Last year Cisco took a big step forward and changed much of its certification program, especially at the CCNA level. There is now a single CCNA certificate to manage all of them, rather than individual certificates tied to specific areas such as security and the cloud.

Of course, success rates will tell the story in about a year, but we can draw some conclusions today. In general, the new CCNA Practice Test becomes more complex than the old CCNA.

The changes require you to have a broader knowledge base. In the past, you could streamline your path to CCNA Routing & Switching by starting with CCENT (discontinued February 24, 2020) to introduce you to CCNA Routing & Switching. It also helped you choose other CCNA paths in the future. This is no longer possible, which can make it difficult to obtain a new CCNA.

With the new CCNA, you won’t lose your priority areas, they have just been replaced with specialist certifications (more on that later). But you’re about to take an exam that covers more networking fundamentals. This requires a broader view and understanding of the material. This is not to say that the old CCNA certifications did not cover the basics, but the new CCNA goes a little further. As a result, the exam can be more difficult than the previous CCNA.

Understanding What’s New

Until February 24, you can choose one of the following paths for your CCNA:

• CCNA Cloud
• CCNA Collaboration
• CCNA Data Center
• CCNA Industrial
• CCNA Routing and Switching
• CCNA Service Provider
• CCNA Wireless

This option requires at least two certification exams, and in some cases more. And if something changed while you were working on CCNA, it wasn’t always as easy as changing the path you chose. With the new CCNA, you only need to pass one exam to earn your certification. Specialization comes later, so it gives you more flexibility if you’re new to Cisco certifications.

How the Changes Benefit You

Before this change, Cisco had not made a major change to its certification program in a long time. During this time, the requirements for IT specialists have changed. Experience at the associate level does not require any concentration in any one area. Typically, someone looking to hire someone with CCNA wants that person to have a basic understanding of Cisco applications – and can transform that person into what is best for that organization. This provides a clear path for advancement as you continue to move up the career ladder.

When the time comes when you are ready to take the next step, you can choose a Cisco Specialization to help you build your career under the needs of your organization.

It also gives you a lot more flexibility than before. If your career takes you on a different path, you can easily shift your focus to this area. This change charts a clear path for development that is likely to increase success rates for those on the CCNA path. All of this ultimately sets you up for something like CCNP in the area you choose to focus on.

With so many changes in what is required of someone to get into IT, it is natural that organizations will start looking for those who have these new required skills.

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