Top 5 Computer Networking Certifications In 2018

Computer networking remains one of the most foundational and enduringly relevant domains in the entire information technology profession, and the certifications that validate expertise in this area continue to carry significant weight in hiring decisions, compensation negotiations, and career advancement conversations across every industry that depends on connected digital infrastructure. Despite the dramatic changes that cloud computing, software-defined networking, and network virtualization have brought to the practice of networking over the past decade, the fundamental principles of network design, protocol implementation, security architecture, and infrastructure management that networking certifications address remain as essential as ever to the reliable operation of enterprise technology environments.

The market for certified networking professionals has evolved considerably in recent years, with demand shifting toward practitioners who combine traditional networking knowledge with fluency in cloud networking, network automation, and security integration. Certifications that have successfully evolved to reflect this expanded scope of networking practice have maintained and in many cases strengthened their market relevance, while those that remained anchored to purely on-premises hardware-centric content have seen their influence diminish. For professionals building or advancing networking careers in the current environment, understanding which certifications best reflect the contemporary scope of the networking profession is essential for making credential investments that deliver genuine and lasting career value.

The Cisco Certified Network Associate Credential As The Gateway To Networking Careers

The Cisco Certified Network Associate certification has occupied the position of the most widely recognized entry-to-mid-level networking credential in the global technology market for more than two decades, and its influence on the networking profession remains profound and pervasive despite the significant changes that have transformed both the credential itself and the networking landscape it addresses. The CCNA underwent a comprehensive restructuring in 2020 that consolidated what had previously been a family of specialized associate-level credentials into a single, unified certification covering a broad and carefully curated set of networking fundamentals alongside newer topics including network automation, programmability, and software-defined networking concepts that reflect the evolution of the networking profession.

For professionals beginning networking careers or seeking to establish a formal credential foundation after accumulating practical experience, the CCNA represents a compelling first certification investment for several reasons that go beyond its name recognition. The curriculum that candidates must master to pass the CCNA examination covers the IP addressing, routing protocols, switching technologies, wireless networking fundamentals, network security basics, and automation concepts that form the genuine operational core of most enterprise network environments. Employers consistently use CCNA certification as a screening criterion for network administrator, network support, and junior network engineer roles, and the credential provides meaningful preparation for the more advanced Cisco certifications that represent the next stages of a Cisco-focused networking career path.

Cisco Certified Network Professional As The Premier Mid-Level Networking Credential

Building directly on the foundation established by the CCNA, the Cisco Certified Network Professional certification represents the mid-level tier of the Cisco certification hierarchy and is widely regarded as one of the most rigorous and valuable credentials available to networking professionals who have moved beyond the foundational stage of their careers. The CCNP is available in several specialization tracks including Enterprise, Security, Service Provider, Data Center, and Collaboration, each of which addresses the specific technical domains relevant to networking professionals working in those environments. This specialization structure allows professionals to build deep, validated expertise in the networking domain most relevant to their current role and career direction rather than being required to demonstrate broad generalist knowledge across all networking disciplines.

The CCNP Enterprise track, which addresses the enterprise campus and wide-area network environments where the majority of corporate networking professionals work, is the most widely pursued of the available CCNP specializations and carries strong market recognition among enterprise employers. The examination structure for CCNP Enterprise requires passing a core examination covering enterprise networking technologies broadly and a concentration examination in a chosen specialization area such as advanced routing and services, wireless design, or network design. This two-examination structure ensures that CCNP holders possess both a solid foundation across enterprise networking topics and demonstrated depth in at least one specialized area, creating a credential profile that reflects the combination of breadth and depth that senior networking roles typically require.

CompTIA Network Plus As The Vendor-Neutral Foundation For Networking Fundamentals

The CompTIA Network Plus certification occupies a distinctive and valuable position in the networking certification landscape as the most widely recognized vendor-neutral credential for foundational networking knowledge. Unlike Cisco certifications that are inherently tied to Cisco’s specific product implementations and command-line interfaces, the Network Plus credential addresses networking concepts, protocols, technologies, and troubleshooting methodologies in a way that applies across equipment from any vendor and in any networking environment. This vendor-neutral positioning makes it particularly valuable for professionals who work in multi-vendor environments, those who are early in their networking careers and have not yet committed to a specific vendor ecosystem, and organizations that need to validate networking knowledge without requiring alignment to a particular technology vendor.

The Network Plus examination covers a comprehensive range of foundational networking topics including network topologies and architecture, IP addressing and subnetting, routing and switching fundamentals, wireless networking standards, network security concepts, cloud networking basics, and systematic network troubleshooting methodologies. The breadth of content covered ensures that successful candidates have demonstrated a genuine working knowledge of networking across its major domains rather than deep expertise in any single area. For professionals building networking careers, the Network Plus serves effectively as either a standalone credential for roles that require broad networking knowledge without deep specialization or as a preparatory foundation before pursuing more advanced vendor-specific credentials such as the CCNA or the Juniper Networks Certified Associate credential.

