Average CCNA salary 2020
The CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is one of the most well-known entry-level certifications within the IT industry. Holding this credential proves your ability to install, configure, manage and support small- to medium-sized networks.
A study by CompTIA found that 47% of SMBs see the IT skills gap growing. This IT skills gap is behind a large demand for network engineers, but most of these positions require some sort of hands-on experience. Many aspiring networking professionals find themselves asking the question: how can you get experience if you can’t get a networking job to start? The easy answer is to earn CCNA certification. The CCNA certification cost will more than likely be made up by the rise in pay that such a certification can provide.
Earning your CCNA certification can be the career jump-start you were looking for, moving you from a standard help desk position into actual server rooms and networking closets. The best part is that there aren’t any prerequisites to sit for the exam!
In August 2020, the folks over at PayScale.com surveyed a group of 14,928 CCNA-certified professionals. PayScale found average yearly CCNA salary to be $78,284, depending on the participant’s location, years of experience and job title.
According to a 2018 study, the highest population of CCNAs are located in New York City, Chicago and Atlanta. In 2020, the city with the highest average CCNA salary (for an IT network engineer with five years’ experience) was San Jose, California, coming in at $94,000. You can take a look at each city’s respective median salary below:
2020 CCNA-certified professional median salary by city
| City | CCNA salary data |
|---|---|
| New York, New York | $75,000 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $72,000 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $68,000 |
| Houston, Texas | $72,000 |
| Dallas, Texas | $71,000 |
| Washington, District of Columbia | $76,000 |
| San Jose, California | $94,000 |
It should come as no surprise that the more experience you have, the more money you will make. You can see the median salary for a CCNA certified professional, based on X years’ experience below:
2020 CCNA certification median salary by experience
| Years of experience | National CCNA salary data |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | $58,945 |
| 1-4 years | $66,120 |
| 5-9 years | $76,339 |
| 10-19 years | $84,763 |
| 20+ years | $90,776 |
Finally, here’s a look at the job titles that have the highest median salary. You can see from the image below that IT directors, senior network engineers and IT managers are compensated with the highest wages.
2020 Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) average by job
| Job | Average CCNA salary |
|---|---|
| Network engineer | $74,466 |
| Sr. network engineer | $100,197 |
| Network administrator | $62,266 |
| Information technology (IT) manager | $85,892 |
| Information technology (IT) director | $104,848 |
| Systems administrator | $64,809 |
| Systems engineer (computer networking/IT) | $75,341 |
The gender breakdown of CCNA salaries for certification holders reflects poorly on the industry. PayScale found that in 2020, male CCNA certification holders made up 93.9% of the market, with salaries spanning between $49,000 and $125,000. Female CCNA certification holders made up only 5.8% of the market, with salaries between $47,000 and $117,000.
Getting CCNA-certified and CCNA certification cost
The CCNA is a foundational cert for those seeking a high-level networking profession, as well as one of the most highly sought-after certifications in the industry as a whole. For more information on how you can start the process to achieve CCNA certification, check out the sources below!
Sources
Salary for Certification: Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), PayScale
How big is the skills gap, really?, Infosec
CCNA certification series, Infosec
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