CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry. The certification increases your chances of landing to a high profile job in a reputed organisation easily with a handsome pay. It not only provides you an authority in skills related to Cisco IOS and hardware, but also boosts your inter networking skills on a general basis. While this means that you won’t be a typecast as only a Cisco networking expert. If you’re one of those computer support specialists or even a network administrator, then with this esteemed certification you can really take your professional career to the next level. 
 

Although, in general CCNA Certification does not require any degree as an eligibility to appear for the exam, but you can most certainly get benefit from introductory knowledge of troubleshooting, Installing and configuring LAN and WAN, installing a network, general familiarity with Microsoft and Cisco and also some skills with routers and switches. 
 

The certification enhances your skills in managing, securing, configuring and troubleshooting a medium sized network in the real-time corporate world which directly increases your worth in the eyes of your employers. If you feel that you don’t have enough knowledge to go with the advanced Cisco certification, you can start off by  CCENT Certification to get a more insight before taking a plunge into the highly advanced environment of Cisco products.

Preparation Tips for Exam

• As mentioned before, exam is an advanced level testing of your skills in configuring, troubleshooting and managing networks, routers and switches.  However, handling them in real time enterprise is not going to be easy at all, but with the desired amount of hard work, discipline and practical and basic knowledge of the networking skills you’ll have a pretty good chance.
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• Managing time is one of the key factors in deciding your fate in the exam. You’ll need to solve 50-60 questions in about 90 minutes or so and this will not happen without an effective time management strategy and regular practice. With more practice, there are chances are that you’ll be able to perform better on the particular day. 
   
• It is really important to have at least 2 years of experience and practical knowledge on  managing and troubleshooting medium sized networks in real time enterprise which will be a an advantage to your course.
   
• You’ll need an extremely dedicated and disciplined approach for an effective performance. Set small targets for yourself and then stick to your schedule at any cost throughout the whole preparation. The hard work and thorough revision from time to time will generate enough confidence in you to crack the exam efficiently. You can also checkout the Best Approach to study for CCNA Certification which will help you to get a high salary job in an IT firm.
   
• It is very important to find the right study material for a profound preparation. The Cisco’s ICND 1 and ICND 2 are the most important study material, since these two course books effectively cover all the basic concepts of networking knowledge in a comprehensive manner.
   
• Give as many practise or mock tests as possible as they will you evaluate your preparation on a regular basis and will help you develop essential time management skills. It will also help you identify the areas that you’ve to work.     

With these tips, you can easily gain a competitive advantage in the CCNA certification exam.