5 Levels · 1 Career

From Absolute Beginner to
Network Architect

My complete Cisco certification journey — every exam, every syllabus topic, every lab, and every tool I'm using to go from zero to one of the most respected credentials in IT. Built as a public study log and portfolio, so employers can see exactly what I know and how I learned it.

Start at Level 1 → How I sell these skills

# The 5-Level Roadmap

Each level has its own page with the full exam syllabus, a topic checklist that saves your progress, hands-on labs mapped to real-world scenarios, and the simulators/tools to practice on.

CCST

1 · Cisco Certified Support Technician — Absolute Beginner

The entry point to get your foot in the door of IT. No prerequisites, no experience needed. Proves you can support real networks on day one of a help-desk job.

Target roles: Help Desk, IT Support Technician, NOC Trainee

→
CCNA

2 · Cisco Certified Network Associate — Associate

The classic foundation for networking. Teaches the underlying logic of how the entire internet works — valued even by cloud giants like Amazon and Microsoft.

~$75,000 average US starting salary

→
CCNP

3 · Cisco Certified Network Professional — Professional

Where you specialize. The Automation track (former DevNet) has seen a 25% jump in job listings — networking + Python + APIs is the hottest combo in infrastructure.

Target roles: Network Engineer, Network Automation Engineer

→
CCIE

4 · Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert — Expert

The "fighter jet pilot" of the networking world. An 8-hour hands-on lab exam that fewer than 3% of network engineers ever pass.

Up to $170,000 (security) · ~75% salary premium over non-certified peers

→
CCAr

5 · Cisco Certified Architect — Architect

The ultimate level. An elite club of fewer than 1,000 people globally. Less about configuration, more about business strategy — the track for future CTOs.

Target roles: Network Architect, Principal Engineer, CTO track

→

# Career & Salary Snapshot

Why this ladder is worth climbing — the numbers at each rung.

$75K
CCNA avg US starting salary
+25%
Job-listing jump for CCNP Automation
$170K
CCIE (Security) top pay
+75%
CCIE salary premium vs non-certified
<1,000
CCAr holders worldwide
Why even cloud companies care: AWS, Azure and Google Cloud are networks at planetary scale. VPCs, transit gateways, BGP peering, hybrid connectivity — it's all the same logic the CCNA/CCNP teaches. Cisco skills transfer directly to cloud networking roles.

# How I Sell Myself With These Certifications

A certificate alone doesn't get the job — proof of hands-on skill does. This is the strategy baked into every page of this site.

1. Public Proof of Work

  • This GitHub repo IS the portfolio. Every lab I complete gets committed here — Packet Tracer files, configs, topology diagrams, troubleshooting write-ups.
  • Recruiters can literally read my OSPF configs and Python automation scripts instead of trusting a bullet point.
  • Green commit squares = visible consistency and discipline.

2. Resume Bullets That Work

  • Never write "studied networking." Write: "Designed and deployed a 3-branch enterprise topology with OSPF, HSRP redundancy and site-to-site VPN in EVE-NG."
  • Quantify: number of devices, failover times, subnets designed, scripts automated.
  • Each cert page on this site lists ready-to-adapt resume bullets per lab.

3. LinkedIn & Credly Strategy

  • Claim every badge on Credly the day you pass — verifiable, recruiter-searchable.
  • Post a short write-up per milestone: "What I built this week" with a topology screenshot. Engineers who show work get inbound messages.
  • Headline format: "Network Engineer | CCNA | Automating networks with Python & Ansible".

4. Interview Ammunition

  • Every lab on this site ends with a real-world scenario — those become your STAR-method interview stories.
  • "Tell me about a time you troubleshot a network issue" → describe the broken-OSPF-adjacency lab you actually fixed.
  • Bring your topology diagrams to the interview. Almost nobody does this. It wins.

5. Stack Skills, Not Just Certs

  • CCNA + Linux basics + Python beats CCNA alone in 2026's market.
  • From CCNP onward, automation (Netmiko, Ansible, REST APIs) is the differentiator — it's why the Automation track jumped 25% in listings.
  • Cloud networking (AWS VPC / Azure VNet) makes you bilingual: on-prem + cloud.

6. Get Paid While You Learn

  • CCST → apply for help desk immediately. Don't wait for CCNA.
  • CCNA → NOC / junior network engineer. Real tickets teach faster than any course.
  • Each level should be studied while working at the previous level's job — experience + cert compounds your salary at every step.

# The Toolbox (Used Across All Levels)

Full details on each cert page — this is the master list of simulators and tools this whole journey runs on.

Cisco Packet Tracer

Cisco's official simulator. Perfect for CCST and CCNA — drag-and-drop topologies, real IOS commands, built-in assessment activities.

Free (Cisco Networking Academy)

GNS3

Emulates real Cisco IOS images. The step up from Packet Tracer — full command set, integrates with real VMs and Wireshark.

Free & open source

EVE-NG

Professional network emulation platform. The standard for CCNP/CCIE-scale topologies with dozens of devices. Community edition is free.

Free (Community) / Paid (Pro)

Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)

Cisco's official virtual lab platform with legal, current IOS-XE/NX-OS images. What the actual CCIE lab exam runs on.

Wireshark

Packet capture and analysis. Watching a TCP handshake or an OSPF hello in Wireshark turns theory into intuition. Used at every level.

Free & open source

Cisco DevNet Sandbox

Free cloud-hosted real Cisco gear (Catalyst, SD-WAN, ACI) with API access. Essential for the automation topics from CCNA onward.

Free (developer.cisco.com)

Python + Netmiko / Ansible

The automation stack: Python with Netmiko/NAPALM for device scripting, Ansible for config management, Git for everything.

Free & open source

Subnetting Practice

subnettingpractice.com and subnetting.org — daily drills until you can subnet in under 15 seconds. Non-negotiable for CCNA.

Free