CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)

CCIE – Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert. CCIE certification was introduced by Cisco Systems in the year 1993, nearly 20 years ago. The aim while introducing this certification was to provide Network Engineers with a platform which enhanced their knowledge about the Cisco products and helped them in achieving mastery of their own engineering skills. The CCIE Certification is known as the highest paid and the most desired certifications of all. Being one of the most prestigious certification of the Networking Industry, CCIE upholds itself as a certification which empowers Networking Engineers to increase their worth and demand in IT Companies.

CCIE is the highest level of Expert Certification available in which one needs to successfully complete/pass a written exam of 3 hours followed by 8 hours of Practical Lab exam. This certification allows Engineers to augment their skills of designing, implementing, maintaining and troubleshooting of complex network structures. Doctorate level of certification in Networking, CCIE has opened a new gateway of opportunities for Network Engineers of the world. Simply saying, this certification allows individuals to handle all the Network operations (external and internal) with much of ease and high levels insusceptibility.

This certification can be done by anybody who wants to make his/her career in the specified field of Networking. Be it a complete fresher in Networking or be it engineers with different tracks i.e. CCNA, CCNP, etc. Also, one can give exams for different tracks in CCIE and become a single, dual, triple, quad CCIE and so on. CCIE consists of different tracks of mastery i.e. one can become a CCIE certified Engineers in the following fields:

Different Tracks of CCIE:

CCIE R&S: CCNA R&S + CCNP R&S + CCIE R&S.

CCIE Security V5: CCNA R&S + CCNP R&S + CCNA Security + CCNP Security + CCIE Security V5.

CCIE Collaboration: CCNA R&S + CCNA Voice + CCNP Voice + CCIE Collaboration.

CCDE: CCNA R&S, CCDA, CCDP, CCDE

CCIE Service Provider: CCNA R&S, CCNA SP, CCNP SP, CCIE SP, CCIE Service Provider Operations: CCNA R&S, CCNA SPO, CCNP SPO, CCIE SPO.

CCIE Data Center: CCNA R&S, CCNA Data Center, CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center

Note: CCDE is similar to CCIE certification. CCDE is an expert level certification in Design track offered by Cisco.

Scope and Value of CCIE:

Out of the above mentioned CCIE Tracks, Network Bulls offers World Class Quality Training in three CCIE Tracks only i.e. CCIE R&S Version 5, CCIE Security V5, and CCIE Collaboration. This is because of the job prospects CCIE offers to the certified engineers across the globe. CCIE R&S, CCIE Collaboration, and CCIE Security offers finest job opportunities to CCIE aspirants as the scope and growth of the certification is beyond imagination as compared to the rest tracks of CCIE. Scope of CCIE SP, DC, Wireless and Design is beyond comparison to other CCIE’s but only after 5-6 years of experience. CCIE DC, SP etc. are not suitable for fresher students, As it’s nearly impossible for freshers to get employed in Data Center of some company. He needs some hands on experience on Routing Switching or Network Security before going for CCIE SP, SPO or DC etc. One of the major advantages of being a CCIE certified engineer is the salary package and designation one gets in reputed Multinational Companies of India and abroad. Salary packages for a CCIE fresher differs from INR 2 LAKHS (not certified) to INR 8 LAKHS (for certified engineers) per annum, that too varying from one company to another. For experienced CCIEs the Salary Package this certification offers is up to INR 30 LAKHS per annum (again varies from company to company). In countries like U.S.A, a CCIE certified engineer gets a whooping start of $100, 000 or even more.

Cisco certifications consist of three different levels i.e. for beginners, for intermediates, and for Experts. Detailed Explanation of three levels is given below:

Associate Level: CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) – Covers the basics of Networking Technologies

Professional Level: CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) – Covers the advance and In-depth level study of Networking Technologies

Expert Level: CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) – Covers expert level study of Networking Technologies

CCIE Exam and Testing Centers:

Coming to the most important part i.e. where the exams for CCIE Certifications are conducted in India and Abroad? As of today, CCIE R&S, Security, Collaboration, Service Provider, Wireless, and Data Center Lab exams students have the option of Bangalore (India) center. In case they can go abroad for lab exams then they can opt for - (Beijing, PRC), (Brussels, Belgium), (Dubai, UAE), (Hong Kong, PRC), (RTP, USA), (San Jose, USA), (Sydney, Australia) and (Tokyo, Japan). The fee for these exams depends upon the type of exam being given by a candidate i.e. Written or Lab. For all the written exams of CCIE the fee is $450 and for the lab exams fee is $1600. Another important aspect which needs to be considered while preparing for CCIE exam is the passing percentage required to achieve i.e. one must get more than 79% in the written and 80% in CCIE Lab exam to successfully complete his/her CCIE certification.

Demand of CCIE's:

CCIE Certified engineers are in so much of demand because of their rarity i.e. we do not have many CCIEs available all over the world. Earlier in June 2012, nearly 28,000 active CCIE Certified engineers were available in the whole world which when compared to today’s series of 57,000 stands nowhere. Despite increase in the number of CCIE engineers over the past two years, many CCIEs have become either inactive or retired. This foremost factor is the main reason behind the significant growth in the demand of certified CCIEs. Being a CCIE engineer, one not only gets a highly paid job but also gets lifetime opportunities of being associated with topmost elite technocrats of the world. Since IT is an ever growing industry, many well-known companies keep on searching for highly skilled CCIE engineers to accomplish their goals and bring progress to their companies by their skills and expertise.

So if you armed with a CCIE status, you are bound to taste success like no other.