TL;DR – scroll to the bottom for links to my essays.
In 2020 I finally got around to applying for and being granted the accreditation of Certified Wireless Network Expert (CWNE) from CWNP.
Now that this monkey was off my back I could smugly ask others what was taking them so long support others going through the application process. The most common road block I find people have about preparing their application is the 3 essays you need to submit. But the essays really don’t need to be the PHD worthy material everyone scares themselves into thinking is required. For that reason I am publishing my CWNE essays below for others to use as a reference or benchmark.
You can read about the CWNE certification here, and the full list of requirements and application process here.
For me the stroke of genius with the CWNE accreditation and the secret sauce that makes me truly value this qualification is 1) you need to have contributed to the wireless industry somehow in the form of a blog, conference presentation, online video, etc, and 2) you must demonstrate real world experience of Wi-Fi in your essays that are then peer reviewed by the CWNE board.
These two extra requirements stop the “bootcamping” of this EXPERT level certification that other programs suffer with. When you hear someone is a CWNE you know you can trust that they really have lived and breathed 802.11 for a significant part of their career.
The only downside is that a lot of great people in our industry delay applying due to a case of Imposter Syndrome. I’m hoping by sharing my CWNE essays people will feel a little bit better about applying themselves. Don’t let the fact that two of my essays are pretty heavy with protocol analysis put you off. That is MY strength and heritage so it was easier for me to use that form of data representation. Just yesterday I talked with a friend about how they have a perfect Analysis essay topic without a packet capture in sight!
Side note: the generally accepted best practise if you can is to write an essay on each one of the 3 Professional level tracks within CWNP – i.e. Analysis, Design & Security. But this is just a recommendation, it is not a requirement, and I would advise someone just to get 3 essays written on any topic rather than being hung up on the need to cover each subject area.
If anyone is struggling to come up with topics for their own essays PLEASE reach out to me. I bet you a vegan steak dinner that I can come up with something you do that you think is mundane and “simple” that would perfectly demonstrate your Expert knowledge!
If any other CWNE’s have also published their essays and are happy for me to link to the article please post a comment below or reach out to me (that ones for you @jtinmouth! 😂). If you don’t have your own blog but are happy to share then get in touch and I’ll host them here on my own blog. Thank you!
Essay 1 [ Design] – Hallway AP placement issue
Essay 2 [Security] – Identifying Dot1X type
Essay 3 [Analysis] – Missing beacons
Other CWNE’s Essays:
Matthew Seymour’s CWNE essays blog post
Submitting my essays was the hardest part about my application process. It got all of the imposter syndrome cackles in an uproar. I am with you though, submit away! The Jedi Council are fair and will take your work on its merits.
Great blog, BTW!
Totally agree. And if you don’t get it first time, you’ll get valuable feedback on where you can be stronger. It might not necessarily be your knowledge that is lacking, just your presentation of knowledge, or your communication skill.