2021: Which CCNA Certification is the Best?


Which CCNA Certification is the Best?

Earning yourself a Cisco certification can be a good way for you to land a nice job in a company in need of Cisco specialists that could handle their IT and network-related problems.

However, there are different types of Cisco certifications that have their own different specialties. But which among them is the best and the highest-paying?

The highest-paying Cisco certification is the CCDA or the Cisco Certified Design Associate as they usually earn somewhere north of $120,000 a year. However, other Cisco specialties such as the CCNA Routing and Switching are not far behind and are just as lucrative. It is only that the CCDA tends to pay more.

Even though there are Cisco certifications that tend to pay more than the others, at the end of the day, it is still up to you and your own personal preferences because you might be better at one specialty than the others.

After all, it still boils down to what you are interested in. But, for the purposes of helping you decide, you can read on to find out more about the best Cisco certifications.

What are you interested in?

Well, the truth is that there are companies that are actually willing to pay more for certain Cisco certifications because of the nature of the companies and the novelty of such certifications.

But just because one certification tends to command a higher salary from different companies it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should already go for that certification. 

It still is very much important to make sure that your own personal preferences have a say in the matter.

After all, your interests should matter because of how you might be more interested in a certain specialization over another even though what you prefer the most doesn’t command the highest salary.

Of course, you also have to consider the fact that you might stand out better in a specialization you enjoy doing. And there is also a chance that you might not do well in a specialization that you are not interested in regardless of how high the salary may be.

So, in other words, it is best to weigh your options and see the pros and cons of each of the different Cisco certifications while also giving a huge consideration to your personal interests.

It will be much more rewarding in the end if you decided carefully while considering your own interests as well as the salary that each of those certifications can command in the job market.

Average salaries between CCNA exams

The average salaries between the most popular different Cisco certification exams are as follows:

  1. CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate – $120,139
  2. CCNP Routing and Switching – $108,646
  3. CCNA Routing and Switching – $101, 441
  4. CCNA Security – $101,441
  5. CCENT: Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician – $83,057

Start with CCNA for fundamentals

Before you try to get your Cisco certification in the fields of specialty you are interested in, what you have to do first is to start from the basics by going for the CCNA or the Cisco Certified Network Associate, which is the entry-level Cisco certification that covers all of the fundamentals.

In short, having a CCNA certification means that you have a good grasp of all of the different specialty services that Cisco offers and that you can somehow work in one area and in another as well.

The reason why it is best to start with the CCNA is that it allows you to be able to learn more about all of the different Cisco specialties so that you can get a good idea of what these fields are. Having a CCNA can also open your door to high-paying jobs in the US and in any other country in the world.

Getting a CCNA certification first will also allow you to better understand all of the other specialty certifications as well.

That means that, if you are planning on taking another certification exam in the future, it might be good to start with the CCNA so that you can use your fundamental knowledge to prepare for the other Cisco certification exams.

It always is better to start with the basics, and, in that sense, taking the CCNA exam can help give you a wider view of the different certifications given out by Cisco.

This not only makes it easier for you to understand such specialties but it will also narrow down your choices if you are indeed planning on getting another Cisco certification in the future to improve your ability to command a higher salary.

Which CCNA course is the best?

So, when we are talking about the best Cisco certification course, we cannot really judge simply by looking at the scope or the specialties they cover because this tends to be subjective on the part of the person.

Those who are more interested in design can easily say that the CCDA is better than the others while those who are more interested in cybersecurity can say that CCNA Security is the best.

As such, when we are judging the best Cisco certification, it is best to look at the annual salaries they command on the job market. And, in that sense, the CCDA tends to trump all of the others because of how it can command an average salary of more than $120 annually.

However, we can also look at things more subjectively by looking at these statistics:

  • 71% CCNA Routing and Switching
  • 33% CCNP Routing and Switching
  • 18% CCNA Security
  • 15% CCENT: Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician
  • 13% CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate

From the way it looks, a lot more people prefer CCNA Routing and Switching as it is by far the most popular Cisco certification there is. But is it the best? Probably not.

But it can be safe to assume that it could be the most popular because of how companies are more in-demand of those who have CCNA Routing and Switching certifications.

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