How To Earn Cisco's CCNP Certification

How To Earn Cisco's CCNP Certification
To earn your CCNP, you first have to earn your CCNA certification. Then you are faced with a decision - take the three-exam CCNP path, or the four-exam path? they are both demanding, so let's take a look at each path.

Congratulations on your decision to earn your CCNP certification! As a CCIE, I can tell you that Cisco certifications are both financially & personally rewarding.

The three-exam path combines the BSCI & BCMSN exams into a single exam, called the Composite exam.

The four-exam CCNP path includes the Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks exam (BSCI), Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks exam (BCMSN), Building Cisco Remote Access Networks (BCRAN), & Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting (CIT) exam.

i am often asked what order I recommend taking the exams in. After earning your CCNA, I recommend you begin studying for the BSCI exam immediately. You will find the fundamentals you learned in your CCNA studies will help you a great deal with this exam. you are going to add to your CCNA knowledgebase a bit when it comes to OSPF & EIGRP, as well as being introduced to BGP.

I don't have a preference between the BCMSN & BCRAN exams, but I do recommend you take the CIT exam last. You'll be using all the skills you learned in the first two exams to pass the CIT. it is a very demanding exam, & it is a little hard to troubleshoot technologies that you haven't learned yet!

The CCNP is both financially & personally fulfilling. one times you complete your CCNA studies, take a little breather & then get started on your CCNP studies. The more you know, the more valuable you are in today's ever-changing IT job market.