Can we take the CCNP exam directly? First of all, we know that Cisco certification is divided into three levels. Many candidates who want to be certified by Cisco will wonder, can we take the CCNP instead of CCNA? Today, We will answer the question about whether candidates can take the CCNP exam directly.
Cisco certification system
Cisco certification system is divided into the following certification levels from low to high: CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) → CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) → CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert).
Because CCNA is the basic level certification, the social recognition will be relatively low. So many candidates will want to directly take the CCNP certificate. But at present, if you want to participate in the CCNP examination, you don’t have to pass the new CCNA exam first. There is no prerequisite (this is a big change after the revision)! If the candidates think that the social recognition of CCNA is relatively low, they can apply for CCNP directly without applying for CCNA.
When it comes to CCIE, it is worth mentioning that CCNA is the same as CCNP in removing the mandatory advanced relationship. If candidates do not want to take the new CCNA exam, they can also choose to take the expert level certification in Cisco Certification— CCIE. CCIE certification does not need you to pass CCNA or CCNP. Therefore, more and more candidates will choose to get CCIE certification directly, which can save the cost of registration and training. In terms of training, just from the registration cost, you can save a considerable amount of money. What’s more, CCIE, as one of the most valuable certificates in the IT industry, will prove that your technology has reached the level of experts, which has been recognized and affirmed by the industry and is more conducive to the development of your career.
For the sake of re-certification, no matter which level of the certificate has validity. CCNP certification is valid for three years. To re-certify, you must pass any core exam or any two CCNP examinations within the validity period of the certificate, or pass the CCIE lab exam in any direction.
CCIE has high social recognition (for details, please refer to how about the social recognition of CCIE certificate?). The corresponding difficulty will also be higher, and candidates will doubt whether it will be difficult to learn without CCNA and CCNP. In fact, in the learning of knowledge points, even that candidates with zero foundation is not a big problem, because training institutions generally start from CCNA knowledge points to CCNP and then to CCIE, step by step. Only when you have a solid foundation of CCNA and CCNP, can you carry out the learning of CCIE?
Generally speaking, you don’t need to pass the CCNA certification first. You can directly pass the CCIE or CCIE certification exam. Network engineers can choose to pass the CCIE or CCNP certification exam directly.
