The ultimate goal of virtually everyone who enters the computer networking industry is to become a CCIE. This is the absolute authority certification in the industry and everything else is secondary. You don’t need to be a CCIE to make a good living, but once you’ve earned this ultra-high-level certification, it would be hard not to.

The most important part of this track is understanding that you can’t do it without the right amount of experience. The curriculum assumes that you have a working knowledge of almost everything. If you don’t, you’ll quickly lose the material and it will be incredibly difficult to learn the basics while trying to absorb the more challenging concepts. So if you don’t work in computer networking today, your first step should be to get one of the lower-level certifications and find a job.

For many of us who have other valuable skills, this can even mean a pay cut. However, if you consider this part of your training, you should have no problem getting through the hard parts. Of course, the typical CCNA salary is pretty good, so hopefully you don’t have to lose too much money. On the other hand, if you’re just looking, this shouldn’t be a problem for you.

Once you gain some general networking knowledge and experience, you’re probably ready for high-level certification. However, you must take the exams in order, and you cannot go from an entry-level certification to the CCIE. You have to go through the associate program first and then the professional program before you can even think about the CCIE. This takes time and you should not be in a hurry. The longer you wait between exams, the more time you have to really master the concepts presented at your current certification level.

Again, the key is to fully master a set of material before moving on. You don’t want to constantly have to refer to information you should already know. This adds a ton of time and frustration to the entire process. I understand that everyone is in a hurry to make a better living or get a better job, but you just can’t rush. It’s kind of like taking the bar exam and skipping law school. It’s not going to work as well as you expect.

For me, the main concept that had to go through my head is that hype is a good thing. When I study for something, I probably take twice as long as other people if they had similar knowledge and experience. The trick is to completely master everything before continuing. Many only study enough to pass the exam and that’s the end of it. However, in my case, I don’t want to spend a second looking for something that was already covered in a lower level certification. If I’m not 100% ready to pass the exam, I keep studying until I am.

This method makes the exams much easier and faster. Not to mention that he will be a better employee with more knowledge by having all the information in the world in his head.