Something facing all of us - which way now? I have been networking for a long time, my first Cisco product being an AGS+ and at the time, c2500 routers were dominant. Change is a constant, however the rate of change is accelerating to a near breakpoint; so specialisms evolved reflected in the growth of certification tracks. The most significant recent development in networking has been in data centre technology and cloud services. This is where the new networking frontline is at. I see in house skills diminishing to access technologies and most other technologies being external or cloud sourced. So which way now? If you enjoy sunshine and near social hours working, stick with CCNA - go for them all if you're keen. TEN to choose from at time of writting ! If you are dedicated and determined it will take significant effort to command a technology thats fading (pace of change outstrips human endeavour). SDN will help our work go further but its a tool not the answer - yet. SDN based virtualised environments will take networkers down a new rabbit hole along with developers and i think this will be a brave new world. So. my first CCNA (about 20 years ago) didnt magically open any doors but it did start the learning habit. I continue with formal and informal training every year but did not actively maintain certifications. BIG mistake btw. recruiters dont care if you have two heads full of CCIE grade info - if you dont have a tick box cert' youre not a viable candidate. right or wrong its the truth. So again - which way now? programming will likely affect our working day somehow, soon. Python seems popular and some great resources out there. David Bombal leading the charge on utube in gns. great instruction. For as long as i can recall Cisco has been the benchmark in the network arena and accreditations are trusted, so we are in a good place. get a 3 year plan - CCNA R&S is a great place to start - then wireless for IoT access and analytics { could become programming heavy i think) then security. Learn something new every day; proper learning not just remembering. Join study groups - play knowledge games whatever it takes. Dont be afraid to "not know" recognising your weakness identifies your interests and an opportunity for learning. For seasoned engineers i think the options are very similar and the choice of direction is subjective. The opportunity to develop in a radically new direction is better now than i can ever recall - to break out of the drone work into something more interesting has to be the biggest pull. Put in the work and it will be possible to maintain a good command of at least three technologies, then ratify with certification. Start hereabouts and i think you could have a decent stretch as an engineer and be well prepped for whats comming next.