cisco academy

7255carl

hi everyone,
i have just signed up with the academy for ccna, and was just wondering what the general thoughts were about the academy, and if anyone has been through the academy how long does the course take roughly, also will the academy stuff and the ccent/ccna press book be enough or will i need more literature.
all input would be greatly appreciated

carl

motherwolf

hey Carl,
Don't really have an answer for you but I do have a question or two about the academy for you or anyone else that has gone through it. I was thinking of enrolling myself but was wondering what the difference was between the academy classes and the actual cisco classes put on by the community college itself (ie Cisco I, II, III, etc.) ? That is, if the academy is actually affiliated with the CC. The one difference I have noticed is the price. The academy is much more expensive than the normal cisco classes. I also noticed it's the same instructor for both academy and the regular classes. Any replies are appreciated.

mikej412

You can find my answer in an old thread
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15821

And there are also some other Academy threads
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26733

http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25647

http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25283

hodgey87

hi,

im currently in the cisco accademy i started in sept so far just done my module test for ccna 1 havent done the final test yet

as for materials

i use the wendell odom certification library 640-802 it has helped me alot

if you need any more information please contact me

thanks

empc4000xl

It all depends on the instructor. Some people have gone through them and hated them due to the instuctor not being good enough. I got a good one right now, so I will be finishing my CCNA with him soon, and we get 3 weeks to take the exam. Then I'm starting my CCNP with him. Having a instructor who really knows the stuff can make you understand a topic in a few min vs reading a book and have no idea what they are talking about for a few months.

Kalabin

I'm currently going through the Cisco Network Acadamy myself. I think for anyone wanting to build up from the ground and work your way up it's a good program. With that said it's also good for anyone who is currently not actively working with the equipment at their current job's. I work as a CO Tech, but I never get a chance to touch the cisco equipment, however I do play with the standard POT's, DSLAM's, DS0, DS1, OC3's etc (under supervision, just an apprentice at the moment) as well as the MUX'ing equipment associated along with it. So the cisco program seems to be helping me build on what I am getting from the WAN side.

If you want to see what they go over in the program, go to a book store and look for ISBN 1587131668, which is the second semester portion of the program.

dangersace

I definatly agree it's all about the instructor. The first time I took CCNA I I hated the teacher. But had to take CCNA I - III to get the degree from the community college. Fortunatly the next 2 teachers were great and I decided to finish the academy classes. You can check for academys here:
http://locators.netacad.net/cnams/locators/AcademyClassLocator.jsp
I think it was worth the time to take the classes. I got to have a lot of hands on work on routers and switches and every Friday I could go in for open lab and mess with any of the equipment. (I'm sure your mileage may vary) Also at the end of semesters 2 and 4 you can get vouchers for a good % off (the actual number escapes me right now) either the ICND and Intro tests or the full CCNA. Also it seems that academy students do get some perks. I was able to access all the info after I was in the academy to help study without having to buy the books. It also looks like academy students have access to the old 640-801 for another year after retirement. Over all I'd give the academy a especially for someone with no experience with cisco equipment.

mrj

Isn't the Academy around $2500-5k? I remember it being some ridiculous price that they could add on to my student loans back when I was a college brat.

Kalabin

mrj wrote:

Isn't the Academy around $2500-5k? I remember it being some ridiculous price that they could add on to my student loans back when I was a college brat.

I think what you are thinking of is the Cisco Boot Camp, the Cisco Acadamy is normal 4 credit college tuition + a bit more in lab fee's. The Acadamy depending on the college is usually a four semester course. The one im enrolled in is Monday through Friday from 8pm until 10pm. Difference is though is it is an accelerated program, where we do 2 semester's worth of work in 1 college class semester. So the Cisco CCNA 1 is 2 months, CCNA 2 is two months, CCNA 3 is two more months, then CCNA 4 is two more month's. Basically the number represent's what semester you are in.

7255carl

thanks for all your input guys