Juniper Networks Certified Associate And Professional As Competitive Alternatives

While Cisco certifications dominate the enterprise networking credential landscape by volume and name recognition, Juniper Networks offers a rigorous and highly respected certification program that provides a compelling alternative or complement for networking professionals working with Juniper equipment or seeking credentials that reflect expertise in a different but equally sophisticated networking technology stack. The Juniper Networks Certified Associate credential at the entry level and the Juniper Networks Certified Professional designation at the advanced level address the configuration, management, troubleshooting, and design of networks built on Juniper’s Junos operating system, which powers the company’s routers, switches, and security platforms deployed extensively in service provider networks, large enterprise environments, and data center infrastructures.

The Juniper certification program is organized around several technology tracks including Enterprise Routing and Switching, Service Provider Routing and Switching, Security, and Data Center, allowing professionals to align their credential pursuit with the specific Juniper technology domain most relevant to their work. Service provider networks in particular represent an environment where Juniper equipment is heavily deployed and where Juniper certifications carry particularly strong market recognition among the employers operating in that segment. For networking professionals who work primarily with Juniper infrastructure or who want to distinguish themselves from the much larger pool of Cisco-certified candidates in the job market, the Juniper certification pathway offers genuine differentiation and validates expertise in a technology stack that is genuinely demanding and technically sophisticated in its own right.

Certified Network Defender For Security-Focused Networking Professionals

The Certified Network Defender certification offered by the EC-Council addresses the increasingly critical intersection of network administration and cybersecurity that defines the professional reality for the majority of networking practitioners working in enterprise environments today. As network security threats have grown in frequency, sophistication, and potential impact, the expectation that networking professionals understand and can implement defensive security measures has moved from a desirable supplementary skill to a core professional competency. The CND credential is specifically designed for network administrators and engineers who need to develop and validate their ability to protect, detect threats within, and respond to incidents affecting the network infrastructures they manage.

The CND curriculum covers a comprehensive range of network defense topics including network security policy development, firewall configuration and management, intrusion detection and prevention system deployment, virtual private network implementation, wireless network security, network traffic analysis, vulnerability assessment methodologies, and incident response procedures specific to network environments. This content reflects the actual defensive security responsibilities that network professionals carry in contemporary enterprise environments where the network perimeter is constantly under attack and where the consequences of security failures can be severe and wide-ranging. For networking professionals who want to expand their credential portfolio into the security domain without shifting entirely away from their networking specialization, the CND provides a credential that directly validates the security dimensions of their existing networking role rather than requiring a wholesale career pivot toward pure cybersecurity.

AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty For Cloud Networking Specialists

As enterprise workloads have migrated in large numbers to cloud platforms and as hybrid cloud architectures have become the dominant model for enterprise IT deployment, cloud networking has emerged as one of the most strategically important and actively sought specializations within the broader networking profession. The AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty credential is designed specifically for networking professionals who design, implement, and manage network architectures within and connected to the Amazon Web Services cloud platform. This certification validates expertise in areas including AWS virtual private cloud design, hybrid connectivity using Direct Connect and VPN services, DNS management, content delivery network configuration, network security within AWS environments, and the automation of network provisioning and management tasks using AWS tools and APIs.

The AWS Advanced Networking Specialty credential is positioned at the upper tier of the AWS certification program and requires a meaningful foundation of both general networking knowledge and AWS platform experience before candidates are likely to succeed in the examination. This positioning reflects the genuine complexity of the subject matter and the sophisticated level of expertise that the credential is designed to validate. For networking professionals who have built traditional enterprise networking expertise and are seeking to extend that expertise into the cloud networking domain where much of the future growth in networking practice is concentrated, the AWS Advanced Networking Specialty provides a highly credible and employer-recognized validation of the specific cloud networking competencies that are most in demand in the current market.

The Role Of Network Automation Skills In Enhancing Certification Value

One of the most significant shifts in the networking profession over the past several years has been the growing expectation that networking professionals possess not just traditional configuration and troubleshooting skills but also the ability to automate network management tasks using scripting languages, infrastructure-as-code tools, and network programmability frameworks. This shift is reflected in the content of modern networking certifications, with credentials including the updated CCNA, CCNP Enterprise, and various cloud networking certifications incorporating network automation topics that were entirely absent from equivalent credentials just a few years ago. Professionals who develop genuine automation skills alongside their traditional networking expertise position themselves significantly above peers who possess only conventional networking competencies.

The specific automation skills most valued in networking contexts include proficiency with Python scripting for network management tasks, familiarity with network automation frameworks such as Ansible and Terraform, understanding of REST APIs and their application to network device management, and experience with version control systems used to manage network configuration as code. Certifications that validate these skills in combination with traditional networking competencies create a profile that addresses what employers increasingly describe as the network engineer of the future rather than the network engineer of the past. Professionals who proactively develop and document these automation capabilities, whether through formal certification or through demonstrated project experience, are consistently better positioned for the senior and specialized networking roles that command the strongest compensation in the current market.

