Self study or class

djadragon

Seem most of u guys doing Self-study. I'm thinking taking some training class for about 6 month. Which you guys going for? Self or Training class? And which are helpful to perform passing the exam. Thanks!

networker050184

If you have a chance to take a good reputable class then I would definatley go for it. Especially from a net acadamy. You can always do self-study along with that and two heads are always better than one. I would stay away from short bootcamp sytle training (just my opinion though some people like them). Most of us go for self study because we work full time and its also a much more affordable option.

djadragon

networker050184 wrote:

If you have a chance to take a good reputable class then I would definatley go for it. Especially from a net acadamy. You can always do self-study along with that and two heads are always better than one. I would stay away from short bootcamp sytle training (just my opinion though some people like them). Most of us go for self study because we work full time and its also a much more affordable option.

Thank for quick reply, I will def going for both !

tech-airman

djadragon wrote:

Seem most of u guys doing Self-study. I'm thinking taking some training class for about 6 month. Which you guys going for? Self or Training class? And which are helpful to perform passing the exam. Thanks!

djadragon,

Do you know if you have a Cisco Networking Academy near you?

dtlokee

Training class have a few benefits over self study. For one attending a class forces you to maintain a study schedule to keep up with the class, and when you're self studying there's nothing more frustrating than spending 10 hours troubleshooting or researching a problem that an experienced instructor could set straight in a couple minutes. Also the ability to have a 2 way conversation about the topics vs book reading and cbts is very helpful. I would recommend you look for a training company that uses Cisco official courseware and Ceritified Cisco Instructors, that will ensure your training experience is a positive one.

ITdude

dtlokee wrote:

I would recommend you look for a training company that uses Cisco official courseware and Ceritified Cisco Instructors, that will ensure your training experience is a positive one.

Can you recommend anyone who is good at that?

Seriously though, dtlokee's advice is right on target!

Plazma

one thing you COULD do is find someone in your area that is interested in cisco stuff and is studying for ccna/ccnp and setup a study session .. that way your doing self study which is FAR cheaper, but you have someone who will help keep you motivated

I was in the netacad. through college and it went really well, one teacher i had was kinda horrid teaching a class, but 1 on 1 he helped me learn subnetting so no worries i suppose.

The bootcamp stuff is alright, but expensive.. and if you like it go for it , but if your new i wouldnt because you may learn everything at one point in the 5 days they tell you, and hell you may even pass your exam.. but without proper practice and training.. your going to be sloppy, and if your trying to get a job and your sloppy (due to inexperience) then its not going to make you look good.

WillgKnowledgeIseek

Sup djadragon

I just finished the security + today and will be doing the same route im about to tell you to try.

If you are in the I.T world already and have ccna or ccnp pros at your job ask 1 of them if they will be a mentor for you , I will be asking my cisco ccnp friend admin on monday that very question myself . The biggest thing I want to know in any it exam I go for is 2 things ,

1)Whats the meat of the test going to test me on
2) What are the hands on tools , excerises , simulations I can get to make the concepts come alive, and will help me in the real world once im done.

Thats whats great about sites like this take the practice questions find the keyword in that question say spanning tree protocol and thats your study session

Once I have those 2 things I look for questions first then go read a chapter on the subject of your questions. 1) This preps your brain 2 scan for the concepts much quicker 2) This makes your study sessions have a purpose which builds databases and memory blocks into your brain on that keyword. Once you start adding these keywords together the concepts come alive

I find take 5-10 big flashcards each day or study session and write 5-7 facts on what you learned about that concept of keyword.

For the ccna my format is going to be 2 notebooks ,
1) For the knowledge book base, for all the protocols and what they do
2) The commands for the cisico ios and procedures

I have the CCNA Libary 2 book series but im not sure what im going to use yet I have a few simulators but im going to ask the ccnp at my job which he recommends on monday

Hope this helps bro and good luck

Also like plazma said at the very least find someone in your area who wants the ccna also and push each other to make the goal happen

djadragon

tech-airman wrote:

djadragon wrote:

Seem most of u guys doing Self-study. I'm thinking taking some training class for about 6 month. Which you guys going for? Self or Training class? And which are helpful to perform passing the exam. Thanks!

djadragon,

Do you know if you have a Cisco Networking Academy near you?

Yes, there is one near by my area. Well, thank you all for advise.


me - start taking training class this monday!

empc4000xl

If you got the cash go to a academy. I go to one now to get my skills up and you get until jan 2009 to take the current exam, so you don't have to worry about the new one, which I heard is much harder,lol. Also as others pointed out a good instructor will be able to get you over those humps that might take hours of your own time in just a few min. Go for it if its avail.