Cisco CCIE Certifications: common info, importance, benefits, candidates requirements, exams

Vendor: Cisco

CCIE certifications overview

Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) is an expert level certification awarded to whole those most capable candidates who are able to demonstrate proficiency on a technical level on the subject which they have chosen. Cisco CCIE is the top-most certification which one could acquire in a particular field of networking. In fact, you will be amazed to know that there are only 1% Cisco CCIE certification holders in the world, which emphasizes on the high difficulty of this certification.

The importance of a CCIE certification can be judged from the fact that those who possess a cisco CCIE certification are presently holding great job positions as IT directors in many networking companies. Moreover, this certification will not only improve your demand in the job market, it will also enable you to work hard on your weak topics and nourish your overall skills and capabilities.

After acquiring a CCIE Cisco certification, the successful candidates can get entitled to highly admirable job positions. These job positions would reflect the great worth and reliability of a CCIE certification. Let us have a look at what job roles do cisco CCIE certified individuals get entitled to.

• Senior network engineer
• Network director
• Senior security officer
• Data center senior administrator

CCIE certification is a high-level certification which assesses the abilities of the candidates to manage complex networks and devise effective and economical ways in order to devise and implement solutions. For example, the Cisco CCIE security certification is a highly admirable certification which focuses on the skills of candidates to prevent any threats to the network and use complex ways to ensure the network security. However, one must also be prepared to take the 8-hour Cisco CCIE lab exam, which will assess the depth of practical skills of the candidates.

CCIE certifications can be acquired in various different topics and fields pertaining to networking. This is due to the versatility in the fields in which these certifications are offered. Following are the pathways for these certifications from which you can choose the one which suits your profession the best.

• CCIE Collaboration
• CCIE Data Center
• CCIE Routing & Switching
• CCIE Security
• CCIE Service Provider
• CCIE Service Provider Operations
• CCIE Wireless

Since this certification is of an expert level, it is obvious that it will have some prerequisites. In order to acquire a CCIE certification, one must hold a CCNP certification, which a professional level certification in a particular field. This professional level certification is important since it will endow the candidates with all the basic skills which are required to do a CCIE certification. Furthermore, it is not compulsory but recommended to have an experience of at least 3 to 5 years before one opts for a CCIE certification.

Required Exams

Each of the Cisco CCIE certification exams come with at least one exam, which requires clearance prior to the completion of the certification. However, unlike a CCNP certification, a CCIE certification also has an addition lab exam of 8 hours. This exam must be taken within 18 months of clearing the CCIE written exam. However, clearing the lab exam requires a good amount of practical experience and skills, since the candidate will be required to create and implement a complete solution during this time. For example, in case of Cisco CCIE Security certification, the Cisco CCIE lab exam will require the candidate to form a complete system which is secure and preventative by all means.

Required Courses

There is not any official course which you need to do in order to get a CCIE certification. However, it is still recommended that you take a course from an authorized Cisco trainer in order to get training for the certification. This course will greatly help you score good marks in the exam. Moreover, you must also consider getting training for the lab exam, since it will require a considerable amount of practice by the candidate.

Study Materials

There are a lot of study materials available to you for your preparation. However, you should keep in mind that you must only make use of official study materials. Moreover, it is important to know that your prior focus should be on developing your practical skills and implementing your previously held knowledge. In this regard, you should consider solving more sample questions and attempt a number of lab exams on you own too.