How long to study for and pass CCENT

pujan96

Hi all.

I am new to networking and am studying for my CCENT cert. Been studying for the past week or so.

Was wondering if someone out there could tell me how long it would take to learn and pass the ccent. I understand that people learn at different speeds and such so put it into perspective abit I study about and hour or so a day and a few hours a day on the weekend. I feel that I have gained a basic understanding so far. Hope to Get my ccent by the end of the year. Is this Possible?

Thanks

bender_fender100

Some people I've heard about have gotten their certification done in about 4-6 weeks and others take longer. I myself made it through some CCENT videos in about a week because I self-disciplined myself enough to get through them and I'm doing the same with the books, labs, etc and doing those about a week or two at a time, devoting each day to practicing when I have the free time basically.

pujan96

bender_fender100 wrote: »

Some people I've heard about have gotten their certification done in about 4-6 weeks and others take longer. I myself made it through some CCENT videos in about a week because I self-disciplined myself enough to get through them and I'm doing the same with the books, labs, etc and doing those about a week or two at a time, devoting each day to practicing when I have the free time basically.

So If i dedicate two or so hours a day and a few on the weekends would it be possible to get it done in two or so months? I am very motivated to study, am looking forward to a new career within networking.

fredrikjj

If you have no background in networking, 2 months is probably a good time frame if you study every day. The material that you need to cover is one relatively large textbook and that's roughly the same amount of material as you would use in your typical 8 to 10 week college class.

pujan96

fredrikjj wrote: »

If you have no background in networking, 2 months is probably a good time frame if you study every day. The material that you need to cover is one relatively large textbook and that's roughly the same amount of material as you would use in your typical 8 to 10 week college class.

Thanks for your reply, I am currently studying with the cisco official ccent cert guide icnd1. It is a pretty hefty book but i am making steady progress

[Deleted User]

That is reasonable I would say no doubt. I have seen people pass CCENT in 1 month. Just be careful though if this is your first IT certification as the exam is challenging for new comers and most people fail it the first time. Don't rely on 1 book for the exam though. Look at other references to bounce things off of as some authors explain topics better than others in my opinion. Odom does a good job but he drags things on and on when it doesn't have to be. Look at Todd Lammle's book or the Exam Cram for 100-101. Also, get some good practice exams along with Packet Tracer to practice on. No need for real equipment for this cert. If you go for CCNA, I would recommend buying some equipment or get the Boson Network Simulator. If money is an issue, I am sure you can find a copy of packettracer online. Best of luck!

johnnyarks

how quickly can you get through 30 chapters with your present life schedule?

took me about 3 weeks...its different for everyone.

Simrid

I think in total study time, around 2 - 3 months it took me of studying every other day.

The only issue I had was it took a further 2 months before I could sit my exam due to when the appointment were.

Deathmage

For me a chapter took me 2 or 3 hours, and there are 30 chapters. Then you need to lab, and then you need to practice subnetting till your eyes bleed. finally practice tests until you score above 90%.

Jasiono

To hasten the process a bit I would start with IP addressing and subnetting.

Then, before diving into the material, take 10-15 minutes or so and practice subnetting questions.

I assume you know what an IP address is.

Then all you can do is take it day by day, study, but don't overstudy, and it will come in time.

I think 2-3 months of study time is a good timeframe.

Took me way too long because I kept putting it off due to subnetting.

Also, any questions about things that are unclear to you, don't hesitate to bring them to these forums.

skywola

I'll second that on the Odom material, it is unnecessarily "dragged out". You could spend months doing the labs on his simulator, he does not make them all one lab, but breaks them down ad nausia . . . which makes it difficult to see the big picture. I sent him some feedback, hopefully he will listen and change that, but my experience is that feedback either takes a long time to be implemented or never does get implemented. I made the mistake of buying Odom and studying it FIRST. YUK! I have not taken the CCENT yet, because I want to at least skim over the Lammle book on the subject a bit more. I have used Lammle before, and he is great. Reading more than one book helps a LOT if you are taking certifications for the first time, that is me!

haynesmk

If you are wanting to get certified quickly, I would recommend CBT Nuggets for the CCENT. It took me under a month using just the videos (although I had taken a networking class a year prior). It covered (almost) everything you need to know for the exam. Whenever I felt like something was being left out, I just googled the answer. Also, be sure to work with Jeremy (the guy who does the ICND1 CBT Nuggets) as he is doing everything in the CLI.

However, for the ICND2, I would definitely use a combination of reading the book, watching videos, and working on labs. At that level you need to really be sure you know your stuff.

volfkhat

pujan96 wrote: »

Hi all.
Was wondering if someone out there could tell me how long it would take to learn and pass the ccent.

It took me 9 weeks (and i'm NO genius).
Studied 30 minutes of lectures per day (and maybe 15 minutes of labbing).


I didn't bother reading any books.
Just did Danscourses on youtube (all hands-on packet tracer).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL33E07ECCA73C0755
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL045B070715AA1FE9

After i passed, i went back and watched Chris Bryant's video bootcamp.
It helped fill in a few gaps/ connect-the-dots.

Hope that helps!