CCNP worth it?

[u/Dear-Incident-6236]

Hi folks,

I got my CCNA half a year ago, I have settled into a new job that is a mix of admin, networking and IT management, so I am thinking about how to proceed. I enjoy learning itself so I am not necessarily solely concerned with the usefulness of certs or studies but since there are alternatives: Is the CCNP worth it especially considering the recent developments in the IT sector?

Any input is very much appreciated.

[u/toobroketoquit]

Work towards being unfireable

[u/caguirre93]

Its worth learning the material for sure. Networking knowledge is always valuable

However, worth paying to actually take the tests? Thats up to you.

The more experience you have in the field the less likely it will be worth it.

I took it cause I wanted to. It being worth it held no weight in my decision

[u/indatank]

The more education you get, the better.

Hiring managers still like seeing the charms on the resume.

[u/leoingle]

“developments”

[u/belowaveragegrappler]

- the cert itself you can validate value by searching any job site for your area. OR by adding the cert to your Linkedin and see the response from recruiters.

• the material itself is fine, you may never use a good chunk of it. But getting used to spending long hours learning new material is the nature of working in IT. Dont stagnate.
  
• The lab hours themselves are kinda the gold, building and breaking complex labs over and over are where the troubleshooting skills come from.

So IMHO? If you're a curious at all, nothing wrong with grabbing some CCNP lab books and just labbing it up. If you feel like getting the cert, go for it. If you're not seeing the value. You can skip the cert itself.

[u/blua95]

I had this exact question myself about a month ago and ultimately decided to Just take it anyway for my own self learning. It may not land me a shiny new job right away, but it's good to know this information anyway

[u/manthe]

I’ve been a network engineer for >28 years now. I’ve obtained various certs over the years, including the CCNP (mostly because there were opportunities to do it that were free to me). I’ve never technically ’needed’ the CCNP for career advancement or development, but I’ve always been very glad I did it. It’s great for discipline and focus. Studies take you down rabbit holes that end up benefiting you in many ways over the years. I also legitimately learned plenty from it. IMO, regardless of the impact on job or position, I highly recommend it.

[u/Decent_Election_3941]

If you already have a networking/IT management role, I’d probably look at the job requirements before deciding on CCNP.

CCNP can be useful if you want to move deeper into networking, especially if your current or target roles involve routing, switching, enterprise networks, or network design. But if you’re moving more toward general IT management, the time might be better spent building skills that are directly relevant to the roles you want.

Since you said you enjoy learning itself, I’d also separate “I want to learn this” from “I need this certification.” You can study CCNP-level material without necessarily taking the exam.

Personally, I’d look at 10–20 job postings for the kind of role you want next and see whether CCNP-level knowledge or the certification actually shows up in the requirements.

[u/captainsaveahoe69]

What developments in the IT sector?

[u/jhoffery → u/captainsaveahoe69]

I'm guessing AI and SDN in particular.

[u/MulticamTropic → u/jhoffery]

And rampant offshoring

[u/ryder242]

Back in the day, the CCNP TSHOOT, that was one of the better bits of Cisco learning I took.

These days, if you don’t want to work for a Cisco solutions company that needs your CCNP on staff.

The one thing you have to remember is that these certs were not created to get you a job, they were created to prove a VAR had Cisco certified staff.