One type of education that you may want to consider is a Cisco certification in Chicago.
What Is Cisco?
Chances are you have heard of Cisco before but that you’re not entirely sure who they are or what they do. The easiest way to put it is that, if you have ever used the Internet, chances are you have done business with Cisco. Cisco is a company that develops, manufactures, and sells networking equipment. They are spread across multiple countries and are responsible for supporting up to 85 percent of Internet traffic. As you can tell, Cisco is a big deal and, if you receive their certification, there are endless job opportunities for you, some which may even take you to exotic places.
Available Career Paths
As you can probably guess, there are a lot of different jobs within Cisco for which you can gain certification. Some of the areas in which certification is available include routing and switching, design, network security, storage networking, and more. In each of these areas, there are five levels of certification you can possibly achieve starting with an entry level CCENT certification and going all the way up to Architect. In general, there are two places you can earn these certifications: the Cisco Networking Academy or qualifying schools which are staffed by instructors who have earned either a CCNA or CCAI certification themselves.
Finding the Right Program
If you are interested in taking a course and becoming Cisco certified, you have many options and there are several formats in which the classes are available. As with almost any other certification on the planet, the culmination of your studies is an exam which should be prepared for by taking a qualified preparation program. As part of any Cisco program, you should receive an official Cisco textbook and should be taught by qualified instructors. Before signing up with any particular education partner, make sure their connection to Cisco is legitimate.
Common Certification Options
If you are planning on getting the first level of certification, the CCENT, you can expect a very broad and basic education that will equip you with the skills needed to manage small systems. At the end of the course you should be able to do enough to get by. In order to gain more substantial skills, however, you will want to take it a step further and work toward your CCNA. The good news is that the CCENT is a prerequisite to the CCNA, which is why starting at the beginning is, indeed, a very good place to start.
The Ultimate Certification
If you really have your eye on the prize and want to know where the top of the Cisco food chain is, the buck stops with the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert. Not only is this certification the highest you can achieve through Cisco, people who have it are also the highest paid IT professionals. Due to the rigor of the coursework involved, only a little over 25,000 people have it, according to Cisco.com; and with the amount of businesses and organizations that rely on Cisco for their tech needs, that means it is rare. If you decide to get this Cisco certification in Chicago, finding a job will be a breeze.