CCNA - The ultimate doorway to the world of Computer Networking
If you are interested in Networking, CCNA is the best way to get started. This course prepares you for the networking jobs of every level, all the way from entry-level engineers, Network Administrator, Network Supporters to the Senior-level System Administrators. The course is updated frequently and you are likely to be learning the network technologies used extensively in the actual work environment
In this blog, we will be taking a layman overview at the CCNA certification. We will break the topic in small chunks and try to understand them individually. We will be keeping the technical terms as few as possible. Our goal with the blog is to introduce you to the CCNA course and the scope of CCNA career in the context of Nepal. If you have any question, confusion, or want to know about the specific topic or term, you are welcome to contact us.
Here are the topics we will be addressing:
- Introduction to CCNA
- Why CCNA
- Brief History
- Advantages of CCNA certificate
- How to get CCNA certificate
- CCNA career options
- Future of CCNA career
- CCNA in the Context of Nepal
What is CCNA?
CCNA or Cisco Certified Networking Associate is a certificate given to the trainees after the completion of the networking course created by Cisco Systems, Inc. CCNA certification can cover anything from data-center, routing and switching, security, service provider, service provider operations, storage networking, cloud, video, voice, and wireless. Which means, CCNA is very modular certification and you do not have to stay limited to one particular field. You can expand your career as per your interest or as per the demand in the market.
The challenging part of obtaining the certificate is that the certificate is valid only for 3 years. You have to retake the exam to stay relevant. And you don't need any sort of degree to take this course.
A qualified CCNA or CCIE holder can single-handedly build an entire full-fledged network that can handle millions of user at once. Meaning you can set up the servers, routers, switches, personal computers running connections, proper routing protocols, DNS servers, and whole components together. To reach this level you have to work very hard and stay up to date with the latest happening in the networking world. It will all be worth because there are a handful of CCIE holders. Reaching this level is not impossible, it will require hard work, patient, perseverance, and dedication.
Why CCNA?
Networking newcomers are always curious to know why take a course created by a company or generally why take a CCNA course at all? And there's a very compelling reason to do so. It is because more than 70% of the networking equipment in the global market is of the Cisco brand. And you can easily work with other brand's technology with the Cisco certificate because the methodology and the concepts are very similar. If that doesn't sound compelling to you, you can rest assured, if you have this certificate you can easily get jobs in the entry-level networking position.
CCNA prepares you with the practical knowledge of networking. Having this certificate provides a confidence boost to the Human Resource (HR) manager that you have the necessary skills to get the job done. CCNA certificate is given more priority even if you have low grades in your mark sheet.
In the context of Nepal too, employers are looking for the Cisco certified employees. If you are passionate about networking occupation, you are almost guaranteed a stable career in which you can constantly level up. With this certificate, you are respected in the work environment and it shows your dedication to the networking craft. Many networking personnel also wants to take this course because they know the value of obtaining this certificate.
Taking the CCNA certification course is the pathway to a higher career. With this, you can join the major league of CCIE certificate holders who are respected in the community and earn the highest salary among the networking engineers.
Brief History of CCNA certification
The journey of the CCNA certificate starts in 1998. It was the altered version CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) announced on September 27th of 1993. Initially, trainees had to take only one exam to achieve CCNA certificate and it was the only way. In 2003, as technology evolved, the course was divided into two parts. Each part covering 50% of the original CCNA course. Up to 2007, you would not get any certificate for completing the first 50% of the course, which soon changed. It is also possible to do the whole CCNA course in one go - which is called the composite exam. We recommend completing the course one by one. After you pass the first part called the ICND1, you get a CCENT or Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician certificate. It's the most basic certificate and mandatory to be eligible for the CCNA course. After that, you do the ICND2 course, pass the exam and receive a CCNA certificate.
Advantage of CCNA certificate
Taking the CCNA course and achieving the certificate has all the benefits and nothing to lose. One thing to remember though, you have to be constantly learning because the CCNA certificates expire every 3 years. Which means irrelevant topics are removed from the syllabus and new advanced topics are added. This makes the CCNA course very reliable which is also why CCNA is very popular and in demand.
Here are the advantages of a CCNA certificate:
- Global acceptance: CCNA certificate is valid globally, so your certificate can be used in any country to apply for a job.
- Career boost: Looking to enhance your networking career? CCNA is the recommended way. This career guarantees new knowledge as the course is updated every 3 years.
- Easy to get employed: CCNA has a very good global value. You can easily get employed. Especially once you get to a higher level like CCNP, you are guaranteed networking jobs in the market.
- Relevant Knowledge: Attaining CCNA course means taking the course on the latest and updated technologies. Cisco removes irrelevant topics and adds new and important ones every three years.
The knowledge received from CCNA can be used in learning other new networking modules and especially taking cyber security courses. Nepali market has also a high demand for workforce in the data security sector. As you can see for yourself, Nepali people are going online. There has been the digitization of every domain. In the recent context, the payment system is revolutionizing the economy of Nepal. And the surge of e-commerce in Nepal also demands strong networking infrastructure. As the expectation of the consumer's increases, there will be need of personals to fulfill them. Therefore, the trend of the Nepal economy is blending towards the digitization and soon Nepal will be competing with the global networking economy. In this sense, the benefits of the CCNA is unparalleled compared to other courses.
How to get CCNA certificate
To get a CCNA certificate, you need to pass two exams, ICDN1 (Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices part 1), and ICDN2. Or, you can take the entire course in one go.
