With a year of networking experience you can pursue CCNP examinations. CCNP offers five certification levels: Entry, Associate, Professional, Expert and Architect/Specialist. These examinations identify you as an enterprise professional, either as a network technician or as a support, systems or network engineer. Within the five levels of expertise are eight paths you can follow on your certification journey: voice, routing and switching, storage networking, design, service provider operations, network security, wireless and service provider.
CCNP certification begins with Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT ™) Certification. In preparation for this examination, take the course in Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices, Part 1. The test measures your skills and knowledge pertaining to the installation and operation of a small branch office network and your ability to solve problems related to it. The test also covers fundamentals of networking, security and wireless theory, the basics of routing and switching and connecting to a wide-area network (WAN), as well as WAN technologies, Internet operating systems and other primary network operating and configuring concepts.
Depending upon your work environment, you can move to the Associate level and select one of six pathways to follow. The six paths are design, routing and switching, security, service provider operations, voice and wireless. The requirements for each level naturally vary. As an example, the design pathway requires a fundamental knowledge in network design as related to the Cisco converged networks based on Cisco's Service-Oriented Network Architecture. You must have the ability to design network infrastructure and service that require broadband access as well as LAN (local-area network) and WAN.
At the next step, the Professional level, the six paths continue with the addition of a seventh: service provider. For example, if you choose the Design pathway at this level, you might follow an architectural, routing or switching sub-path. If you take the routing exam, you will emerge from this test certified to use advanced Internet Protocol addressing and routing in employing Cisco Integrated Service Routers tied to networks.
At the Expert level, Storage Networking is added as yet another pathway. Thus, at the Associate level, if you follow the Design path to become a Cisco Certified Design Associate, you can then move to the Profession Design level and then become a Cisco Design Expert. If, for example, you follow this path, you will be certified as expert in the theory and practice of infrastructure network design and as having abilities to design and support complicated global networks by transforming company strategies into viable technical strategies that support the organization.
Specialist and Architect Certifications are selective. You can pursue the Cisco Certified Specialist level in one of six areas or, for designers, the Cisco Certified Architect level. Entry into both are selective and require years of experience and applied expertise.