What’s a CCNP and why can it make you more valuable in the eyes of a future (or current) employer?

If you’re looking to take the next step up the networking career ladder, you may want to look into a Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) designation. The CCNP designation signifies that an individual has what it takes to configure and operate Cisco wide area networks (WANs) and local area networks (LANs), as well as dial access services.

From the Cisco website:

The CCNP certification (Cisco Certified Network Professional) indicates advanced or journeyman knowledge of networks. With a CCNP, a network professional can install, configure, and troubleshoot local and wide area networks for enterprise organizations with networks from 100 to more than 500 nodes. The content emphasizes topics such as security, converged networks, quality of service (QoS), virtual private networks (VPN) and broadband technologies.

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) designation is a prerequisite before attaining a CCNP certificate. CCNP certifications have a three year lifespan, after which recertification is necessary.