Networking certifications in 2018 reflected an industry moving from device-by-device administration toward cloud connectivity, automation, network virtualization and security. The credential choices were varied, and not every qualification served the same role. An entry-level network technician, a senior routing engineer, a packet analyst and a cloud architect needed different kinds of evidence. This retrospective compares the subjects those credentials represented without pretending that a 2018 examination can necessarily be booked today or that certification alone determined a person’s salary.
The distinction between an exam’s historical importance and its current status is essential. Several Cisco certifications and examinations described in 2018 were retired on February 23, 2020, including the former CCNA Routing and Switching exams, the CCNP ROUTE/SWITCH/TSHOOT sequence and the CCIE Routing and Switching written examination. Cisco identifies the retired codes and dates among its retired certification examinations. A professional planning a current qualification must use the issuer’s active objectives rather than an old study schedule or the similarity of an exam code.
Start with the networking responsibilities the credential should support
Foundational networking work begins with IP addressing, Ethernet switching, basic routing, wireless connectivity, DNS and DHCP, and a repeatable troubleshooting method. A candidate needs to explain not only what a protocol does, but also what evidence would distinguish a cabling fault from a VLAN mismatch, a route-selection problem, an authentication failure or an overloaded service. General networking credentials can provide structure for those skills, but practice on approved equipment or simulations is still necessary.
In 2018, CompTIA Network+ and Cisco CCNA were common starting points for different reasons. Network+ emphasized vendor-neutral networking fundamentals; Cisco CCNA put those concepts in a specific network operating and configuration environment. Choosing between them should depend on whether the immediate job requires broad support knowledge or day-to-day Cisco implementation. Neither credential should be judged solely by how prominently it appears in a historical ranking.
Before registering today, compare the current CompTIA and Cisco 200-301 CCNA examination objectives with the skills in the target job. Current Cisco material addresses networking basics, network access, IP connectivity and services, security fundamentals, and automation. Historical CCNA specializations such as CCNA Wireless and CCNA Data Center should not be presented as active tracks simply because old articles or training vouchers are still visible online.
Cisco CCNA, CCNP and CCIE represented distinct levels of practical depth
Cisco’s 2018 professional certification structure offered specialized pathways. A candidate focused on routing and switching could progress from the historical CCNA Routing and Switching examination options, including ICND1 and ICND2 or the composite exam, to CCNP Routing and Switching through separate ROUTE, SWITCH and TSHOOT assessments. Those titles reflected the technology and examination architecture of their time, not a currently available sequence.
The old CCNP material is still useful for understanding real network operations: OSPF and BGP design, route redistribution, spanning tree, EtherChannel, VLAN segmentation, fault isolation and change verification. The value comes from transferring those concepts to today’s supported platforms and design constraints. Cisco’s modern professional programs use different core and concentration examinations; readers should verify the specific current pathway rather than treating a retired written test as a prerequisite.
CCNP Routing and Switching remains meaningful as a historical credential lineage, but the correct present-day preparation depends on the intended Cisco specialty. Enterprise networking, security, collaboration and data-center operations do not share one universal exam sequence.
At the expert level, Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) signaled advanced network troubleshooting and design. The 2018 model used a written examination and a practical lab. The current expert certification structure is not the same, so learners must use Cisco’s published exam and lab requirements for their chosen track. There is no need to invent a global first-attempt pass rate to explain the challenge: diagnosing complex faults and validating a multi-protocol system under time constraints is intrinsically demanding.
Juniper certification offered a different operating-system perspective
Juniper’s Junos qualification ladder provided a route for engineers working with network devices, routing policy and service-provider or enterprise networks. Learning Junos requires becoming familiar with its configuration hierarchy, candidate configuration, commit behavior, validation and rollback rather than transferring Cisco command syntax by memory.
Historical JNCIA-Junos study material can still introduce the workflow, but examination codes change. In October 2026, Juniper’s current associate examination is JN0-106, and the issuer lists its precise objectives and delivery conditions. Higher-level Juniper certifications cover distinct enterprise, service-provider and data-center responsibilities. A candidate should choose by operational environment, not assume that every higher code belongs to one linear pathway.
When evaluating Cisco and Juniper side by side, compare the work rather than the badge name. An enterprise administrator may need campus VLAN and access-policy troubleshooting; a service-provider engineer may need extensive BGP policy and high availability; a network automation specialist may need API interactions, data models and source-controlled configuration changes. The right certification should follow those responsibilities.
