Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Cisco Certification program, and more! Ep 94

Episode Overview

• This episode explores the history, evolution, and future of Cisco's certification program with guest Jeff Anderson, a Cisco Product Manager for Learning and Certifications.
• The hosts discuss the significant changes to the CCNA and CCNP tracks, including the consolidation of the CCNA exam and the removal of it as a prerequisite for professional-level certifications.
• The conversation details the rigorous process behind creating and updating exams, emphasizing the use of job role analysis and community feedback to ensure real-world relevance.
• The new "core + concentration" model is explained as a flexible, modular approach designed to support modern, non-linear career paths and provide incremental rewards through specialist certifications.

Key Concepts

• Certification Evolution: The CCNA was consolidated from a two-exam option into a single exam based on direct feedback from candidates and hiring managers who preferred a single, comprehensive test.
• Prerequisite Removal: The CCNA is no longer a prerequisite for the CCNP, aligning it with the long-standing model of the CCIE. This allows experienced professionals to pursue specializations without starting over, though they are still responsible for the foundational knowledge.
• Exam Creation Process: Certifications are developed through a lengthy process of job role analysis, industry expert consultation, and "voice of the customer" interviews to ensure they reflect the actual tasks professionals perform.
• Dynamic Exam Content: While the exam blueprints are stable, the pool of questions is large and constantly updated to maintain the integrity of the certification and combat cheating via "brain dumps."
• Core + Concentration Model: The current professional-level certifications are structured like a university degree, with a broad "core" exam and specialized "concentration" exams. This allows for flexibility and the ability to add new specializations as technology evolves.
• Specialist Certifications: Passing any single professional-level exam (either core or concentration) now grants a specialist certification, providing immediate validation and reward for candidates.
• Continuing Education (CE) Program: The CE program offers a flexible alternative to re-taking exams for recertification, allowing professionals to earn credits through relevant training and activities.

Quotes

• At 0:28 - "How are legends born? Do they grow over time into their 100-meter copper ethernet capacity? Or are they chiseled from the solid stone of the 6509s of yesteryear?" - Host Tim Bertino delivers a humorous and dramatic monologue to open the show, comparing legendary network engineers to classic networking hardware.
• At 7:00 - "I have finally finished my CCNP this week... I've been wanting this for such a long time... I feel like I get more excited about doing things like this now, recording these, because I just got that, I mean it's really a weight lifted." - Tim shares his significant personal and professional accomplishment of earning his CCNP certification.
• At 17:28 - "One of the things that came back quite clear is they hated having to take two exams. They wanted it to be a single exam." - Jeff Anderson explains that the decision to consolidate the CCNA into a single test was based on direct feedback from candidates and the community.
• At 22:11 - "We do what I call voice of the customer, which is essentially interviewing people who have that role or people who hire people in that role or people who work with people in that role. So we understand what they're expected to be able to do." - Geoff details how they ensure the exams reflect real-world job requirements.
• At 23:15 - "It really wasn't a difficult call... We had always required a CCNA to get a CCNP and it was just kind of the thing, but you know, a lot of people would say, well, look at the CCIE. You don't have to have anything to get a CCIE." - Geoff explains the logic behind removing the CCNA prerequisite for the CCNP, citing the CCIE as a precedent.
• At 26:47 - "You are responsible for being ready to study and test at that level. So it's like there is no easy on-ramp into it. It's like you have, you know, if you don't know the CCNA stuff, you're going to struggle." - Geoff emphasizes that while prerequisites are gone, candidates are still expected to have the foundational knowledge.
• At 30:26 - "We truly want to not breathe our own exhaust. So when we talk to subject matter experts... we try really hard to mix Cisco people and outside people when we create those blueprints as well." - Geoff highlights the importance of incorporating external, real-world perspectives into the certification design process.
• At 38:15 - "I advocated for it because I felt that it was something that when we opened it up for CCIEs, it was the... just the clamoring for it, the demand for it was just huge." - Geoff shares his support for expanding the Continuing Education (CE) program to all certification levels as a flexible recertification path.
• At 49:54 - "We kind of took the core plus the concentrations as the model. And the idea is that as technologies change and evolve, we can add concentrations without messing up the rest of it." - Geoff Anderson explains the flexibility and future-proofing of the new certification model.
• At 51:01 - "We're kind of giving them out... 'You get a certification! You get a certification! And you get a...' we're like Oprah, right?" - Geoff Anderson humorously describes how passing any single professional-level exam now grants a specialist certification, providing incremental rewards.
• At 53:05 - "It was really a rewarding feeling... when I didn't just pass the test and go, 'Okay, that's cool, but I don't get anything until I get this next one done.'" - Tim Bertino shares his positive experience with receiving a specialist certification after passing the core exam, highlighting the value of immediate validation.
• At 56:30 - "For me, wireless was never something I was probably going to look into. But having to study it, even just at a basic level for Encore, really got me interested." - Lexie illustrates the benefit of the broad core exam, explaining how it exposed her to a new area of technology she now finds fascinating.
• At 71:54 - "Certifications are the great equalizer... It really is the springboard and from that, you can take it anywhere that you want to go." - Geoff Anderson emphasizes that certifications provide a valuable pathway into a tech career, regardless of a person's formal education or background.

Takeaways

• Adopt a review-based study method, such as using flashcards, instead of just passively consuming content to improve retention and exam success.
• If you have relevant experience, you can go directly for a CCNP without taking the CCNA, but ensure your foundational knowledge is solid, as it will be assumed.
• Leverage the modular certification structure to target specific skills (like SD-WAN or automation) that are immediately applicable to your job role.
• Use the specialist certifications earned from passing individual exams as valuable, incremental milestones to demonstrate progress and expertise on your resume.
• Consider the Continuing Education (CE) program for recertification to stay current with new technologies in a more flexible way than re-taking a standardized exam.
• Embrace the broad nature of core exams as an opportunity to discover new areas of technology that may spark your interest and open up new career possibilities.
• Do not rely on "brain dumps" for exam preparation, as Cisco actively updates its question pools to ensure the integrity and value of its certifications.
• View certifications as a powerful tool to enter or advance in the tech industry, providing a standardized measure of skill that can act as a "great equalizer" regardless of background.