CCNA vs CCNP: What's the Difference and Which Do You Need First?
The short answer
Always start with CCNA. It's the prerequisite knowledge base for CCNP, and most networking job postings expect CCNA as a baseline.
What each covers
CCNA covers networking fundamentals: IP addressing, subnetting, VLANs, basic routing and access control lists. CCNP goes deeper into enterprise topics — advanced routing protocols, SD-WAN, complex security configurations and large-scale network design and troubleshooting.
What networking professionals earn (Bangalore, 2026)
Based on current salary-tracking data, CCNA-certified freshers in Bangalore typically start around ₹3–5 LPA, rising to roughly ₹4–8 LPA with 1–3 years of experience. CCNP holders — typically several years into their careers — tend to see notably higher offers, reflecting the jump in role seniority CCNP usually represents.
When to move to CCNP
Most professionals pursue CCNP after one to two years of hands-on networking experience following CCNA. Jumping straight to CCNP without that foundation usually means struggling with concepts that assume real-world context.
Salary and market figures above are general ranges from public salary-aggregator data (Glassdoor, Indeed and industry compensation reports), current as of mid-2026. They are not guarantees, and are not Advance Training Hub's own placement outcomes.