* Education needed to meet growing networking demand, Cisco says
Cisco has announced its new expert-level wireless certification, and says it expects increasing job specialization within the networking field over the next five years.
Cisco has revealed more details about its new expert-level wireless certification, and says it expects increasing job specialization within the networking field over the next five years.
Cisco’s CCIE Wireless certification complements the new wireless concentration added to the CCNA portfolio back in June. Cisco plans to add a third, professional-level wireless certification within a year, allowing them to offer wireless networking credentials to IT pros in all stages of their careers. The expert exam certifies the ability to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot wireless networks. Cisco says candidates need broad theoretical knowledge of wireless networking as well as expertise in Cisco-branded WLAN gear.
A worldwide survey commissioned by Cisco found that 39% of companies have dedicated wireless specialists on their IT staffs, and that percentage will soar to 66% in five years. Increasing specialization is also being seen in security and voice. While 46% of companies surveyed have dedicated security specialists today, 80% will have them in five years. Similarly, the proportion of companies with voice specialists will increase from 40% to 69%.
“In our research we found a pervasive need for wireless skills, and not just in North America,” says Sanjay Mehta, product marketing manager for wireless and mobility. “The need for experts to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot is growing exponentially.”
Networking in general is going to be a high growth occupation over the next eight years. While employment for the entire economy will grow 11% between 2006 and 2016, employment will grow 48% for network and computer systems administrators and 82% for network systems and data communications analysts, Cisco says, citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics research.
“It’s definitely way beyond how employment overall is going,” says Fred Weiller, director of marketing for Cisco’s learning group. “The industry at large really needs to develop more people with the right talent.”
This newsletter described the beta version of the CCIE Wireless exam back in October, and Cisco has since completed the beta and set dates for the next round of exams.
The two-hour written exam, which costs $350, goes live on Feb. 17 and will be administered through Pearson Vue testing centers.
Those who pass the written beta will be invited to the lab beta, which takes place in January. The lab exam, which costs $1,400, will then go live in April and be held once each quarter in San Jose, Brussels and Sydney, Australia. Exam scheduling information can be found here.
The proctored lab test will be a computer-based exam and also utilizes hands-on gear.
The lab focuses on Cisco WLAN technologies, including Autonomous Infrastructure, Unified Infrastructure, Unified Controllers and AP’s, Unified WCS and Location and Voice over Wireless.
While Cisco technology is the focus, candidates can find it useful if they later move to a job where they are not using Cisco gear, Mehta says.
“An individual who gets certified with Cisco CCIE Wireless will have knowledge of not only Cisco products and software, but also working knowledge of wireless networks in general,” he says.
