Cisco CCNP Certification as the Best Tool for Network Engineers to Conduct Their Daily Work

The CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) Routing and Switching credential is designed to validate the capability of a professional to plan, verify, troubleshoot, and implement wide area and local enterprise networks while working in partnership with other specialists on voice, advanced security, video, and wireless solutions. The certificate is aimed at those individuals who have a minimum of one-year experience in networking. They are professionals who are ready to work independently and advance their knowledge and skills in various complex network provisions. To earn the certification, one must have showcased the abilities needed in enterprise job roles, such as a system engineer, a network technician, a support engineer, or a network engineer. In other words, the skills tested in the CCNP exam are needed by professional network engineers to function in their job roles. It is a fact that the R&S protocol knowledge obtained during your exam preparation will offer a long-lasting foundation that you can build on as you progress in your career path. These competences are highly valued in the virtual and physical network functions in both the modern day and the potential future.

What is the role of a network engineer?

A network engineer, also referred to as a network architect, has the job role of planning, managing, and constructing networks and to make sure that he is well optimized and functions properly as he is intended to. The network engineer is responsible for the groundwork of the system in an organization, which invariably means that this person supports the work of the whole company. No doubt, the IT administrators and network technicians assist in the daily troubleshooting tasks and other IT tasks within the organization. However, this specialist still remains the professional who takes on the highest level of challenges regarding the designing, management, and improvement of networks in the company.

Depending on the organization, the professional network engineer will be required to create and implement wireless and physical networks, research and integrate new technologies, and troubleshoot network issues. Each of these roles is embedded in the certification content of the CCNP credential. Therefore, it is highly recommended that before you take up a network engineer role, you should start preparing for your certification exam. The certificate equips you to perform excellently in your job role and also prepares you for a more challenging position in your organization or in some other companies.

There is no more perfect time to take up the challenge to earn this credential than now. Most organizations are growing and are extending their services and products to be offered online, which increases greatly their dependence on the internal networking system to maintain things and keep everything running smoothly. The skills you need to maintain the daily functioning and management of the internal networking system of your organization can be acquired through the CCNP certification. Of course, there are many other certificates that a network engineer can consider, but this one exceeds many others in terms of relevant knowledge that are needed to function in your day to day job role. CCNP is a professional-level credential in the Cisco certification program. With this one, you can enhance your performance at work and boost your potential to earn up to $90,000 per annum. As a fact, the average salary of a junior network engineer is around $64,000 with a senior position earning an average salary of $91,333.

Major skills of a network engineer

First and foremost, a network engineer must have strong technical foundation. However, particular knowledge and skills in WANs and LANs are very critical to this role. In addition to this, the individual must also have a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity and development of the sophisticated cyber threats that have become very prominent in the world of networking. Network engineers must be confident in this area and also demonstrate programming competence. Additionally, these professionals also need a number of various abilities such as time management and communication skills in order to be very successful at the job.

There will be situations where a network engineer will be called upon to get a buy-in from various levels of stakeholders on particular projects. Therefore, the ability to communicate effectively is a strong point that this person must have. The individual must also be able to communicate clearly his/her point in a concise manner to enable people who do not have the technical knowledge understand the argument. Network engineers are also required to be adroit when it comes to recognizing and solving network issues because this is the core of their day to day tasks. These specialists must also be adaptable and ready to gather hands-on experience in the course of their career. This professional must also be very efficient when it comes to prioritizing and re-prioritizing the schedule because a bigger part of his/her day will be dedicated to resolving network issues as they arise. The ability to be able to manage all situations is a strong point for a network engineer.

How the CCNP certification helps a network engineer to perform day-to-day tasks?

The network engineers with the CCNP certification will naturally take up a supervisory role in some organizations. Their daily job will include developing, troubleshooting, implementing, and maintaining local and wide-area networks. Thanks to the skills and knowledge acquired in the credential content, this person will also be able to work with other specialists on voice, security, video, and wireless solutions. It is important to mention that professionals with this certificate work on bigger networks than those with Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) with nodes totaling about 500+. Interestingly, the high responsibilities of the CCNP professionals also come with higher pay, more than what is earned by other non-certified experts and even those with the CCNA certificate. They are offered more freedom to work and complete their daily tasks because they are trusted to have the capability to work without supervision. With this Cisco credential, one can also easily pursue the expert- and architect-level certifications.

How to attain the CCNP certification?

The potentials that come with earning CCNP are numerous. However, you must be ready to take the necessary steps to earn this certification. Before you earn the credential, you are required to have any CCIE or CCNA Routing and Switching. In addition to this, you must have at least a year of experience working in networking field. Within three years, you can successfully complete the requirements for CCNP, which entails passing three different exams: 300-101 ROUTE, 300-115 SWITCH, and 300-135 TSHOOT. It is important to mention that each certification test is difficult. You must try to learn all the content areas and various materials that have been recommended for the certificate. According to experts in the field, these three exams should be taken in a particular order to optimize your chances of success at your first attempt.

Conclusion

To be a successful network engineer, the CCNP certification should be on your priority list. As a matter of fact, you should enroll for the credential as soon as possible if you meet the prerequisite. It will give you more freedom at your workplace, increase your salary potential, and provide you with the opportunity to climb quickly the corporate ladder.