Why The CCIE is My Favorite Intro Level Certification

Like many technology professionals, my first networking certification was a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). I completed it in a few days, locked in a room in my house, and when I was done, I said to myself, “I know networking now!” Like most who pass the exam, I was very excited about it.

But I wanted to know more, so I moved on to become a Cisco Certified Networking Professional by passing the CCNP exam. This took my understanding to a much deeper level. After passing that exam, I thought to myself, “Wow. This networking thing is big and I am starting to understand it, but there is so much more to learn.”

So, over the next six months as I was working in networking, I prepared for and passed the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) exam. After receiving the CCIE certification, I said to myself, “Oh my gosh, there is so much that I don’t know about networking.”

As I moved from an associate to an expert, I came to embrace what is known as the knowledge continuum. This is the process by which we update and expand what we know with new information, acknowledging that there is always more to learn. The more we learn in our careers, especially deep careers like networking or cloud computing, the more we realize how little we actually know and how much knowledge it takes to become truly great at something.

I became qualified to work on big projects that really enabled me to learn when I passed the CCIE exam. After 25 years of working in this field, I am still learning technology every single day. Embracing the knowledge continuum, which is critical for every technology professional, began for me when I passed that impossible two-day exam and was given CCIE certification #7417. And that is why the CCIE exam is, and always has been, my favorite introductory level IT and networking certification.

What you gain from passing the CCIE exam

I believe the CCIE certification has two other key benefits beyond opening the door to a deeper appreciation of the knowledge continuum. The first of these involves focus. I have been coaching people for approximately 20 years on how to improve their technology careers. One of things I have found is that most people do not focus on their jobs.

In today’s tech world, the push is to get people to secure ten little mini AWS certifications so they can say they are “10X Certified.” The reality is that achieving those ten certifications keeps you from focusing on your particular job. It is like trying to learn ten different people’s jobs. In the end, you know nothing about nothing.

The CCIE is not a paper-based exam, like those for which you can buy a practice test with the answer key and then go pass the exam. The CCIE is a deep exam. Preparing for it requires that you go over 50,000 to 75,000 pages of reading. People spend hundreds of hours in labs practicing to learn the skills. Realistically, it is the hardest certification exam in the world. In order to pass it, you must be focused.

The CCIE forces students to focus all of their efforts on becoming truly great at their particular career. That alone separates those who become CCIE certified from everyone else in the tech field. Those who achieve a bunch of little introductory certifications — the topical certifications that do not really teach anything valuable — do not have the focus that is necessary to succeed. The CCIE teaches you what you need to know to actually do your job immediately upon completion of the certification.

The second major benefit of the CCIE is related to employment. The CCIE certification virtually guarantees employment, especially for those who have a good attitude, good communication skills, a good energy level, and are willing to work.

Cisco provides the CCIE exam at one of its locations. The exam presents students with a nearly impossible scenario, which is not revealed to the student ahead of time and which is designed to not work. This means that solving the problem requires an expert who not only knows how systems work, but who can build it with the correct design and building configuration. 

When you pass this exam, someone from Cisco gives you a stamp that basically says, “I, a representative of Cisco, say that this person is ready to go.” Potential employers see applicants with the CCIE certification as job ready. It is one of the few certifications in the world that provides you with the level of competency and focus that can truly get you a job.

I love the CCIE certification because it not only reveals the depth of information that tech professionals need to learn, but also focuses those who it certifies on the skills that can truly help them to become experts at a job and gain employment. It marked the true beginning of my education in the tech world, but not nearly the end of it.