CCNP before CCNA

axxon

hi guys!this is my first post here.
i am a fresh graduate . during my bachelors, CCNA was part of my curriculum and i passed all the 4 parts with more than 90% marks in all of them. the standard of the courses were exactly the same as the certification exam (we studied the CCNA books from ciso,used the cisco devices in the lab and our professor was an actual cisco instructor). so i can confidently say i know about CCNA stuffs really well.

i was supposed to take the CCNA exam right after my graduation,but then i thought y spend money for CCNA since i already know the stuffs..i can spend that money on CCNP exam(i dunno how many times i might need to take it...hehehe!!but sudnt b more than once.. )

nyway..thats y i opened this thread and chek out if it is possible to take CCNP exam without the CCNA certificate?i mean do they ask for ur CCNA certificate when u go and register for CCNP ?

any help will b really appreciated

boyles23

You don't have to have the CCNA before the CCNP but NP is four exams not just the one or two with CCNA.

Regards,

Paul Boz

boyles23 wrote:

You don't have to have the CCNA before the CCNP but NP is four exams not just the one or two with CCNA.

Regards,

This is wrong. You have to have a valid CCNA prior to being awarded the CCNP. You can take the CCNP exams until you're blue in the face but until you take the CCNA you won't get a CCNP certification out of it.

Webmaster

Paul Boz wrote:

boyles23 wrote:

You don't have to have the CCNA before the CCNP but NP is four exams not just the one or two with CCNA.

Regards,

This is wrong. You have to have a valid CCNA prior to being awarded the CCNP. You can take the CCNP exams until you're blue in the face but until you take the CCNA you won't get a CCNP certification out of it.

Indeed, CCNA is a prerequisite for the CCNP certification but not for the CCNP exams.

And if the knowledge you gained is still fresh you should not have a hard time passing the (current-) CCNA exam, making the money worth the certification itself (i.e. in case you're looking for a job before you get your CCNP).

And welcome on board!

axxon

ohhhh....thanx guys!!thanx so much..haha!otherwise i ud hav gone down the wrong path..
thnx for ur help...really appreciate it

Aquabat [banned]

dude, uschool cisco classes do not mean anything. cisco academy was good imo, but not for the a real exam

Slowhand

I wanted to clarify one thing here, since my boss went through an odd process when pursuing his CCNP. His CCNA certification had expired, so he was, in effect, not CCNA certified during the time he took his CCNP tests. He had to retake this CCNA exam the day after he'd passed the last of the four CCNP exams, and he became CCNP certified. The point being, there's nothing stopping you from taking any Cisco exam, you're allowed to sit for any of them without any prior certification, you just don't receive the certification status until you've passed all the required and prerequisite exams for a cert.

osiris69

Slowhand wrote:

I wanted to clarify one thing here, since my boss went through an odd process when pursuing his CCNP. His CCNA certification had expired, so he was, in effect, not CCNA certified during the time he took his CCNP tests. He had to retake this CCNA exam the day after he'd passed the last of the four CCNP exams, and he became CCNP certified. The point being, there's nothing stopping you from taking any Cisco exam, you're allowed to sit for any of them without any prior certification, you just don't receive the certification status until you've passed all the required and prerequisite exams for a cert.

: : : : Why didn't your boss take one of the CCNP exams before his CCNA expired?
THEN IT CANNOT EXPIRE if you pass it of course :

jrbr

Does anyone knows if that is still the case?
I just failed my 300-115 CCNP Switch exam (by 10 points )and my CCNA expires next week. So no time to retake it before CCNA expires.
Can I take the CCNP SWitch exam first (as things are still fresh on my mind) and renew my CCNA in the sequence? To later on pursue the Route and Tshoot exams?

Mow

Professional level exams will only renew valid certifications. If it expires before you pass, it's back to the beginning.

TechGuru80

Mow wrote: »

Professional level exams will only renew valid certifications. If it expires before you pass, it's back to the beginning.

Yep but to renew if your CCNA is still valid, you only have to complete a single exam at the CCNP level...so for instance Switch would renew your CCNA certification...you don't have to finish the CCNP to renew.

OctalDump

This is still the case. You can take the exams in whichever order, but won't get the certifications until you complete the prerequisites.

A certification can be renewed by passing any exam at the same or higher level. Once a certification lapses, then you are kind of stuck.

One option to short circuit this process is to complete CCIE, as this will act as a prerequisite for any lower exam, allowing you to gain CCNP levels without getting their corresponding CCNA.

If you do go down the CCNP exam before CCNA exam track, then I'd suggest doing the CCNA exams second to last. This will allow the final CCNP exam to reset the certification expiry for the CCNA. Eg, SWITCH, ROUTE, CCNAX, TSHOOT. Your CCNP and CCNA will both then expire 3 years after you complete TSHOOT.