CCNA advice?

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Hey everyone, not sure if this is the correct place to post this thread but im looking for some advice :)

I went to uni for a year and studied computer forensics but didnt enjoy the programming/web design side of things. I left uni and now im a network engineer for a business ISP. The company i work for are pretty good in the respect they will pay for my CCNA exam and give me 5 days study leave. They don't however give you a payrise if you get your CCNA as we don't really work with cisco that heavily. I am very keen on studying and getting my CCNA then maybe progress for higher courses. Just wanted to know if anyone here can recommend how to study for the exam? I have been in touch with a few training places and been offered a 5 day intensive program or access to training materials for a year. I would say i work better in an intensive environment but is it really possible to be exam ready in just 5 days?

Anyone got any advice on other ways to study?

Cheers
 
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OG

OG

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I'm about to start mine next week... just going to prepare for it like I would a normal exam, take notes from the book, watch the CBT nugget videos and play around with the packet capture software :) I would rather spread mine out as I think doing a 5 day course won't let it stick in your mind all that much and just give you enough to pass; if your not going to be doing any CCNA stuff at work then you probably aren't going to remember it all :)
 
Associate
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You don't need to pay for any official training.

Get a text book, some videos (CBT is good as suggested - combine with GNS3 simulator - do this for a few months... total cost, minimal.

Don't take a 5 day bootcamp for CCNA, you will forget it all a month later especially if you do not work with it day-to-day.
 
Man of Honour
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But obviously never mind what you do, tell work you need 5 days to get to grips with it all while sitting around at home in your boxers :D
 

OG

OG

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Hey guys thanks for the advice :) didnt realise it was that simple haha. Can you recommend the best books to get?

Thanks

I've just gone with the official Cisco ones (Wendell Odom) They were fairly cheap from the rainforest store :)
 
Soldato
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I spent 2 Years studying my CCNA, but ill happly challenge anyone who done the 5 day course to remember certain things that I can.

Take your time. Or you WILL forget.
 
Associate
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I would steer clear of the boot camps if you can avoid it. They skim over modules/chapters and you'll never take anything in. I tried the CCNA boot camp at the start of my career and failed the exam, which I took 2 weeks after the course ended.

2-3 months of my own revision saw me pass the exam fairly easily.

I'm currently studying for my CCIE which is, well, challenging.
 
Soldato
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I did a bootcamp about 5 years ago as work paid for it but like you, it was more for general network knowledge reasons rather than cisco ios knowledge. It's possible to do it in 5 days, it's not really that hard assuming you've been exposed to basic network principles / know what a subnet is / can work in binary but as others have said, you'll probably forget a lot of it. they skipped a lot of the stuff I saw as non-essential (hardware module at the start) but it was pretty frantic.

I'd recommend a simulator which ever way you go. If you do the 5 day course you'll probably be allowed access to their simulators for a while but I'd recommend getting your own anyway. I'm presuming you know about cert expiry in Cisco land but if not, look now as it is fairly quick.
 
Soldato
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I self studied for my CCNA and CCNP and passed easily. The only materials I used were on the job learning, books, stuff I bought form ebay and some online videos (on youtube etc.). I don't think you need a course, it isn't worth while and if you put a few hours in you can study and pass the CCNA with relative ease in a few weeks.

In the same way as Jimmeh I'm going to start studying for my CCIE written next year after I've taken a few courses from other vendors (Checkpoint) - that in itself will be challenging but I won't be using a course - all self study ...

- GP
 
Associate
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I did my CCNA in 2003 as a year long after hours college course - best piece of advice I can give you is... Only do it if you're going to work with Cisco equipment / Cisco iOS on a regular basis. If you're not going to in your current role stick to the CCENT which is the first two modules of the CCNA, because the first two modules give you a fantastic grounding in the basics of networking that can be used across all platforms.

I never did use my Cisco iOS knowledge, but the understanding of networking it provided has stayed with me.
 
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