In the technical training business, it’s not uncommon for technology vendors to offer entry-level learning for free to potential customers. For one, it’s a great way to expose students to a company’s technology. But entry-level learning can only take a student so far. Students need more than foundational material to fully utilize the technology. And certainly much more to unlock employment opportunities. In many ways, building a career in networking is a lot like building a house. A solid foundation is a great start, but to build and maintain a house requires much more.
Juniper Networks’ recent inclusion of Expert-level (JNCIE) training and certification into our industry-leading Open Learning program means we now provide network engineers not only the path to comprehensive learning, but also the roadmap and skills to build a networking career. In fact, the Juniper Open Learning program was recently recognized by Network World as one of the top resources to help engineers grow their skills for free.
And with Juniper now a Leader in both the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure and the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Indoor Location Services, combined with our record revenue growth, there has never been a better time to build a career with Juniper certifications and skills.
More than a Foundation
When the Open Learning program was launched in 2018, it offered (and continues to offer) free Associate-level training and discounted certifications across a broad range of Juniper technologies. Thousands of students have taken advantage of over 15 days(!) of free, self-paced, technical training and to become Juniper certified, helping build the foundation of their networking career. Fortunately, Juniper also offers students the free training to build the rest of the house.
In early 2022, we expanded the Open Learning program to include many of our Specialist-level courses. This allows students to go deeper into the technology and earn certifications that start to build a more defined networking career. Building out a career with specialized skills like routing, switching and security is analogous to framing out the house with walls, windows and a roof. As these components are added, the house starts coming together, but still more is needed to complete the house or to build a career that can last (potentially) a lifetime.
Late last year, we extended the program to include professional-level training and certifications. Classic networking jokes aside, we consider professional-level skills a lot like the plumbing of the house because it takes considerable training and skills to manage multiple networking technologies across a production network. Much like there is real art to correctly run water throughout your house with no leaks or floods.
Finally, the house will need electricity. How else will the home Wi-Fi network be run?! When we added expert-level to the Open Learning program, it really was the final piece that students need to build a full career in networking.
I’m proud that Juniper is unique in the industry in that we offer not just training to get started, but everything an aspiring engineer would need to build a successful career in networking to manage the most mission-critical networks on the planet – all without even having to put on a hard hat!
Build your networking career today at www.juniper.net/openlearning.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure, Mike Toussaint, Christian Canales, Tim Zimmerman, December 21, 2022.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services, Tim Zimmerman, Annette Zimmerman, February 21, 2023
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