This is RoleMath's evidence-first read on the certification decision for this role: the honest call, who it fits, what to build alongside it, and every caveat behind the numbers. It is decision guidance, not a prediction of your personal outcome, and it never claims a certificate causes a salary, a pass, or a job.
The call
If you want network administration, CCNA is unambiguously the move. It is RoleMath's top curated networking signal and by far the most-named cert in our small employer-language sample. But be clear-eyed: BLS projects this occupation (SOC 15-1244) to decline modestly over the decade, and RoleMath's editorial read is that the work is shifting toward cloud and automation. So pair CCNA with hands-on lab practice and build toward automation and cloud networking.
Take this path if
- You want hands-on network operations work — configuring, monitoring, and troubleshooting real infrastructure — and you are willing to start with CCNA plus a home lab, not a certificate alone.
- You are entering from adjacent IT (help desk, support, or general sysadmin) and want the one networking credential most consistently named in our employer sample.
- You are ready to grow toward automation and cloud networking (CCNA Automation, cloud network engineering) rather than staying purely on-prem — RoleMath's editorial read of where the role is heading.
Think twice if
- You want an occupation with clearly rising headcount — BLS projects the 15-1244 unit to shrink slightly over 2024-2034.
- You are unwilling to build hands-on lab evidence and expect the certificate itself to be the qualification — it will not be.
- You are treating Network+ or CCNA Automation as a substitute for CCNA — in RoleMath's sequencing Network+ sits earlier as fundamentals and CCNA Automation comes later as a specialization; CCNA is our recommended entry signal for this role.
Build this proof first
Our read: treat the certificate as a screening signal and lead with demonstrable work an interviewer can examine. Neither guarantees an interview or a job. Before or alongside the exam, build:
- A multi-device home or virtual lab (Cisco Packet Tracer, GNS3, or physical gear) where you configure VLANs, routing, and a basic firewall, and can walk an interviewer through it.
- A documented troubleshooting walkthrough of one network fault — from symptom to root cause to fix — that shows how you reason under pressure.
- A small network-automation artifact (a Python or Ansible script that pushes or audits device config) that demonstrates you are moving toward where the role is going.
How the certifications line up
RoleMath's reviewed, editorial sequencing for this role — kept separate from employer language. No certificate here carries salary, ROI, pass-rate, or job-guarantee evidence.
Every exam fee below was read directly from the official vendor page and is dated — most recently on 2026-06-25. Fees and exam versions change, so each fee row shows when we checked it and links to its official source; verify the current fee with the vendor before registering.
| Certification | Where it fits | Official exam fee (date read) | In our employer sample? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Certified Network Associate | Strong baseline signal | $300 · read 2026-06-13 | Observed 27x in the general employer-language sample (below reporting threshold; a count, not a rate). |
| CompTIA Network+ | Strong baseline signal | $399 · read 2026-06-13 | Observed 3x in the general employer-language sample (below reporting threshold; a count, not a rate). |
| Cisco CCNA Automation | Automation specialization | $300 · read 2026-06-25 | Not observed in the general employer-language sample. |
| Cisco Certified Support Technician Networking | Pre-entry on-ramp | $125 · read 2026-06-12 | Not observed in the general employer-language sample. |
| CompTIA Server+ | Adjacent / optional | $399 · read 2026-06-08 | Not observed in the general employer-language sample. |
| CompTIA CloudNetX | Advanced / later | $544 · read 2026-06-08 | Not observed in the general employer-language sample. |
| CompTIA Linux+ | Adjacent / optional | $399 · read 2026-06-08 | Not observed in the general employer-language sample. |
Pay and outlook context (occupation-level, not a role salary)
RoleMath maps Network Administrator to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation Network and Computer Systems Administrators, whose national median wage is $99,130 (10th-90th percentile $62,640-$155,050) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This is occupation-level context, not a Network Administrator-specific or entry-level starting wage, and it is not caused by any certificate.
- This occupation is shared across 2 RoleMath roles, so the median is pooled across them, not title-specific.
Over 2024-2034, BLS projects this occupation to decline 4.2%, with about 14,000 openings a year.
What employers actually name (a small, dated sample)
From a dated, non-representative public job-posting sample of 80 postings across 24 employers — well below RoleMath's reporting threshold, so we show raw counts only, never percentages or "demand" claims. This is employer language, not a market measurement.
| Certification named | Times mentioned |
|---|---|
| Cisco Certified Network Associate | 27 |
| CompTIA Security+ | 14 |
| CCNP Enterprise | 9 |
| CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional | 5 |
| CompTIA Network+ | 3 |
| SSCP - Systems Security Certified Practitioner | 3 |
| CompTIA CySA+ | 2 |
| CompTIA SecurityX | 2 |
| GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) | 2 |
| CCNP Collaboration | 1 |
| CompTIA Cloud+ | 1 |
| Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) | 1 |
| Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate | 1 |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate | 1 |
What would change this call
- A revised BLS projection showing the 15-1244 unit stabilizing or growing would materially soften the headwind in this call.
- A larger network-administration employer sample crossing the reporting gate — that would let us show shares instead of raw counts and could re-rank certs.
- A title-specific wage series for Network Administrator distinct from the pooled 15-1244 median — we did not identify one in the BLS sources reviewed for this page.
- New reviewed certification evidence — for example a cloud-networking credential — could add certs currently absent from these recommendations.