ICND1 Passed

Neil86

Passed today with a 926.

I've been studying for the CCNA for several years now with many hurdles along the way that always threw me off course. I finally buckled down and studied heavily over the last 3 months. I've been through the Cisco Academy twice, once for the previous version of the CCNA (I was very new to IT and it was tough) and one for the current version (much easier the 2nd time around) when I got my AS degree. I read both corresponding versions of Wendell Odom's Official Cert Guide, probably two times each honestly. I used CBT nuggets as well but not as much as my other study sources. I probably got the most knowledge from using Packet Tracer extensively with labs and using my home lab. I also have Scott Empson's Portable Command Guide for the CCNA, which helped a lot while labbing.

Over the last 3 months I focused on the exam topics that you can get from Cisco. What started as a couple pages quickly turned into nearly 20 pages of notes using the exam topics as an outline. I would read my book during the week and add important commands and notes on the exam topics outline, about 2-3 hours of studying. Labbing was done on weekends, around 4-5 hours probably. This past weekend, before the exam today, I used the exam outline and notes I created and ran through them several times to refresh everything. Also a solid breakfast and good nights rest.

For me, the exam was easier than I anticipated, but it was still a tough exam. However, I've reviewed this stuff several times over the last couple of years. Like others say, multiple study sources are beneficial and you have to keep this stuff fresh in your mind. Lab and lab some more. Figure out why things work the way they do by making things fail and fixing them. I also enjoyed creating a large network from scratch (both in PT and my home lab) and adding my newly learned technologies as I progressed (DHCP stuff, routing protocols, port security, NAT/PAT, subnetting, etc.)

Also, this forum is great for learning and being supportive. Thanks for the great information here.

Time to start studying for ICND2.

Jon_Cisco

Great post! Good information there.

I let my certification expire so I plan to take the tests again next year. My final study method the last time I took the test was also to create a giant packet tracer network that included every technology that we learned. Since I have lost the file I will probably do the same thing this time.

Congrats!