In this article I have done some research to find out the average CCNA salary (in the USA) which is an important factor to consider if you are interested to pursue such a professional certification to advance your career. Before going after any professional certification, it is a good idea to research the demand in the industry and the salary you will get paid to see if it’s worth it or not.
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is the entry level professional certification offered by Cisco. Although there are several CCNA paths, the most popular one is CCNA Routing and Switching. The other options of CCNA paths include CCNA Security, Cloud, Collaboration, Data Center, Service Provider, Voice, Wireless, Video and Industrial.
There are two ways to obtain the CCNA Routing and Switching certification:
- By taking the composite exam CCNA 200-120 (best and cheapest option).
- By taking two exams ICND1 (100-101) and ICND2 (200-101).
I will summarize the important statistics and numbers about CCNA salary that I have found through my research below (current as of Sept.2015). Keep in mind though that the numbers and other data below will vary according to several factors such as job area, company, additional experience of the potential employee etc.
According to a survey of 7,819 employees (Sept.2015) from payscale.com the following key points are noted:
CCNA Employees’ salaries by Gender
|
GENDER |
|
| FEMALE (only 5% of all employees) | MALE (95% of all employees) |
| Salary Range: $40,354 – $86,802 | Salary Range: $43,544 – $90,566 |
Popular Cities where most CCNAs work
|
CITY |
SALARY RANGE |
| New York | $43,342 – $98,466 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $41,474 – $88,836 |
| Dallas, Texas | $45,219 – $89,206 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $44,242 – $95,713 |
| Houston, Texas | $48,074 – $91,669 |
Cities with Highest CCNA Salaries
|
CITY |
SALARY |
| San Jose, CA | $116,000 |
| San Francisco, CA | $111,000 |
| New York, NY | $99,000 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $96,000 |
| Houston, Texas | $92,000 |
Popular Companies that CCNAs work
|
COMPANY |
SALARY RANGE |
| Cisco Systems | $52,461 – $111,137 |
| U.S Army | $33,142 – $87,429 |
| Amazon | $67,871 – $120,000 |
| AT&T | $53,327 – $118,707 |
| Lockheed Martin | $56,406 – $81,360 |
Years of Experience of CCNA professionals surveyed
- Less than 1 year: 3%
- 1-4 years: 31%
- 5-9 years: 27%
- 10-19 years: 31%
- 20 years + : 8%
Popular Schools that CCNA professionals graduated from
|
SCHOOL |
SALARY RANGE |
| Western Governors University | $42,503 – $86,702 |
| DeVry University | $44,638 – $91,500 |
| University of Phoenix | $46,656 – $98,303 |
| George Mason University | $49,551 – $85,193 |
| University of Maryland University College | $49,546 – $96,746 |
Salary Ranges by Job for CCNA professionals
|
JOB TYPE |
SALARY RANGE |
| Network Engineer | $46,614 – $94,798 |
| Network Administrator | $40,053 – $79,422 |
| Senior Network Engineer | $69,420 – $120,440 |
| Information Technology (IT) Manager | $49,706 – $109,077 |
| Systems Administrator | $42,500 – $83,061 |
Comparison of salaries between CCNA Paths
This one is from another source (2013 IT Skills & Salary Report by Global Knowledge and TechRepublic) and is a little outdated info (2013) but it shows a trend of salaries between different CCNA paths. It looks like CCNA Wireless and CCNA Service Provider pay the highest average salary.
- Average Salary of CCNA Wireless: $83,599
- Average Salary of CCNA Service Provider: $83,549
- Average Salary of CCNA Security: $81,400
- Average Salary of CCNA Voice: $80,300
- Average Salary of CCNA Routing and Switching: $79,699
Sources: