S9|E40 Navigating the Road to Recertification

Earning a Cisco certification is no easy task. Preparing for exams, in and of itself, is an investment — the cost of study materials, training, and courses, not to mention the time that candidates devote to building their skills and knowledge — all comes to fruition the moment when they pass the exam, become certified, and reach the next level in their IT career. But all of that can (somewhat) quickly fade as their recertification deadline approaches. That open window of three years to recertify suddenly begins to close. In retrospect, the window was much smaller than they had anticipated. And until recently, the only way to recertify was via testing. When Cisco revamped its certification portfolio, new changes to its recertification policy arrived as well. Among several new options to recertify aside from taking exams, the updated policy extends the Cisco Continuing Education Program to certified individuals across all certification levels; previously, an option available solely at the Expert level. Continuing Education (CE) activities are simply learning activities recognized by Cisco to meet the rigor and standard that demonstrate a level of skill, or proficiency. And while accruing CE credits via training and completing courses is a valid approach to recertification, continuous learning is likely, or rather ideally, innate to the IT professional who understands that keeping their skills and knowledge current amid the rapidly changing landscape of IT is critical for their success. Resources Portal: ce.cisco.com Exam Progress: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/simple-sign-on-certification-experience.html Follow us https://twitter.com/CiscoChampion Cisco Champion Hosts Bill Masci (twitter.com/billver3), Iridium Communications, Inc., Network Administrator Micheline Murphy (twitter.com/MichyfishMurphy), WWT, Consulting Systems Engineer Mike Bolitho (twitter.com/NetEngMike), CommonSpirit Health, Wireless Engineer Guest Anna Rubin, Cisco, Leader, Associate & Professional Exams Moderator Amilee San Juan (twitter.com/amileesan1), Cisco, Customer Voices and Cisco Champion Program