There are four main Cisco Certification levels namely, Entry, Specialist, Associate, and Professional. However, there is also an Architectural level, but we will not discuss that in this post. Now, lets look at all the different Cisco certifications in more detail. These Cisco certifications are very important for professionals in the IT industry to possess because they test the person’s technical knowledge and their ability to work independently as well as in a team environment.

Now you might be wondering how is this test organised? Well, the first step is to find a good testing centre which offers all the facilities to create your exam on the computer screen in a real time manner. Some of these centres have live labs and some of them also have video conferencing facilities.

When looking for a testing centre, it is better to go for a company which has been in the industry for quite some time and who has many practitioners working there with Cisco certification as well. It is very important that the company has qualified and experienced people at the headquarters. Usually the candidates who apply for the Cisco exams are seeking for an entry level position in networking or an engineering one. An entry level position in networking is someone who works as an analyst, a system engineer, an IT manager, an architect, or a system engineer.

Once you have decided the type of exam you want to sit for, you must then select the required Cisco Certifications to be taken for the exam. The exams for these Cisco certifications are divided into two major categories: normal or virtual lab. The exams for these Cisco certifications must cover all the basic or normal features of CCNA Exam. The normal certification exams cover the exam material from CCNA class CCNA -DSL or simple lab. The virtual lab certification allows the learners to simulate a real-life situation to learn the Cisco basics without having to invest much on the actual tools.

It is always better to get an extra five years of experience than to wait to get a certification after two years and to recertify you must pass a CCIE written exam. In the second year of your CCIE exam you can take the exam again, as many times as you want. In fact, if you want to sit for another CCIE exam, you can. You can sit for the second exam three times in a row to reduce the pressure.

While you study for the exams, you must keep in mind the pros and cons of obtaining this certification. There are advantages and disadvantages while obtaining Cisco certification. It is best to study in depth which means obtaining a lot of information about networking topics is a must. Getting a certification is not mandatory in the United States of America, although many companies require their employees to have it for IT security purposes.

Obtaining Cisco certifications is good for the career development and it helps in the progression of your career. If you study for these certifications and pass them with flying colors, you will be able to gain the highest level of respect in your organization and at your job. Most experts would say that those who are able to demonstrate proficiency in such matters are able to succeed in their jobs. Having the certification opens more doors for you when it comes to networking jobs. In addition, obtaining one can be the beginning of your path to obtaining other certifications such as the CCIE or other cloud based certifications.

In order to successfully certify you should follow all the steps. You need to study hard and pass the CCIE exam. Your certificate should cover all of the topics that were included in the CCNA syllabus. It is not enough to just pass the exam because if you want to recertify, you also need to pass the exams given by different Cisco company branches. In order to do this you need to work hard and study even harder.