If you’re working on the Cisco CCNA right now, or even thinking about it, there are changes coming to the CCNA program in November that you need to know about. No reason to worry, these changes are all good news for CCNA candidates.

And the first bit of good news is that you have plenty of time to take and pass the current CCNA exams. In this article, I will outline several advantages to taking the CCNA plunge now before these changes take effect.

The current CCNA exam (640-801) will not be phased out until November 6, which gives you more than enough time to get CCNA certified before then -- even if you haven’t started studying yet! Those of you who want to take the two-exam path to CCNA certification should know that the 640-811 ICND and 640-821 INTRO exams will be phased out on that same date.

Cisco’s taking the approach that the CCNA certification is no longer an entry-level certification, and this is a welcome change for CCNAs and CCNA candidates alike. I have been writing CCNA ebooks and teaching CCNA courses for several years, and I’ve always refused to call this an entry-level certification.

The new CCNA exam (640-802) looks to be even more demanding than the current exam, which is another reason to pick up the pace and get certified now! Here are just some of the new topics you’ll find on the 640-802 exam:

• Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol

• Switch security

• IP Version 6

• Router security

• Virtual Private Networks

• Wireless routing and more

Add these to the topics already found on the current CCNA exam, and you can see that the new CCNA exam will be even more demanding than the current version.

If you choose the two-exam path for the CCNA certification after November 6, you’ll need to take two ICND exams – ICND 1 (640-822) and ICND 2 (640-816). This is much tougher than the current path because the INTRO exam will be a thing of the past after November 6! (Passing the ICND 1 exam will earn you the new Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician certification, Cisco’s new entry-level certification.)

The CCNA will be even more valuable with these changes, so again, even if you’ve even been thinking about earning the CCNA – now is the time!

The new CCNA exams will actually be available on August 1, but again, I want to emphasize that the current CCNA exams will be available through November 6. My advice to those who want to get CCNA certified before the change is to book your exam now, make sure you choose the right exam number – and get started studying!