Do I have to get certifications to be a network engineer?
Practical answer: Yes. More complicated answer with lots of variability: No.
I suspect that this is going to be somewhat controversial but for the vast majority of people reading this, certifications hold the key to moving up in your networking career. Yes, there are examples of individuals out there that have proven themselves without sitting down and taking any certification, but I'd venture to say that those people have had a very different career trajectory than most people are setting out to take.
Certifications are provided by either Vendors like Cisco, Juniper, AWS, and Aruba or by independent third-party organizations like CompTIA. In general, most entry level certifications will consist of only a multiple-choice test but it's common for higher level certs to have lab tests, require verification of your years of experience, an endorsement by another person that holds the certification you're after, or even proof of published material on the subject.
Let's talk about why employers like to see certifications and then we'll talk about which ones you should think about getting.
A potential employer can often be sifting through hundreds of résumés for an entry to mid-level position. They do not have time to interview everyone that applies so they generally apply filters (mentally or through HR applications) to narrow the field to a few promising candidates. The ideal candidate should know enough about each of the component responsibilities of the job to get the job done with some autonomy. Employers know though that they're unlikely to find the perfect candidate for every role, so they are generally willing to compromise in certain areas. To convey that you have this knowledge, you can show experience through your previous roles or you can verify your knowledge through certifications. I have found that it's far easier to convey knowledge about subjects through certifications than by job roles.
Let's be clear though, certifications aren't a free pass to a well-paying job, just a leg up in getting an interview. It's still your responsibility to wow the employer in the interview.
In addition to the knowledge needed to pass a certification exam, they also prove some soft skills that are always appreciated by employers. Those soft skills include willingness to learn, dedication, and self-supervising. You're unlikely to be able to study over the course of several weeks to months without those skills.
So, which certification should you be looking at getting? That answer entirely depends on where you want your career to go.
CompTIA Network+ vs CCNA
This may be one of the most asked certification questions of all time. I'll answer it in this way, if you can study for and pass the CCNA, you will have gained most if not all of the knowledge needed for the Network+. Now, is it worth it to get both? Maybe not. The CCNA is far more recognized within the industry than the Network+ certification. However, if you're not planning on being strictly a network engineer and are focused on becoming a security engineer or want to strengthen your knowledge of how networks for a DevOps career, the Network+ may be right for you.
This isn't to say that the CCNA HAS to be your first certification. Cisco certifications are great, but they imply that you only have experience with one network vendor. Of course, Juniper, F5, Aruba and many other vendors also have robust certification programs that tend to have fewer candidates.
One of the reasons that the Cisco certification program is so successful is that there are a lot of enterprises that run Cisco routers and switches and therefore they are looking for job candidates that are knowledgeable in those skills. The result of this is that there are a lot of job candidates that you have to compete against for these jobs. The flipside of this is also true, there are fewer companies out there that run a large amount of their networks on gear from other vendors and therefore fewer job candidates that have these skills. Scarcity of skills can mean more money in your paycheck.
That said, there's nothing preventing you from getting multiple related certifications. The CCNA and the JNCIA will have similar knowledge requirements and will show to employers that you're not just a one-trick pony. Companies that are looking to migrate from one platform to another will want engineers that have a mix of these skills.
Once you've mastered the entry level, you can choose to branch out into other technology domains or go deeper into the paths you've already chosen. Security, Data Center, Wireless, and Collaboration all draw skills from a solid routing and switching background.
Security
Cisco's 2020 certification changes have introduced new exams to the CCNP Security. Once you've passed the Security Core exam, you can choose to specialize in ISE, Web Security Appliances, Email Security, or Cisco's Firepower NGFW.
If you like security topics, try out Palo Alto Networks PCNSE exam. Palo Alto networks has a large market share in the enterprise and because of their recent growth, there are fewer candidates with this skillset. The PCNSE is great on its own or as a compliment to other certifications.
Checkpoint, and Juniper also have firewall focused certifications that make a great compliment to your routing and switching knowledge.
Data Center
Cisco obviously has a full Data Center offering that includes servers and networking, but this area of focus has different needs that the rest of the enterprise. Things like storage networking, software defined networking with ACI, and Cisco UCS servers all require specialized knowledge provided by the CCNP Data Center.
Other vendors that are worth a look at are Arista and Brocade in the Data Center. VMware certifications are also very useful as companies look to introduce NSX to their data centers.
F5 and Citrix both have popular load balancers that would fully compliment the résumé of anyone in the data center space.
Wireless
Cisco has a full offering of wireless exams that are now folded into the "CCNP Enterprise" certification.
Alternative vendors to Cisco are Aruba and Ruckus. As well there are vendor neutral options like the CWNA and CWNE certification.
SD-WAN
Cisco may actually be lagging behind in this area however they are adding a test focusing on their SD-WAN solution with the 2020 updates. SD-WAN solutions like VeloCloud and Silverpeak are also very popular. There tends to be a lot of overlap in knowledge in these solutions so it might be worth looking into multiple providers to prove yourself knowledgeable in the SD-WAN space.
Expert Level Certifications
Cisco and Juniper really compete in this space due to their relatively complimentary product portfolios. The CCIE and the JNCIE require similar levels of knowledge. The JNCIE tends to be more of a door opener in the Service provider space whereas the CCIE does tend to have more of a wide reach but both will earn you serious respect in whichever specialization you chose.
Non-networking certifications
While it's easy to get focused on topics that relate directly to networking, there are a number of different skillsets that can put you over the top when applying for a new job. Server management and programming are two that can get a lot of wow points on a résumé. Redhats RHCSA, and the vendor neutral LPIC will serve you well especially with the proliferation of Linux on network hardware today. Of course, the MCSA and MCSE from Microsoft will help you out as well.
Cisco has introduced their DevNet certifications that are focused on utilizing their APIs to create bespoke solutions for your organization.
Arista as well has certifications focusing on programmability of their network equipment.
Certifications don’t have to just be a path to technical skills. Certifications from ITIL and the PMI can show that you can help your organization in ways other than just typing away at a command line.
Whatever you do, don’t stop learning. Even if you just use the study material and forgo the certification exam, you’re going to be miles ahead of your competition in the job market.
