Passed CCNA Composite Exam!

bugzy3188

I passed with a 917/1000, good enough for me I began studying for the CCNA exam prior to the changes that were made to the material last year, I made it through Todd Lamelle’s book, at the time I didn’t have the funds to register for the exam so I held off. Toward the end of 2013 I purchased Wendell Odom’s Official Cert guide books. I had originally planned to go the 2 exam route but, again, lack of funds kept me from registering by the time I felt I was ready for the ICND1 so I just kept studying and went through the ICND2 material as well. The books contained the majority if not all of the raw data that I needed to pass, but it really didn’t stick together until I went through the CBT Nuggets series which acted as the glue for all of the information that I retained from my reading along with countless hours of labs with Packet Tracer. While CBT Nuggets was great and I probably wouldn’t have passed without it, I almost certainly wouldn’t have passed with that information alone, I found large gaps in information, especially on the ICND2 side of things. Below are my scores based on topic:

· Operation of IP Data Networks – 100%
· LAN Switching Technologies – 90%
· IP Addressing IPV4 and IPV6 – 100%
· IP Routing Technologies – 50%
· IP Services – 100%· Network Device Security – 100%
· Troubleshooting – 100%
· WAN Technologies – 100%

I honestly can’t say why I scored so low in the IP Routing Technologies department but it is what it is I guess.I am hoping that this will be enough to move me from my support role at a small MSP in to a larger environment with a real need for dedicated networking staff and grow in to such a position while pursuing the CCNP (or CCNA security…haven’t decided yet ). I have been doing support and small deployments for about 2 years now and I am ready to move forward!

Does anyone know how long it usually takes Cisco to give the proverbial thumbs up on a certification and make it official? Should I hold off on listing it on my resume until I hear from them?

As a quick aside, even though I took the 1 exam route, I would still recommend taking the 2 exam route to anyone interested in becoming a CCNA. $150 is much easier to swallow than $295 should you fail and this made my nerves that much more unstable come test day

.Thanks for everything, I probably wouldn't be on the path I am today without this community!

roch_greg

Congrats man and good job for sticking with it.

I took the ICND1 yesterday and completed at around noon. By yesterday evening I got a email from Cisco stating I was officially certified. So I guess it shouldn't take the whole 72 hours as they state on the Score Report.

It's up to you if you want to wait a day or two rather than listing it right away. In the big scheme of things what's a couple of days? However if you have a offer on the table contingent on you passing that exam then by all means list away.

I would take a minute to savor the victory, you did it and that's what counts.