Is CCNP Certification Worth It?

When it comes to a successful career, it all boils down to choosing the right tech certification. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNP) certification is one of them. A lot of people still wonder if is still CCNP worth it? 

Well, in this blog we are going to cover all the important aspects about CCNP and how it can be good for you in the long run. CCNP is a piece of cake for your technical career. You may not be able to see it right now, however, you will get to learn its importance later in your career. 

Have you ever appeared for an interview in a tech company? If you have, the answer is right there! If you are there to appear for an interview as a Network Specialist, you cannot ignore CCNP certification.

Let’s see all the reasons why CCNP is worth it.

is ccnp worth it

Why is CCNP Worth It?

#1 Huge Demand for Network Specialists:

According to comprehensive 2021 research, there are a total of 16,425 job results for Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) positions. All these results have been collected from various online employment platforms such as LinkedIn Jobs, SimplyHired, Indeed and LinkUp

The results were the following: 

  • LinkedIn Jobs: 7,000+ 
  • SimplyHired: 3,296 
  • Indeed: 4,225 
  • LinkUp: 1,904 

This is a huge demand for CCNP qualified professionals in the tech industry. The data mentioned above is evidence for that. 

#2 Doorway to Firewall Certifications:

Once a candidate has the CCNP certification, he can make himself completely fit for a job position as a Network Specialist. He can do that by taking firewall training. Yet, the condition is that you need to follow an order of certifications to become a full-fledged Network Specialist or Network Engineer. This perfect order is: 

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) + Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNP) + Any Firewall = A job-ready Network Specialist 

 This means that you cannot skip CCNA to become CCNP certified. Some people even wonder if CCNA is still worth it and if they can skip it? 

The answer is no. You cannot skip CCNA. It is the building block of your IT career. 

Now, if we talk about the firewalls, you can explore the following firewalls: 

  • Palo Alto Firewall: It is the number one firewall in the tech industry. 
  • Check Point Firewall: Followed by the Palo Alto firewall comes the Check Point firewall. It stands as the number two firewall in tech. 
  • Load Balancer: Load balancer such as F5 LTM load balancer is the number one load balancer. 

Apart from the firewalls, you can also explore the Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) domain.  

#3 Numerous CCNP Specializations to Choose From:

The best part about the CCNP certification is that you can choose from 6 different specializations. These include: 

  • CCNP: Enterprise 
  • CCNP: Data Center 
  • CCNP: Service Provider 
  • CCNP: Security 
  • CCNP: Certified DevNet Professional 
  • CCNP: Collaboration 

You can choose the certification of your own choice and advance your career in it.  

#4 The Certification is Relatively Less Expensive:

Let’s talk about the cost of taking the CCNP exam. The exam is worth $300. The exam is relatively cheaper than other networking exams. For instance, the CompTIA Network+ costs $319.  

At the same time, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) costs $419. On top of that, the lab exam costs $1,600. 

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) is a Cisco certification which helps you show off your networking skills.  

Why is CCNP Certification in Demand?

When it comes to IT and networking, Network Engineer is the most in-demand job position in the technical industry. Due to 40% of technical shifts from 2018 have created a demand for IT professionals.  

These IT certification holders are in huge demand in the following tech domains: 

  • Large scale networks (Networking) 
  • Data Center 
    Cloud Computing 
  • Security 
  • Video and Collaboration Technologies 

This is clear evidence that CCNP certified professionals are very much in demand.

Why does MAANG Need CCNP Professionals?

Big IT names often referred to as MAANG (previously as FAANG) are 90% dependent on big data centers. This creates a higher demand for Network Specialists to work on these physical servers. 

These big IT companies trade in cloud solutions to various tech companies. This in turn needs the big companies to keep track of their own databases as well. Here comes the role of huge physical data centers. 

That’s why, as a Network Engineer, you need to pitch in your technical skills in MAANG companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc. 

Is Networking Dying?

A lot of people argue that Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity are taking over. It is true that 94% of enterprises have shifted to cloud. This has created all the buzz around cloud but this does not mean that the Networking is dead.  

Network Professionals are still and will always be in demand. This is because the Internet runs on servers. Network Engineers are the ones who configure the servers. The Internet is here to stay forever.

It’s a Wrap!

Networking is a huge part of the technical ecosystem. You cannot deny the contributions of the Network Engineers in advancing the technology. Be it the invention of optical fibers or complex supercomputers, the contributions of the networking professionals are always appreciated. 

If you are someone who looks forward to becoming a Network Engineer, you can start your journey here with us. All you need is basic networking knowledge and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification.  

Now that you have gone through all the legit reasons to why CCNP certification is worth it today, you do not need to rethink the value of this Cisco certification. Cisco certifications have existed in the tech world for 30 years now. You cannot question the value of Cisco certifications. 

Compared to any other networking vendor such as Juniper Networks, Cisco is far more successful than Juniper Networks. Almost 80% of enterprises use Cisco as their primary networking equipment.  

Take this significant step to begin your journey to become an exceptional CCNP certified professional today. You are worth it to become a Network Engineer! 

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