This Year's Top Network Certifications
As an organization’s needs related to managing their network infrastructure and protocols diversify, the demand for IT professionals who have a validated knowledge bank continues to increase substantially.
Modern IT professionals who aim to work in networking have to ensure that they are up to date with a wide variety of tools and technologies that are required to manage and maintain a modern networking infrastructure ranging from server endpoints to WANs and switches to multiple virtualization components and new generation firewalls. And the best approach to not just develop this knowledge bank but to also validate that an individual possesses it is by earning networking certifications.
There are currently a lot of certifications being offered for networking professionals with each one of them promising to teach relevant networking related skill sets, but some of them are more in demand by organizations owing to their comprehensiveness and relevance and these are the ones you should be narrowing down your choices to.
Top Network Certifications to Get in 2020
After analyzing market trends and salaries, we have come up with a list of the most relevant computer networking certifications apt for networking professionals in 2020:
CCIE: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert:
This certification offered by Cisco is one of the most in-demand networking certifications out there, owing to its high applicability and importance in modern networking systems and the number of tracks it offers for professionals looking to specialize in specific networking components.
The CCIE exam is tough and comprehensive, so the annual number of people passing a CCIE certification remains low. However, this makes the CCIE certification a much-assured pedestal to land a high paying job in the networking domain.
A CCIE certification is considered a high-value investment and one that is a hallmark of a professional’s dedication and commitment towards their career advancement. The Other certification like CCIE Security and CCIE Wireless remain the same.
CCNP: Cisco Certified Network Professional:
Another one of Cisco’s renowned certifications, this is a beginner to associate level certification that allows candidates to develop a well-rounded knowledge base regarding the multiple different product offerings by Cisco and their various working functionalities. Considering the fact that Cisco is a widely used networking equipment vendor for all types of organizations worldwide, this certification will certainly increase your credentials towards becoming a high value asset in the modern networking talent sphere.
There are many different variants offered by Cisco in CCNP ranging from data center, router and switching to cloud.
However, to become eligible to enroll yourself in a CCNP certification, you will have to complete the Cisco Certified Network Associate certification first which itself includes multiple certification paths like .
If you want to continue further on from CCNP, you can either opt for specialization certifications offered in the same CCNP range or you can move on to other expert level certifications that include the CCIE certification.
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CompTIA Network+:
For beginners in the networking domain, the CompTIA Network+ certification is the best stepping stone to move forward towards other advanced level certifications. You won’t find any better certifications at this stage than the CompTIA Network+.
Its course outline covers all networking fundamentals and many industry experts opinionate that an aspiring beginner can greatly increase their chances of landing an entry-level job once they complete this certification.
The best part about CompTIA Network+ is that it’s vendor neutral and contains references to Microsoft, Apple, IBM and other networking components manufacturers. After completing this certification, you can go for the CompTIA security+ certification, which can increase your skill set regarding modern security protocols for networking.
SolarWinds Certified Professional:
The latest certification recommended by industry experts is the SolarWinds Certified Professional (SCP) certification. The parent firm offers products and solutions for many different IT related fields like cloud, database management and more In recent years, it has become an emerging vendor for networking related components and solutions. This showed an increased need for professionals who are capable of working on the networking components offered by this vendor.
Therefore, to address this need, SolarWinds initiated its SCP certification credential. This certification will allow an individual to become adept at handling both the system and network management portfolio currently offered by SolarWinds.
While you will need to just pass a single exam to become a SCP professional, SolarWinds offers two different paths:. Network Performance or Server and Application Monitor.
However, unlike other courses for networking included in this list, the SCP credential requires a high amount of maintenance and comes with a validity period of just three years, after which you will have to renew the credential after appearing in the exam again.
The SCP credential will only become valid if you become a paying member of SCP professional body, which requires you to pay an annual membership fee of $200.
Despite these requirements for their certifications, SolarWinds offers access to expert assistance and the latest knowledge related to SolarWinds’ networking components.
Conclusion:
There are many networking certifications, but you need to make a choice carefully. The right certification will help you stand out to recruiters from top firms and include benefits like better pay packages and relevancy with regards to latest trends in the networking domain.
Certified networking professionals at the beginner level can earn an average salary of up to $67,000, and this figure rises significantly once you achieve expert level. CCIE experts command an average salary of up to $119,000 per annum.
Our experts can help you choose the best certifications that will help you reach your career goals. Enroll in our IT training program to launch your career in the field of technology.
