How to go about obtaining CCNA???

zenlakin

Just curious what you guys would recommend? I want to start looking into the CCNA. I really need to just study up and take the exam. I may not be able to actually put a lot of time into the exam until September and I am going to be finishing up my Masters degree and will be taking 4 classes per term so that I can finish my Masters in September. My question though is, would you guys recommend taking the time to study on my own or would it be wise to get into a community college or something similar and take the CCNA courses? The reason why I ask is because if I do self study I don’t have the funds to afford purchasing the equipment to build a home lab but I do have access to some books and boson netsim. If I do the classes through the local community college I can take 4 classes and get hands on experience. What do you guys think? Would the books and boson netsim be enough to pass the CCNA?

mikej412

You could start with this cisco newbie thread and then check out the rest of the stuff in the CCNA Forum FAQ

Somewhere in one of the hardware/simulator links I probably mention that hardware is prefered, but Boson will "get you by."

I did the Cisco CCNA Network Academy courses at the local CC to get started (and for lab access)... but also started building my own lab.

DirtySouth

Definitely check out the recommended reading on this site. As far as taking a class or selft-study...I suppose it really depends on how you learn best. Theres no doubt that having access to real equipment is the best way to go. I went through the Cisco academy and it was great. It can definitely be done as a self-study though.

zenlakin

I will check out the links some more on the site. I think like everyone else, my biggest problem is going to be subnetting. I have looked at it a fair amount from the book and I get it somewhat when I am working with class C addresses but get all mixed up when I start working with other classes. I think that I need to find someone in my area that I can work with in person to see if I can get it. That is why I was thinking of taking the classes at my local community college. I have the sybex books and boson netsim right now to study with so I assume I have a pretty good start. Just need to get that stupid subnetting down. Funny thing is, when you get in the field you just use a subnetting calculator anyway. LOL!!

Darthn3ss

I'm in the CCNA academy and its going pretty well. I'm also building my own lab but i guess that isn't really required, just helpful.

zenlakin

There are definitely a lot of options. I am just trying to go the best possible route and be able to get through and get my cert asap. This is going to be needed in upcoming projects for my current job. I also got a hold of a copy of the CBT nuggets for CCNA in addition to my netsim and books.

Inc

0. Read previously mentioned information sources.

1. Don't be put off by vast amount of information.

2. Take small steps.

3. Ask questions whilst en route.

Good luck!