Passed the 802!

chronos42

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!I passed the 802 yesterday with a score of 821/900, so that combined with the 840/900 on the 801 means I've finally nailed down my first certification. I know the A+ is a small step, but it's definitely a good step nonetheless.

Just thought I'd pass along some study methods to others trying to figure it out. Best of luck!

Study methods:

• I read Mike Meyers' All-in-One guide cover to cover. It was a bit of information overload at times, and often into went into unnecessary detail, but for someone like me who is studying to actually have a complete set of knowledge instead of just having barely enough to pass the test, it was perfect. His writing style is fluid, easy to understand, and often humorous.
• Practice questions were absolutely invaluable to revealing gaps in my knowledge. I know many people say practice questions are just for when you think you're ready, but I started doing them about a month into my studies, and they really helped me see what to focus on. Just make sure not to do all your available practice questions right away so you have something to assess yourself with later Here are the best sources, though there are others:
  • ExamCompass | CompTIA Practice Exams
  • Exam Cram practice questions book (CompTIA A+ 220-801 and 220-802 Authorized Practice Questions Exam Cram (5th Edition): David L. Prowse: 9780789749741: Amazon.com: Books). You can find it easily in PDF form online for free, but the software that comes with the book is very useful for studying, and I find it worth purchasing the book just for that.
  • Mike Meyers' book also has a couple sets of demo practice questions that come with his book, and you have the option to pay way more for additional questions. I find that his questions are purposefully tricky, perhaps overly so, though I'll leave that for you to decide. Good practice nonetheless.
• Take notes. For me, the best way to do this was making a spreadsheet of key information, definitions, and explanations for various concepts that I put together as I went along.

Doyen

Congratulations on the pass and certification You should list it in your profile now What's next? Network+?

chronos42

Doyen wrote: »

Congratulations on the pass and certification You should list it in your profile now What's next? Network+?

Thanks! Good call, just fixed it.

Next up is the CCENT, soon to by followed by a CCNA. Since I'm going to be looking for a job in the next six months, I'm gathering that a CCNA is going to be more immediately valuable than a N+, though I may still go for that in the future just to round myself out.

Doyen

Indeed. Both CCENT and Network+ lay a good foundation on networking concepts. Network+ offers great fundamentals for those new in the field while I feel the CCENT briefly goes over the fundamentals and deals with more application. Remember that when deciding on a path of study, take a look for the need around your area (indeed.com, dice.com, monster.com, and so forth). Best of luck on your studies.

chronos42

Good thinking. Much appreciated, my friend.

Doyen

I also used the Mike Meyers simulator and the Exam Cram questions. How was ExamCompass practice exams? I used MeasureUp and thought that they were quite good for preparation.

chronos42

Doyen wrote: »

I also used the Mike Meyers simulator and the Exam Cram questions. How was ExamCompass practice exams? I used MeasureUp and thought that they were quite good for preparation.

I liked them for a couple reasons. For one, they were plentiful. For a free site, there were excellent sets of questions for each test, in addition to a 50-question command line exam. Going through them really helped me pick out where I had gaps in my knowledge. Two, the exams were 25 questions each, so they were nice to take when I had a short bit of spare time (instead of hunkering down into a 100-question exam every time I wanted to study).

The only downside is that you have to go through the entire exam before you see the answers to any of your questions, in addition to the fact that there are no explanations. You get a right or wrong for each question, and that's it. However, since I just used them to prompt my own research into why I got it wrong, this didn't matter too much.

Doyen

I agree about practice exams that just mark right or wrong without an explanation, but what more can you expect from free? On the hand, at least it encouraged you to question yourself and find what why it was wrong. Whichever path you choose, Network+ or CCENT, feel free to ask about what materials to use for your studies.

chronos42

Doyen wrote: »

I agree about practice exams that just mark right or wrong without an explanation, but what more can you expect from free? On the hand, at least it encouraged you to question yourself and find what why it was wrong. Whichever path you choose, Network+ or CCENT, feel free to ask about what materials to use for your studies.

Starting from scratch in the networking world, I've heard that Odom's books are a bit better than Lammle's (if not a bit dryer, but oh well). Right now I'm starting Odom's ICND1 book, and depending on whether or not I feel comfortable after finishing it, I'll either take the ICND1 from there or go through Lammle's book as a review. What are your thoughts? What did you do?

Doyen

I took the composite exam for the CCNA. It took me 3 times to pass. I had routing classes & spent 7 month studying before my first attempt. The 2nd attempt was overconfidence of waiting a week to take it. Looking back at it now, almost a year later, I see that I rushed myself to prepare before the old exam cycled out. I studied 7 months before my 3rd attempt. I found out that Lammel's book is easier to read than Odoms and I used that for my first attempt. After my second attempt, I used Odom since the concepts weren't foreign to me. The first 2 attempts were on the older composite exam while the last one is the latest version, which was why I spent a lot of time reviewing and learning new concepts like netflow.

Besides reading and labbing, my method really was over-exposure. I watched videos from CBT Nuggets, Chris Bryant, Lammel Press, and Infinite Skills. I would watch while eating, listen while driving, or even view them during my lunch breaks. I would watch the same video about 3 times before moving to another. Constantly being exposed to the material will help you in remembering the concepts, especially after you have read or labbed with them.

After my 2nd attempt, I purchased an entire CCIE lab (version 4) to work on labbing. I would recommend working with live equipment, however, if you cannot afford it, there are plenty of simulator you can use such as packet tracer. It is one thing to learn the logic but another thing to actually comprehend it by working with it. I found that troubleshooting your own issues is the best way to learn. Always remember your basics, check your physical layer first.


EDIT:
Recently, I purchase Larazo Diaz's CCNA R&S program from Udemy because I love his YouTube tutorial videos. I would greatly recommend those as well.

chronos42

Doyen wrote: »

I took the composite exam for the CCNA. It took me 3 times to pass. I had routing classes & spent 7 month studying before my first attempt. The 2nd attempt was overconfidence of waiting a week to take it. Looking back at it now, almost a year later, I see that I rushed myself to prepare before the old exam cycled out. I studied 7 months before my 3rd attempt. I found out that Lammel's book is easier to read than Odoms and I used that for my first attempt. After my second attempt, I used Odom since the concepts weren't foreign to me. The first 2 attempts were on the older composite exam while the last one is the latest version, which was why I spent a lot of time reviewing and learning new concepts like netflow.

Besides reading and labbing, my method really was over-exposure. I watched videos from CBT Nuggets, Chris Bryant, Lammel Press, and Infinite Skills. I would watch while eating, listen while driving, or even view them during my lunch breaks. I would watch the same video about 3 times before moving to another. Constantly being exposed to the material will help you in remembering the concepts, especially after you have read or labbed with them.

After my 2nd attempt, I purchased an entire CCIE lab (version 4) to work on labbing. I would recommend working with live equipment, however, if you cannot afford it, there are plenty of simulator you can use such as packet tracer. It is one thing to learn the logic but another thing to actually comprehend it by working with it. I found that troubleshooting your own issues is the best way to learn. Always remember your basics, check your physical layer first.


EDIT:
Recently, I purchase Larazo Diaz's CCNA R&S program from Udemy because I love his YouTube tutorial videos. I would greatly recommend those as well.

This is fantastic and immensely useful information. I really appreciate it!