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The featured certifications represent all major tiers of networking job roles, from the entry level (Network+) to the expert level (CCIE). Job board search results (in alphabetical order, by certification) The other featured credentials include the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), CompTIA Network+ and WCNA Certification for Wireshark (WCNA). While the JNCIE remains a great credential, job board numbers for the SCP were stronger, earning it a slot in the top five. It replaces the Juniper Enterprise Routing and Switching, Expert (JNCIE-ENT) credential. Making its first appearance on the leader board this year is the SolarWinds Certified Professional (SCP). in which our featured certifications were mentioned on a given day. To pick our leaders, we looked at the state of networking certification, examined various market and salary surveys, and performed an informal job board survey that revealed the number of job posts across the U.S. We looked at five networking certifications (in their order of appearance in the job boards table that follows) that we consider leaders in the field of networking for 2019 and beyond. Wrapping your head around all these certification options and specialties can be challenging, but knowing where to start can help. This includes switches and routers (both physical and virtual), plus a raft of appliances and services, such as unified threat management (UTM), next-generation firewalls (NGFs), software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions, virtualization (NFV) components and WAN optimization, as well as spam, email, and content filtering. In addition to the servers and clients that make up the endpoints in such environments, there’s a lot of network infrastructure to worry about. When it comes to the care and feeding of modern networks, there’s quite a lengthy list of tools and technologies that qualified IT professionals must master – especially those who aspire to work as network administrators. Those serious about their IT careers should consider one or more of these best-of-breed networking certifications to set themselves apart from their competitors.
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IT pros skilled in the many areas of networking are in high demand in today’s job market.
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