Passed CCNA Cyber Ops

GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
in CCNA & CCENT
I'm so happy to say I passed the CCNA SECOPS exam first try, but just barely. :) I'll try to give you some advice on preparing for the exam and a little about my experience. I'm not new to the field, but it's been quite a few years since I've been in it. (My previous experience in IT was heavy into networking.) I've been studying the last 10 months to get back into IT and specifically security. I've passed Net+, Sec+ and now Cyber Ops all in about 10 months. I got in on the $10 million scholarship Cisco awarded so I was on a tight schedule to get it completed within their timeframe. Thankfully it all worked out time-wise for me with what I was studying on my own. Cisco included online videos, labs and mentors with the scholarship. The videos and labs were good, but not enough to pass the SECOPS exam by itself.

What I included in my own self-study was the Cisco SECOPS book, Nist 800-61 and Nist 800-86 and ITProTV videos. I read the SECOPS book twice and took the online exams. Even with the SECOPS book, labs, videos and mentors it's still not enough to pass the exam. I spent time studying the NIST documents and regular expressions and watching the ITProTV videos. ITProTV as of today doesn't have the class all the way completed. There are still videos they need to make. I still had questions on the test that I had not studied or even heard of. I felt like I either knew the answer to the question or I had no idea and had to guess.

Now what do I do? Any suggestions on the level of job I should be applying for? Unfortunately, Cyber Ops is so new there aren't many job postings for it.

I am addicted to getting certs now. I may have to try for the CISSP, but first I need to find a job. :)
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  • mikey88mikey88 Member Posts: 495 ■■■■■■□□□□
    Congratulations on the pass! I would look for Security Analyst, Information Assurance Analyst type of roles.
    Certs: CISSP, CySA+, Security+, Network+ and others | 2019 Goals: Cloud Sec/Scripting/Linux

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  • scaredoftestsscaredoftests Mod Posts: 2,780 Mod
    Congrats!
    Never let your fear decide your fate....
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  • p@r0tuXusp@r0tuXus Member Posts: 532 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congratulations, GeekyChick! I'm super happy for you. :D
    Completed: ITIL-F, A+, S+, CCENT, CCNA R|S
    In Progress: Linux+/LPIC-1, Python, Bash
    Upcoming: eJPT, C|EH, CSA+, CCNA-Sec, PA-ACE
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  • Nik 99Nik 99 Member Posts: 154 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats. The amount of work you put into your study makes me feel lazy by comparison =P

    Question. I would have thought you needed the route and switch CCNA before you could take on other stuff at ccna level, though obviously thats not right at all.
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  • stryder144stryder144 Member Posts: 1,684 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Nik 99 wrote: »
    Congrats. The amount of work you put into your study makes me feel lazy by comparison =P

    Question. I would have thought you needed the route and switch CCNA before you could take on other stuff at ccna level, though obviously thats not right at all.

    CCNA Cyber Ops is different from their other tracks in regard to the fact that no prerequisites are required. Like the other CCNA certifications, two exams are necessary, SECFND and SECOPS, you just do not need the CCENT (ICND1) to get fully certified.
    The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position. ~ Leo Buscaglia

    Connect With Me || My Blog Site || Follow Me
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  • shochanshochan Member Posts: 1,014 ■■■■■■■■□□
    YEEHAW! cheers! HI5! Very Nice
    CompTIA A+, Network+, i-Net+, MCP 70-210, CNA v5, Server+, Security+, Cloud+, CySA+, ISC² CC, ISC² SSCP
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  • Mr.Robot255Mr.Robot255 Member Posts: 196 ■■■□□□□□□□
    well done Congrats!
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  • trojintrojin Member Posts: 275 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Welcome to the club, GeekyChickicon_cheers.gif
    I'm just doing my job, nothing personal, sorry

    xx+ certs...and I'm not counting anymore


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  • fabostrongfabostrong Member Posts: 215 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats. I definitely wanna get this cert but both tests are currently $300 and I don't have the cash for that considering it's not that known yet. If I start making more money soon, I'll get it lol.
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  • GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Thank you all. You're so kind! I'm so happy to be a member of the club. ;)

    @fabostrong - If you are interested in this cert keep checking with Cisco. I think they were going to open the scholarship program back up in 2018.
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  • xxxkaliboyxxxxxxkaliboyxxx Member Posts: 466
    heck yeah, awesome, congrats!!!
    Studying: GPEN
    Reading    : SANS SEC560
    Upcoming Exam: GPEN
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  • GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
    xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »
    heck yeah, awesome, congrats!!!

