Is the Cisco CCNA certification worth it?
Certifications divide opinion in IT. What the Cisco CCNA course actually delivers, what its syllabus covers, and when the certificate earns its place in a portfolio.
Published 1 min read
- certification
- CCNA
- Cisco
- networking
Certifications are a contested subject in IT. Some argue they make you more visible on the market; others say they suggest compensating for a lack of experience. Our own experience is clearly positive, with one caveat: a certificate confirms the skills of a practitioner but does not replace practice.
What the CCNA course covers
The course is long and genuinely prepares you to work with Cisco equipment. It runs over four semesters.
Semester 1: networking fundamentals, the OSI model layers, network planning, basic configuration of network devices.
Semester 2: routing protocols, static and dynamic routing, distance-vector protocols, RIP, the routing table, EIGRP, OSPF.
Semester 3: switched and wireless networks, LAN design, switch operation and configuration, VLANs, VTP, STP, wireless fundamentals.
Semester 4: WAN networks, PPP, Frame Relay, network security, traffic filtering with ACLs, IP addressing services (DHCP, NAT, IPv6), network troubleshooting.
In total: four semesters of 70 hours each, including lectures, exercises and labs.
What gives the course its value
Classes take place in a certified networking lab, on physical Cisco hardware. That is the real difference from purely theoretical courses: configuring a device that is actually switching traffic teaches things a simulator does not show.
So, to answer the question in the title: the certificate alone makes nobody a network engineer, but working through this material organises your knowledge in a way that pays off later when designing addressing, routing and segmentation.