If you’ve earned the Cisco CCNA, or you’ve spent a few years running routers and switches, you’ve probably wondered what comes next. For many network engineers, the answer is the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Enterprise. It signals that you can go beyond basic configuration and handle the design, troubleshooting, security, and automation of real enterprise networks.

In this guide, we’ll cover who CCNP Enterprise is for, what it takes to earn it, how long to study, what careers and salaries look like, and where to go next.

Who Should Take the CCNP Enterprise Exam?

CCNP Enterprise is built for working network professionals who want to move from implementing tasks to owning parts of the network. It’s a strong fit if you are:

  • A network engineer or network administrator who configures switches, routers, and routing protocols day to day and wants to validate deeper skills.
  • A CCNA holder with hands-on experience looking for the next Cisco milestone.
  • A NOC or support engineer who troubleshoots OSPF, BGP, STP, and EtherChannel issues and wants to move into engineering.
  • A systems or infrastructure engineer who manages campus, branch, or SD-WAN environments.
  • An aspiring network architect or CCIE candidate. ENCOR is the qualifying exam for the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab.

Who Might Want to Wait?

If you’re new to networking, start with the CCNA. ENCOR assumes you already know subnetting, VLANs, basic OSPF, and the Cisco IOS command line. Candidates who jump straight to CCNP without that foundation often find the exam’s pace and depth discouraging.
If your job is mainly wireless, look at the new CCNP Wireless track instead. As of March 19, 2026, ENCOR v1.2 no longer covers wireless.

What Are the CCNP Enterprise Requirements?

Cisco lists no formal prerequisites for CCNP Enterprise. There’s no required degree, minimum experience, or application. You simply pass two exams:

  1. The core exam: 350-401 ENCOR, Implementing Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies (120 minutes, US$400).
  2. One concentration exam of your choice (US$300 each).

The current concentration options are:

  • 300-410 ENARSI: Advanced Routing and Services
  • 300-415 ENSDWI: Catalyst SD-WAN Solutions
  • 300-420 ENSLD: Enterprise Network Design
  • 300-435 ENAUTO: Automation and Programming
  • 300-440 ENCC: Secure Cloud Connectivity
  • 300-445 ENNA: Enterprise Network Assurance

You can take the exams in either order, and each one you pass earns a Specialist certification (for example, ENCOR earns Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise Core). Exams are delivered by Pearson VUE at test centers or through online proctoring. Check the official CCNP Enterprise page for current exams and fees, and review Cisco’s exam policies for ID and retake rules before you schedule.

Which Concentration Should You Choose?

Pick the one closest to your daily work. ENARSI is the most common choice for routing-heavy roles, since it builds directly on ENCOR’s OSPF, BGP, and troubleshooting topics. ENSDWI suits engineers deploying Catalyst SD-WAN, ENAUTO fits those leaning into network automation, and ENSLD fits people moving toward design.

How Long Should You Study for ENCOR?

Most candidates need two to six months, depending on experience.

  • Experienced engineers who already configure OSPF, BGP, and HSRP at work may be ready in 8 to 10 weeks, focusing on SD-Access, SD-WAN, and automation.
  • Recent CCNA holders with limited production experience should plan for 4 to 6 months, with lots of lab time.

Sample 12-Week ENCOR Study Plan

This plan assumes 8 to 10 hours per week and is weighted to the v1.2 blueprint:

  • Week 1: Take a mixed baseline quiz. Review the exam topics and set up a lab environment.
  • Weeks 2 to 3: Infrastructure, Layer 2. Trunking, EtherChannel, RSTP, MST, root guard, and BPDU guard.
  • Weeks 4 to 5: Infrastructure, Layer 3 and IP services. EIGRP vs. OSPF, multi-area OSPFv2/v3, eBGP, PBR, NAT/PAT, HSRP/VRRP, NTP, and multicast.
  • Week 6: Architecture. Design models, high availability, SD-WAN, SD-Access, and QoS.
  • Week 7: Virtualization. VRFs, GRE and IPsec tunnels, LISP, and VXLAN.
  • Weeks 8 to 9: Security. AAA, ACLs, CoPP, REST API security, TrustSec, and MACsec.
  • Week 10: Network Assurance and Automation. Debugs, NetFlow, SPAN/RSPAN/ERSPAN, IP SLA, NETCONF/RESTCONF, Python, JSON, YANG, REST APIs, and EEM.
  • Week 11: Revisit your two weakest domains and redo missed questions.
  • Week 12: Take a full-length timed mock exam, review every miss, and do light review before test day.

If you’re on the longer timeline, stretch each block rather than adding new material. Spend the extra weeks labbing Layer 2 and Layer 3 topics until you can build and troubleshoot them without notes. Plan your concentration exam afterward, while the ENCOR material is still fresh. For example, ENARSI reuses much of the same OSPF, BGP, and troubleshooting knowledge.

What Careers Can CCNP Enterprise Support?

CCNP Enterprise is widely listed in job postings for mid-level and senior networking roles. Common titles include:

  • Network engineer or senior network engineer
  • Network administrator
  • Network architect
  • Infrastructure engineer
  • SD-WAN or campus network engineer
  • Network automation engineer

These roles exist across enterprises, managed service providers, telecom carriers, government agencies, healthcare systems, universities, and Cisco partners. A certification doesn’t guarantee a job, but it helps you stand out and shows employers you can work at a professional level.

What Is the Salary for CCNP Enterprise Holders?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn’t track salary by certification, but it does track the occupations CCNP holders most often fill:

  • Computer network architects earned a median annual wage of $134,050 in May 2025. Employment is projected to grow 8 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,600 openings per year. BLS notes these roles typically require 5 or more years of related experience. (BLS: Computer Network Architects)
  • Network and computer systems administrators earned a median of $99,130 in May 2025. BLS projects employment to decline 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, but still expects about 13,400 openings each year. (BLS: Network and Computer Systems Administrators)

Those projections point to where a professional-level credential helps most. Moving from administration into engineering and architecture work puts you in the faster-growing, higher-paying group. Your own pay will depend on location, industry, experience, and responsibilities.

How Do You Maintain CCNP Enterprise?

CCNP Enterprise is valid for three years. Under Cisco’s recertification policy, you can renew at any time during that period by:

  • Earning 80 Continuing Education (CE) credits through approved Cisco training and activities.
  • Passing qualifying exams, such as retaking the exams for your certification.
  • Combining exams with CE credits.
  • Advancing to a higher level, such as CCIE.

Many engineers recertify by earning a second concentration Specialist or by collecting CE credits from training they’d take anyway.

What Certifications Stack Well With CCNP Enterprise?

  • CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure: The natural next step. ENCOR is its qualifying exam, so you’re already halfway to the lab.
  • A second CCNP Enterprise concentration: Adding ENARSI, ENSDWI, or ENAUTO broadens your skills and counts toward recertification.
  • CCNP Security: A logical move if firewalls, VPNs, and zero trust are part of your role.
  • CCNP Wireless: Covers the wireless content that was removed from ENCOR, which is useful for campus engineers.
  • Cisco’s professional-level automation certification or a cloud networking certification: Good choices if automation or hybrid cloud connectivity is where your career is heading.

Start Preparing for the CCNP Enterprise Exam With Pocket Prep

Ready to take the next step? Pocket Prep’s Cisco CCNP Enterprise practice questions include 850 questions with detailed explanations and a full-length mock exam, so you can study in short sessions around a busy work schedule. Quick 10 Quizzes and daily reminders help you keep a consistent study streak going. With daily practice, you’ll walk into the exam with confidence.