    Thanks kali! I think I've been studying too much. Last night I had a dream my ISP shut down my internet connection because I was getting attacked. icon_wink.gif
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  • hunterthuntert Banned Posts: 231
    congrats
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  • NetworkingStudentNetworkingStudent Member Posts: 1,407 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Congrats on the pass!!!

    I tried studying the CCNA cyber exam, but I became really depressed because I was working and I didn't want to study.

    I finally got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last week to be exact.

    I have decided to audit the CCNA Cyber exam for now. The info contained in the Cisco course ware is great! However, the ROI of the cert isn't very high.
    As far as the job goes:

    I would try for a SOC analyst position. I'm only saying this because that's why the CCNA Cyber trains you to be.

    Have you tried networking with people at the Colorado ISSA:
    https://denver.issa.org/jobb-opportunities

    https://denver.issa.org/

    Here is a Defcon group in Colorado:

    https://dc303.org/meetings.html

    Network at Infraguard too!!!

    https://www.infragard.org/
    When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened."

    --Alexander Graham Bell,
    American inventor
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  • GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
    NetworkingStudent wrote: »
    Congrats on the pass!!!

    I tried studying the CCNA cyber exam, but I became really depressed because I was working and I didn't want to study.

    I finally got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last week to be exact.

    I have decided to audit the CCNA Cyber exam for now. The info contained in the Cisco course ware is great! However, the ROI of the cert isn't very high.
    As far as the job goes:

    I would try for a SOC analyst position. I'm only saying this because that's why the CCNA Cyber trains you to be.

    Have you tried networking with people at the Colorado ISSA:
    https://denver.issa.org/jobb-opportunities

    https://denver.issa.org/

    Here is a Defcon group in Colorado:

    https://dc303.org/meetings.html

    Network at Infraguard too!!!

    https://www.infragard.org/


    Congratulations to you on your new job!!!! Is it what you wanted?

    I was wondering about the ROI investment too. I'll let you know. :D I was looking for a SOC job but there aren't many listed on job sites.

    Thanks for the tips on groups too! I'm involved with the ISSA. It's been a great group to be involved with and I've met some interesting people. I'm going to look into the DefCon group. I applied for InfraGard but I got turned down. I'm waiting to find out why. I think I must have left something off my application. I'm pretty boring so it wasn't anything illegal. :D
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  • nisti2nisti2 Member Posts: 503 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congratulations!!

    Im enrolled for December cohort! Lets see what happen! :)
    2020 Year goals:
    Already passed: Oracle Cloud, AZ-900
    Taking AZ-104 in December.

    "Certs... is all about IT certs!"
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  • GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
    nisti2 wrote: »
    Congratulations!!

    Im enrolled for December cohort! Lets see what happen! :)

    Awesome! I hope you get the same mentoring group I had. They were really good. Best of luck to you! I'm sure you'll do well!
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  • Cisco InfernoCisco Inferno Member Posts: 1,034 ■■■■■■□□□□
    congratulations!
    2019 Goals
    CompTIA Linux+    [ ] Bachelor's Degree
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  • robo78robo78 Member Posts: 37 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I'm glad to hear about your pass :)
    Congratulations and good luck on finding your dream job as well !
    Working on: Linux+
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  • NavyMooseCCNANavyMooseCCNA Member Posts: 544 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats!!!

    'My dear you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly' Winston Churchil

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  • jjones618jjones618 Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congrats on your PASS!!

    I'm looking to do self-study for the exam. What would be a good lab setup to prep for both the tests? I've read people are setting up VMs with Kali and metasploit for their labs. Are any Cisco technologies used in this cert (i.e. ASA)? Other than the VMs what else should be added to a lab setup?

    Thanks!
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  • DatabaseHeadDatabaseHead Member Posts: 2,757 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Geeky - So late to the party....