Cloud networking expanded the network engineer’s boundary
By 2018, connecting enterprise networks to public cloud was no longer a purely theoretical concern. AWS virtual networks, routing tables, private connectivity, VPNs, load balancing and DNS required the same attention to failure domains, trust boundaries and performance as physical networks. The historical AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty credential reflected that emerging crossover between traditional networking and cloud services.
That credential has a new lifecycle detail: AWS states that the last day to take Advanced Networking – Specialty is December 31, 2026. Holders remain certified for the normal validity period, but new candidates should confirm the retirement notice before committing to registration or a long study plan. The official AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty announcement describes the transition. A retired credential does not mean that VPC connectivity, hybrid routing or network automation have stopped being valuable work.
The enduring preparation exercise is to trace a real application flow: source and destination addresses, routes on each side, DNS answers, encryption and identity controls, firewall or security-group policy, path redundancy, and the effect of a failed circuit. A candidate who can explain why a request succeeds in one network and times out in another has a more transferable skill than someone who has memorized the title of a temporary specialty exam.
Security, packet analysis and virtualization created additional specialist paths
Firewall and network-security credentials served engineers responsible for segmentation, inspection, secure access and policy operations. In 2018, vendor-specific programs, including Cisco and Palo Alto Networks qualifications, offered different emphases. These credentials should be evaluated against the employer’s deployed security platforms and the work the candidate is authorized to perform. The title of a historical firewall exam does not prove that its content or renewal requirements remain current.
Network traffic analysis with Wireshark addressed another essential specialization. Packet capture helps distinguish application errors, failed handshakes, route asymmetry, DNS problems, MTU issues and retransmissions. The analyst must understand which interface to capture, whether timestamps are synchronized, what sampling limitations exist and which data may be collected legally. Knowing the user interface is not the same as correctly interpreting a protocol exchange.
Network virtualization added a different set of concerns. VMware NSX combined logical switching and routing, policy enforcement, virtual workloads and physical underlay dependencies. Professionals needed to troubleshoot where overlay encapsulation, hypervisor state, distributed firewall rules and physical reachability met. The historical VMware credential was relevant to those technologies, while current certification names and product versions need to be verified with the issuer.
Choose specialization using job evidence, not salary rankings
The best certification for a networking professional in 2018 depended on the role. A help-desk technician entering networking might prioritize IP addressing and fault isolation. A data-center administrator might need storage and virtual networking. A network-security engineer might focus on policy design and packet inspection. A cloud architect might need hybrid routing and service connectivity. An expert network engineer might need to demonstrate high-level troubleshooting and design across complex topologies.
Those choices still illustrate a useful decision process in 2026. Start with three or four responsibilities from actual job descriptions or current work, identify which technologies and failure modes they involve, and then compare official examination objectives. Check the credential’s status, prerequisites, delivery method, required work experience, renewal conditions and whether an employer will value it. Do not infer salary premiums or guaranteed interviews from a credential page.
A practical learning plan should lead to observable evidence. Build an authorized lab, document the expected forwarding and failure behavior, test a wrong route or access policy, restore the intended state, and explain why the final configuration works. In cloud networks, repeat the exercise with virtual networks and private connectivity. In security, demonstrate policy intent and verify that permissible and impermissible flows are handled differently. In operations, show how configuration changes are backed up, reviewed and rolled back.
Networking certification remains useful when it creates a disciplined structure for these activities. Its historical labels are less durable than the ability to understand a packet path, choose an architecture, detect an unintended dependency and safely restore service.
How to read a 2018 certification article in 2026
Keep the historical program names when they explain the evolution of the profession, but separate them from registration advice. In particular, retired Cisco exams cannot be scheduled, and AWS Advanced Networking – Specialty has a defined upcoming retirement date. Review Cisco certifications and each issuer’s current objectives rather than taking an old ranking as a live certification catalog.
The most transferable lesson is to study network behavior rather than credential prestige. Routing protocols, VLAN design, packet analysis, failure recovery, automation and cloud connectivity remain valuable, but exam formats and credential structures change. A strong professional path aligns those technical skills with real operating responsibilities and uses current issuer information to decide what to study next.
