February 2010

You may be asking yourself which certification track you should focus on. If you are already in a set career path, like network engineering or system administration, then your best bet is to select something from your given area of expertise. Cisco's track for networking or microsoft's track for systems administration are rock solid.

If you are interested in taking any direction with your career or are looking for some change, take a look at certification magazines annual certification salary survey to get some ideas. The highest paid certifications are typically some of the hardest to earn, but if you really want to change your careers direction, you are bound to ride the wave with a high paying cert.

Here's a link: Certification Magazine's 2009 Salary Survey

Cisco recently revised their CCNP track to make it align with actual job requirements (such as troubleshooting problems on networks full of Cisco equipment).What do these changes mean for current Cisco Certified Network Professionals? Well, not much other than  you still get to take a 642 level exam to renew it. However, for all you non-CCNPers out there, tighten your belts and sharpen your pencils because you are in for a bit of a change.