    Great work, you did a wonderful job.
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  • cmitchell_00cmitchell_00 Member Posts: 253 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats, GeekyChick!
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  • fitzlopezfitzlopez Member Posts: 103 ■■■□□□□□□□
    GeekyChick wrote: »
    I'm so happy to say I passed the CCNA SECOPS exam first try, but just barely. :) I'll try to give you some advice on preparing for the exam and a little about my experience. I'm not new to the field, but it's been quite a few years since I've been in it. (My previous experience in IT was heavy into networking.) I've been studying the last 10 months to get back into IT and specifically security. I've passed Net+, Sec+ and now Cyber Ops all in about 10 months. I got in on the $10 million scholarship Cisco awarded so I was on a tight schedule to get it completed within their timeframe. Thankfully it all worked out time-wise for me with what I was studying on my own. Cisco included online videos, labs and mentors with the scholarship. The videos and labs were good, but not enough to pass the SECOPS exam by itself.

    What I included in my own self-study was the Cisco SECOPS book, Nist 800-61 and Nist 800-86 and ITProTV videos. I read the SECOPS book twice and took the online exams. Even with the SECOPS book, labs, videos and mentors it's still not enough to pass the exam. I spent time studying the NIST documents and regular expressions and watching the ITProTV videos. ITProTV as of today doesn't have the class all the way completed. There are still videos they need to make. I still had questions on the test that I had not studied or even heard of. I felt like I either knew the answer to the question or I had no idea and had to guess.

    Now what do I do? Any suggestions on the level of job I should be applying for? Unfortunately, Cyber Ops is so new there aren't many job postings for it.

    I am addicted to getting certs now. I may have to try for the CISSP, but first I need to find a job. :)

    Congratulations.

    I'm starting on the 24th, so thank you for the previous tips. ¿Anything else on ITProTV you recommend viewing, an exam or labs on the subscription?


    Cheers,
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  • greg9891greg9891 Member Posts: 1,189 ■■■■■■■□□□
    Excellent News!!!
    :
    Upcoming Certs: VCA-DCV 7.0, VCP-DCV 7.0, Oracle Database 1Z0-071, PMP, Server +, CCNP

    Proverbs 6:6-11Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
    When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep, So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler And your need like an armed man.
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  • jdancerjdancer Member Posts: 482 ■■■■□□□□□□
    To increase your interview chances, may want to think about CCNA Security, which is more focused on the technical aspects of enforcing security policies. My favorite topic is how to setup and manage IPSec.
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  • GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
    jjones618 wrote: »
    Congrats on your PASS!!

    I'm looking to do self-study for the exam. What would be a good lab setup to prep for both the tests? I've read people are setting up VMs with Kali and metasploit for their labs. Are any Cisco technologies used in this cert (i.e. ASA)? Other than the VMs what else should be added to a lab setup?


    Thanks!

    Hi jjones618. I'm sorry it took so long to respond. I haven't been on TE for a while. Anyway, we spent a lot of time on Security Onion and Wireshark. We didn't do anything (as I recall) with Metasploit. We had to know the different attacks and how to spot them using these tools. We had to know the various packet headers and what could be changed in the headers to carry out attacks. I hope that helps. Best of luck to you!
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  • Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Congrats!! icon_thumright.gif
    *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
    *Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
    Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
    Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63
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  • mr.comfortablymr.comfortably Member Posts: 83 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I submitted for the same scholarship, but unfortunately I didn't hear anything back as far as getting accepted lol
    I was curious what you thought about the Cyber Ops vs CCNA Sec. I am currently working towards my CCNA R/S, but after I want to go into Sec, but I have been studying the Cyber Ops and some people are saying to just study CCNA Sec. Any advice?

    Grats on the Cert :D
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  • GeekyChickGeekyChick Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
    mr.comfortably, I can't compare the 2 certs because I haven't taken the CCNA Sec class. However, I'm wondering if Sec might be a more sought-after cert at least for now. I haven't seen many job listings for CCNA Cyber Ops yet but it might just be a matter of time. I imagine Cisco knows this will be a need in the immediate future or they wouldn't have designed a cert to train on it. Maybe you could check job posts in your area. Also keep checking with Cisco to see if they open up the scholarship again. Good luck!
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