ICDN1 Main Topics:
Network Fundamentals
LAN Switching Fundamentals
Routing Fundamentals
Infrastructure Services
Infrastructure Maintenance
ICDN2 Main Topics:
LAN Switching Technologies
Routing Technologies
WAN Technologies
Infrastructure Services
Infrastructure Maintenance
After passing both ICDN1 and ICDN2 exams, you get CCNA certificate in switching and routing. The certificate you get after passing ICDN1 makes your eligible for the CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) certificate. With this certificate, you can get low-level jobs in networking. And you can take ICDN2 exam to get the CCNA.
The other option is to take the CCNA Switching and routing course at once. It includes both the ICDN1 and ICDN2 syllabus. So, if you want to take breaks in between the above mentioned is the one option.
CCNA will get you an entry-level networking job. From here, after 2-3 years of experience, you can apply for CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) classes which takes you to the next level of CCNA.
In the case of Nepal, you can join CCNA classes to obtain the certificate. There are many licensed and authorized CCNA training institutes in Nepal. We also offer this course for interested candidates. We have successfully taught more than 400 students with excellent result. And yes, we are authorized and licensed by the Cisco Systems, Inc. Before joining a class we urge you to take online web-based classes to get the basic concepts. These online classes make your base strong and you can ask appropriate questions during the class.
CCNA Career Options
CCNA has a very niche career option which is very demanding in the market. To become an expert in the networking career, you need sheer dedication, you will be tested to the limit. And, if you ever decide to reach the ultimatum of CCNA career i.e. achieving CCIE or CCA certification then you should have the long-term mindset.
Here are the top CCNA and networking career options:
Network Engineer: Network engineer has to design, implement, and plan the network tech that supports the organization's mission. They have to test various scenarios in a simulation to recreate the perfect network. After getting enough experience you can become Sr. Network Engineer.
Information Technology (IT) Manager / Director: The role of the IT manager or director is to guide and train the employees. He/she is responsible for handling all the policies, systems, and procedures which will include actions such as planning, organizing, evaluating, and controlling the electronic data operations and IT. It also involves managing the proper security of the data, improves network access and maintains the backup facility.
System Administrator and System Engineer: System administrator is a very important component of any company. She/he is responsible for overlooking the smooth operation of the IT infrastructure of an organization. System administrator plays a vital role in keeping the software and hardware part up to date and secure. This will also involve setting up the servers for small companies. So, the CCNA course comes in handy.
Achieving a higher-level position means more responsibilities. You will have to handle a team of people. Having excellent communication skill is very important while managing a team. We recommend you to take a few speaking courses before hopping onto the higher management roles. It is also a nice step to ask someone with experience in the field.
Knowledge of programming is very important as you progress your career. You have to not only work with the hardware but the software too. It is because the data security risks are increasing day by day and hackers are exploiting various venerability. And one of the effective measures to prevent them is to implement various algorithms and password protection algorithms such as hashing, salting, etc. through software. For guidance, you will be mostly working with Linux systems. Learning command lines is mandatory for Linux because there will be no graphic interface in most of the networking computers and devices. Though you can get employed without programming knowledge, we advise you to learn to program because the situations are changing really fast and employers are looking for those with networking as well as programming knowledge.
Future of CCNA
If you are competent in the networking field. And, you want to keep up with the upcoming technology then the future of CCNA is very strong. It is very much definite that the networkers will be needed for the coming future. Again, the world is getting connected day by day. Many large corporations are searching for qualified networking engineers. There will be demand for the networkers to manage all those internet traffics. This is happening globally. So it is not limited to only one place. You can work online too.
The recent cloud technology boom and the demand for data security have created a market for networkers. The cloud technology is gaining popularity because of the level of scalability it offers and the sheer speed of content delivery you can achieve using the technology. The cloud technology has made it possible to collaborate in large number and the demand is increasing day by day.
In the same way, the data security and overall cyber security field have been constantly gaining popularity.
These new technologies require modern knowledge while supporting the old infrastructure. This is the challenging part for a newer generation of network engineers and as you dive into the networking, you will gain lots of experience which will be useful for future job security.
learn about Growing IT Trend And Opportunity In Nepal.
CCNA Scope in Nepal
Every time someone uses Wi-Fi or surfs the internet, or perform any kind of activity online, there will be need of a network engineer. They are the personnel who is responsible for setting up the infrastructure for all the small, medium, and large corporations networking activities.
Nepal is slowly adapting to the global information infrastructure. As many Nepalese are getting online day by day. There will be demand for larger machinery and newer architecture will be needed to properly manage the traffic. Which means network engineers will be in demand for the upcoming decade. This decade is the best for networkers because Nepal is just starting out with the latest technologies. With this you will get to experiment and test many hypotheses you will learn and as you invest in the field, you will earn experience which surely and definitely will become a valuable asset for the future.
The recent adoption of provinces in Nepal means it will open many opportunities for people from all kind of fields. Especially in the field of Information and Technology because states will definitely implement online technology to stay in sync with the central government. Which means there will be need of WAN (Wide Area Networking) implementation. This is the opportunity waiting to be tapped.
The CCNA personnel is very much in demand in Nepal. Companies are looking for well trained and qualified network engineers. Passion and dedication are very important in this field. If you have the passion and made the decision to build your career in networking. The best way to get started is to join the CCNA class in the authorized institute. Here in TechAxis, we provide a complete CCNA Switching and Routing course. We are certified and licensed from Cisco Systems, Inc. After the completion of the course, we also provide career consulting which is very useful for beginners in the networking field. If you have any queries before taking the class or just curious about the course and the career path, make sure to give us a call or email us.
