It took me almost a year for several reasons.
I was trying to follow the Netacad timeline at school.
My school screwed up the courses so we took part of the old curriculum and part of the new one.
I bailed on my first scheduled test date in Feb.
Things I used to study.
http://www.techexams.net
Single best resource for motivation and real world answers!
netacademy courses.
The packet tracer exercises help you grab the concepts pretty quickly if you follow them all.
Also the Syntax Checker while being limited helps to reinforce what you just read and is helpful in understanding how commands are entered. Overall the Netacademy is an expensive way to learn but if your getting college credits for it also it might be worth it.
Home Lab
Yes I do most of my work in GNS3 and Packet Tracer but I am a firm believer in seeing it all work on real equipment. I also feel that the troubleshooting sticks better when I am using my lab.
CBT Nuggets
I was not a fan of video training previous to this study. However after my classes screwed me over I signed up for CBT nuggets and watched the ICND1 series. I found it was easier to read the material after seeing the videos. For me it was easier to read when I knew where the material was heading.
Wendell Odem's ICND1 book
Prepare for typo's and look up the corrections. I hope more recent printings are updated but I picked up the first printing and it had some issues. However the test that were included were very helpful for my finishing prep.
My final prep was two weeks of practice test. pearsons that came with Odem's book and transcender that came with CBT Nuggets.
My strategy for the practice tests was to keep a pad with me and write down any answer I didn't understand. After each test I would review the answers I got wrong but then I would look up the topics that I didn't understand. By week two I was scoring passing grades each test.
Now on to part 2!