Preparing Strategically For Networking Certification Examinations

The preparation strategies that produce the best outcomes for networking certification candidates combine structured curriculum study with extensive hands-on practice in environments that replicate the actual technologies and scenarios covered in each examination. For Cisco certifications specifically, candidates benefit enormously from working with real or simulated Cisco equipment to practice the command-line interface operations, configuration tasks, and troubleshooting methodologies that the examinations test in scenario-based question formats. Cisco’s Packet Tracer simulation software and the more advanced GNS3 network emulation platform both provide accessible ways for candidates to build and practice in virtual network environments without requiring access to physical hardware.

Beyond hands-on practice, effective networking certification preparation involves engaging with multiple learning resources that explain the same concepts from different angles and at different levels of depth. Official Cisco Press study guides, video training courses from established networking instructors, practice examination platforms that simulate the question formats and difficulty levels of actual certification exams, and participation in online networking study communities all contribute to a well-rounded preparation approach. Candidates who rely on a single study resource, particularly those who focus exclusively on practice questions without developing genuine conceptual understanding of the underlying networking principles, frequently find themselves underprepared for the scenario-based and troubleshooting-focused questions that characterize the most respected networking certifications at the associate and professional levels.

Building A Networking Career Trajectory Through Strategic Credential Stacking

The most successful networking professionals approach certification pursuit not as a series of isolated credential achievements but as a deliberate and progressive strategy for building a credential portfolio that reflects evolving expertise and expanding professional capabilities over the arc of a career. Beginning with foundational credentials that establish core competency and market eligibility, then advancing through progressively more specialized and demanding certifications as professional experience and expertise deepen, creates a credential narrative that accurately reflects professional growth and positions a practitioner for increasingly senior and specialized roles over time.

A well-constructed networking certification trajectory might begin with the CompTIA Network Plus for foundational validation, advance to the CCNA for vendor-specific enterprise networking competency, progress to a CCNP specialization track aligned with a chosen career focus, and eventually extend into cloud networking credentials or advanced security certifications that reflect the expanded scope of senior networking practice. At each stage, the credential being pursued should reflect both the professional’s current expertise level and the direction they intend to grow, ensuring that the certification portfolio remains an accurate and current representation of genuine capability rather than a collection of dated credentials that no longer reflect current practice. This strategic approach to credential stacking consistently produces better career outcomes than opportunistic or random certification pursuit.

Salary Premiums And Job Market Outcomes For Certified Networking Professionals

The financial return on networking certification investment is well documented across multiple compensation surveys and job market analyses, with certified networking professionals consistently earning meaningfully more than non-certified peers performing comparable roles. The specific premium varies by credential, experience level, geographic market, and industry sector, but the general pattern of positive earnings impact from networking certification is robust and consistent across available data sources. Senior certifications such as the CCNP and the AWS Advanced Networking Specialty are associated with particularly strong compensation premiums, reflecting both the rigor of the credentials themselves and the scarcity of professionals who hold them in combination with the experience levels required for senior networking roles.

Beyond base salary premiums, certified networking professionals benefit from stronger job security, broader employment options across industries and organizational sizes, and greater negotiating leverage in both initial compensation discussions and subsequent advancement conversations. Organizations that have made significant investments in specific networking technologies have strong incentives to retain and reward practitioners who hold verified credentials in those technologies, creating a degree of employer loyalty to credentialed networking professionals that benefits credential holders throughout their careers. In a technology job market that experiences cyclical fluctuations in overall demand, networking professionals with strong credential portfolios consistently demonstrate greater resilience than those without formal credentials, as their documented expertise provides objective evidence of capability that survives market downturns better than purely experience-based professional profiles.

Conclusion

The five networking certifications explored throughout this discussion collectively represent the most strategically valuable and market-recognized credentials available to networking professionals building and advancing their careers in the current technology environment. From the foundational accessibility of the CompTIA Network Plus and the CCNA to the advanced specialization validated by the CCNP, the security focus of the Certified Network Defender, and the cloud networking expertise confirmed by the AWS Advanced Networking Specialty, these credentials address the full spectrum of professional development stages and specialization directions available within the networking profession.

What unites these diverse credentials is their shared commitment to validating genuine, practically applicable expertise rather than superficial familiarity with networking concepts. The most respected networking certifications in the market are demanding precisely because the work they prepare practitioners for is demanding, and the rigor of the examination process is a feature rather than a barrier for professionals who approach certification pursuit with appropriate seriousness and preparation depth. Employers who specify networking certifications in their job requirements are communicating a genuine belief that the credential signals the kind of verified expertise their infrastructure environments require, and that belief is well-founded when the certification in question is among the respected credentials that have demonstrated their validity over years of market use.

For professionals at the beginning of their networking careers, the most important message from this discussion is that the investment required to earn respected networking credentials pays consistent and compounding returns over the arc of a professional career. The combination of technical knowledge, practical capability, and documented credential that serious certification pursuit produces is a professional asset that appreciates rather than depreciates over time, particularly when it is maintained through continuing education, credential renewal, and the progressive addition of advanced certifications that reflect growing expertise and evolving professional scope. Networking professionals who commit to this continuous credential development strategy position themselves for careers that deliver both the intellectual engagement that comes from working with sophisticated and constantly evolving technology and the financial rewards that the market reliably delivers to practitioners whose expertise is verified, current, and genuinely valued by the organizations that depend on the networks they build and protect.