Are you planning to sit for the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) examination? If yes, you might wonder which exam is the easiest of the two. Before briefing on that, let’s understand these examinations and why they are taken.
What Is the CCNA Examination?
The CCNA examination tests the networking concepts of the student, which is required to get networking-related roles in the IT sector. Students who pass the examination and get the CCNA certification achieve high-paying networking jobs from an entry-level. Therefore, the examination benefits every candidate who wants to grow in networking.
What Is the CCNP Examination?
The CCNP test helps to examine the professional networking talent of the student. The students who pass this exam are expected to have a broad knowledge of networking and a good understanding of Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs).
Both examinations of CCNA and CCNP fall under the Cisco certification program. This program has five levels. While the CCNA is the second-level program, CCNP is the third-level program. The associate level is for beginners, whereas the professional level is for experts.
Who Can Take the Cisco Certification Program?
The Cisco certification program is designed to improve the workplace’s communication and efficiency. Candidates who can sit for this examination are as follows:
- Human resources department
- Business executives
- Business leaders
- IT managers
- Network administrators
- System administrators
- Developers
- Sales teams
- Head of Marketing
- Marketing teams
- Network engineers
- Consultants
- Software engineers
- Collaboration administrators
- Collaboration engineers
Which Is Difficult – CCNP or CCNA?
Amongst CCNP and CCNA, the CCNP is more difficult than CCNA. This is because, in CCNP, students need to pass only one test, i.e., the entry-level test, whereas, for CCNP, the candidates need to pass two tests – entry and associate. Besides, the CCNP examination covers more advanced topics than the former. This means the students need a good grasp of the associate-level syllabus to crack this examination.
What Is the Syllabus of CCNA?
If a student enrols in a CCNA course from a reliable educational institution, they need to cover the following topics to pass the CCNA examination and get hold of the certificate.
- Network Fundamentals
- LAN Switching Technologies
- Routing Technologies
- WAN Technologies
- Infrastructure Services
- Infrastructure Security
- Infrastructure Management
What Is the Syllabus of CCNP?
The following is the CCNP course syllabus students must study to pass the examination with good results.
- Addressing
- Basic Routing Concepts
- Dynamic Routing Protocols
- Advanced Routing Protocols
What Is the Career Route of CCNA?
Since CCNA and CCNP are different level examinations, the career route for each is also different. Students planning to sit for the CCNA certification examination can make their careers in the following fields:
- Network Technician
- Network Support Engineer
- Helpdesk Engineer
- First and Second Line Support
- Service Desk Engineer/Technician
What Is the Career Route for CCNP?
The following are the career options for students with CCNP certification. If you want to make a career in either of the professions specified below, you can complete CCNP training from a reputed educational platform. Prepare for the CCNP test, pass the examination and get the certification.
- Third Line Support
- Systems Engineer
- Network Analyst
- Network Engineer
- IT Team Leader
- Network Specialist
Which Examination Should You take?
Both CCNA and CCNP examinations are important for completing Cisco training. Although the CCNP examination is more difficult than the former, attaining it will ensure you have a good understanding of the network. Besides, it will make you more capable of a high-paying job than those candidates who don’t have the certification.
You can begin your certification journey with the CCNA, and after completing the CCNA test, you can sit for the CCNP examination. If you crack the examination, you will get high-position job roles.
If you want to start your training, you can sign up for the Cisco courses at Koenig Solution. This educational platform provides quality Cisco courses like:
- Deploying Cisco Contact CenterExpress (UCCXD) v 6.0
- Implementing Cisco Collaboration Core Technologies (CLCOR) 350-801
- Implementing Cisco Collaboration Applications (CLICA) 300-810
- Intro to IP Telephony Certification
- Advanced Administration of Unified Communications Manager and Features (AAUCMF) training course.
You can enrol for any course above to improve the networking skills required for IT sectors. The teachers provide top-notch study materials and assist students with their preparation. So, without delay, complete the course at a reasonable CCNP certification cost and give an additional boost to your resume.
Conclusion
With the right coaching and training, students can find CCNP courses easy to crack. This examination is essential to boost a career in the IT sector. Whichever certification course you choose to opt for will help you make a successful career in networking. Since most companies want networking experts in their organisation, the certification will make a good impression on the recruiters. Besides, the certificates can help you get shortlisted for the interview round.