Is 7 months enough time?

ssnyderu2

Is 7 months enough time to complete the CCENT and CCNA security exams? I have never studied for anything Cisco, but I do have Network+ and Security+. A friend of mine at work will give me his video set from CBT Nuggest. He has 3 video sets. The one for CCENT, CCNA Security and I thing the other is a lab series.

The reason for the 7 month time limit is I cant start this until March 1st and it must be completed by September 15th to renew my 3 CompTIA certs.

OfWolfAndMan

You could finish it by July if you push yourself, but it really depends on your level of understanding and comprehension of the materials. The Net+ and Sec+ will help you a little bit, especially for port numbers, OSI model, subnetting, private IP addressing, IPv6, and some of the common cyber attacks you may have briefly learned about will be explained in CCNA Security. Get to know the basics of the IOS command line for CCENT. CCNA Security's labs are a walk in the park as all of them are on a Cisco proprietary GUI known as CCP. As long as you know how to navigate it, you'll be golden. Here's an online workbook for you:

CCNA Security Workbook | Free CCNA Workbook

Good luck!

JoJoCal19

I am studying for the CCENT now. I had started reading Lammle's CCENT book, which I think is in fact a fantastic book but unfortunately did not mesh well with me (some adult ADD issues) so after much research I picked up Paul Browning's CCNA in 60 days. I'm getting through it much faster, it's structured well and actually flows better I think, and he has an entire action plan set for you to go through (which helps with my issues too). I highly recommend it (Kindle version is only $10!).

markulous

I had very little networking experience when I went through this.

I started studying for the CCENT in August, failed in in early September. Retook it at the end of the month and passed.

Immediately started studying for the CCNA and passed in early November.

Immediately started studying for the CCNA Security and passed in late December.

I do have a lot of time at work to study though but you can definitely do it within that time frame.

joelsfood

My first CCNA was one week from job offer to pass (deal was that I could have the job if I passed CCNA). I'd been in IT for about 8 years at that time, and was mid/sr level server/storage, but minimal network experience. All a matter of how much you want it, and how much effort you're willing to expend.

Second CCNA I studied longer for, as I wasnt' in a rush and didn't want to take time away from my family. Same thing for my CCNP

d4nz1g

Took icnd1 and icnd2 in about a month (15 days~ each)

It is possible, but not easy.

ssnyderu2

Thanks for all the input. I have got to get this pesky Project+ out of the way, hope to be done in 6 weeks. After that I will move on to CCENT.