Without a doubt, Cisco certifications and specializations are among the most popular vendor certifications in the IT industry, and earning them doesn’t come easy. Anyone who’s achieved a Cisco certification would be well aware of the countless hours required to cover the necessary curriculum, practice labs, and prepare for their Cisco exam.
Many would agree that one of the biggest headaches after achieving a Cisco certification is renewing it. Renewing or maintaining a Cisco certification usually requires the candidate to sit for an equal-level exam or pushing forward and aiming for a higher-level exam. While this might not be a problem for many professionals, many find it a big struggle. A significant amount of professionals decide not to renew their certifications because of the time and commitment required or because they’ve decided to focus on other vendors.
In this article, you’ll discover how you can easily renew any Cisco certification or specialization without sitting for a single exam! We’ll explain the different recertification paths, show how to select a recertification path, submit a claim, track the recertification process, open a support ticket, and more!
Here’s what’s covered:
It is indeed possible to renew any Cisco certification without sitting for the dreaded exams, and it’s called the Cisco Continuing Education Program, and we’ll explain how it works.
The Cisco Continuing Education Program allows Cisco certified engineers to earn Continuing Education Credits (CE) that are then applied towards recertification. CEs can be earn via the following activities:
- Instructor-Led Training
- Cisco Digital Learning
- Cisco Live! Training Sessions (BRK, LTR, TEC, DEVWks)
- Cisco Network Academy Training
- Other Activities such as workshops, bootcamps, etc
The amount of CE credits earned will depend on the type of activity and its duration. For example, you can earn 12 CE credits for a sitting through a 14-hour Cisco course delivered via the Cisco Digital Learning platform or earn a generous 40 to 65 credits for attending a 5-day Cisco Instructor-Led training course offered by authorized Cisco Learning Training Partners.
Once the training course or activity is complete, you submit a claim to earn the CE Credits. When you’ve gathered enough CE credits, you are automatically recertified.
The amount of Cisco Learning Credits required for your certification renewal depends on the level of recertification. For example, Associate level recertification, such as the CCNA, requires a minimum of 30 CE credits. In contrast, the Professional level (CCNP Enterprise, CCNP Data Center, etc.) requires 80 CE credits and CCIE level an impressive 120 Continuing Education credits.
The table below shows all available certification levels, duration, required Continuing Education credits, but also the ability to combine exams with Continuing Education credits to achieve recertification: