Earn More With Cisco Certification
After each annual salary survey, I'm always surprised by how much more Cisco certified individuals make beyond what their non-certified counterparts do. This has always been the case but I always thought that sooner or later the certification would be so common it would stop matter as much as it does today. However, since I began working in IT, it has never been the case.
The simple reason is the Cisco certification exams are difficult and cannot be faked. For this reason, you must know what you are doing to become certified. This keeps the people that like to memorize certification exam questions and answers out of the running for this certification. The result of this is IT managers know that when you have a verifiable Cisco certification, you know what you are doing. Of course, experience helps as well but in general when you have the books smarts, the experience will come to you very easily.
The next reason that the certification has remained so strong for so long is Cisco requires you to keep up with your certification. You cannot get it and do nothing for a decade. This keeps your knowledge up to date so once again, your employer knows that you are always on the cutting edge. This makes the Cisco certified people a better bet than someone that is not certified and may be riding knowledge that was received decades ago.
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Finally, the certification also tells your employer that you are in this as a career. This usually is only a concern for new employees and the lower level certifications. However, there are a lot of people that install a router at home and call themselves specialists. Of course, this isn't true but if an IT manager does not have a technical background it can be very difficult to figure out where this person is at. For that reason, the IT manager would be much more comfortable hiring someone with even the low-level certifications so he knows the candidate has some knowledge.
Any way you look at it, obtaining Cisco certification is a great investment into your career. It will allow you to make more money and obtain positions that offer greater prestige. This is true for the entry-level certification all the way up to the top. When you have the certification you are telling your employer and coworkers that you are an expert, or at least on your way to becoming an expert in your chosen field. This is much different than telling people about your experience or trumping up past experience to get a job.
Of course, the certification alone does not guarantee you a job and only. Indeed, you should have the appropriate amount of certification to coincide with you experience. You don't want to be a CCIE with two years of experience. This would not be looked at favorably during your job search and people will assume that you are not ready for a high level position. However, when you obtain certification at a slow and steady pace, employers assume that you are using your experience to gain the certification. This is exactly what you want.
Check out for more information about Cisco Certification and working with Cisco in the IT industry.After each annual salary survey, I'm always surprised by how much more Cisco certified individuals make beyond what their non-certified counterparts do. This has always been the case but I always thought that sooner or later the certification would be so common it would stop matter as much as it does today. However, since I began working in IT, it has never been the case.
The simple reason is the Cisco certification exams are difficult and cannot be faked. For this reason, you must know what you are doing to become certified. This keeps the people that like to memorize certification exam questions and answers out of the running for this certification. The result of this is IT managers know that when you have a verifiable Cisco certification, you know what you are doing. Of course, experience helps as well but in general when you have the books smarts, the experience will come to you very easily.
The next reason that the certification has remained so strong for so long is Cisco requires you to keep up with your certification. You cannot get it and do nothing for a decade. This keeps your knowledge up to date so once again, your employer knows that you are always on the cutting edge. This makes the Cisco certified people a better bet than someone that is not certified and may be riding knowledge that was received decades ago.
Finally, the certification also tells your employer that you are in this as a career. This usually is only a concern for new employees and the lower level certifications. However, there are a lot of people that install a router at home and call themselves specialists. Of course, this isn't true but if an IT manager does not have a technical background it can be very difficult to figure out where this person is at. For that reason, the IT manager would be much more comfortable hiring someone with even the low-level certifications so he knows the candidate has some knowledge.
Any way you look at it, obtaining Cisco certification is a great investment into your career. It will allow you to make more money and obtain positions that offer greater prestige. This is true for the entry-level certification all the way up to the top. When you have the certification you are telling your employer and coworkers that you are an expert, or at least on your way to becoming an expert in your chosen field. This is much different than telling people about your experience or trumping up past experience to get a job.
Of course, the certification alone does not guarantee you a job and only. Indeed, you should have the appropriate amount of certification to coincide with you experience. You don't want to be a CCIE with two years of experience. This would not be looked at favorably during your job search and people will assume that you are not ready for a high level position. However, when you obtain certification at a slow and steady pace, employers assume that you are using your experience to gain the certification. This is exactly what you want.
Check out for more information about Cisco Certification and working with Cisco in the IT industry.