and Video, Part 1 (CIPTV1)
• Implementing Cisco IP Telephony and Video, Part 2 (CIPTV2)
• Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony and Video (CTCOLLAB)
• Implementing Cisco Collaboration Applications (CAPPS)

Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration

Prerequisites: Candidates should have a theoretical and practical knowledge of IP telephony.

Requirements: To complete the certification, you are required to pass the following examinations:

• 400-051 Written Exam
• CCIE Collaboration Lab Exam

Candidates would have to pass a written and practical exam to complete the certification.

Training: Although not essential, one is recommended to be trained at the CCIE Expert-Level Training for CCIE Collaboration

Step 3: Prepare

Whether you are an expert or a beginner in your career, there is no such thing as too much practice. Whether it is a written exam or an in-lab exam, practice is a must. Once you have chosen which collaboration certification you want to achieve, fulfilled the prerequisites and other requirements, you need to look up the syllabus and gather the study material (books, notes, CDs, videos) you need to prepare. In order to prepare, you should also join preparatory classes at a tuition center. If you cannot find one in your vicinity, take up online classes. A good tip is to frequently take practice exams and time yourself while simulating an exam-like environment.

Benefits of the Cisco Collaboration Certifications

Due to some network engineering, IP telephony jobs etc., list the Cisco Collaboration Certification as a prerequisite to applying, certified individuals can apply to more jobs than their counterparts. In other jobs, they are also likely to be preferred over other candidates, can negotiate for a higher salary and get greater on-wage benefits (like healthcare, paid vacation etc.). Due to their vast knowledge and adequate skill, a certified individual is able to perform better at their job and thus would also get frequent raises and promotions. Many a time, employers themselves seek out the individuals through their LinkedIn profiles, if the individuals have listed a Cisco Collaboration Certification in their achievements.

As a Cisco Collaboration certified individual, you are also eligible for other Cisco certification and examinations, as some of them list the certification as a requirement. Lastly, due to the rapid advancement in the world of information technology and network collaboration engineering, these certifications are valid and valuable in all part of the world.