I Passed CCNA 640-802 and close to 900 too..

GPU

I passed, but.
It made me feel sorry for those that had to retake the exam, after reading the bottom of the score that says it takes 180 days before you can retake the exam (640-802). So don't take it yet, until you feel ready. If you know your NAT, ACLs, Subnetting, STP, etc... pretty well, I'd say your probably 60% of the way ready.

I thought Network+ was allot of topics until I did the CCNA. CCNA requires math and a very good understanding of the material for there exams. Meaning, for NAT you can't just remember commands, you also have to know and understand ACL's, Subnetting (this is a beast if not practiced), and wildcard masks. After going through the book day after day and night after night I almost wanted to say TMI (Too Much Information).

Study Materials used:
1
Packet Tracer
Wonderful program, if you don't have real routers to build networks, CISCO made this just for you.
2
CCNA Portable Command Guide Second Edition (Get it, It looks good on interviews )
The mini subneting tutorial showed me not just how to subnet, but also wildcard masks, VLSM and route summarizations
Helped me understand all the commands used in the CCNA and it has every single one
3
Sybex CCNA 640-802 (All your really need, along with the equipment necessary)
Best book ever next to Chris Bryants. I totally enjoy Chris Bryants material, but Tod Lamme beat Chris to the shelves for the 640-802, so :P

Everything being said, you have to have respect for not just CCNA, but CISCO on the hole. There not just 80% of the internet's backbone, there one of the very few multi BILLION dollar businesses right behind Microsoft. hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_Systems . Jobs fields are also not congested, so you have many options.

Thanks TechExams for encouragement, support through my CCNA exam trama and exam passing (I did make allot of noise and dance and wanted to give someone a bear hug ) advice.
I scored close to 900 (took forever on one sim because nature was calling, and I had come - Don't drink too much before the exam-You might not be able to handle the loss of time).

Advice, first, have enough respect for the exam to go through the entire book.
Don't skip any labs and tests, do them all. If a certain topic or idea on CCNA agonizes you, post here for help or get a couple of contacts of CCNA, NPs or (IE's :P ) in your area code.

nel

congrats man.

damn 180 is a long time. is this the case for the 2 seperate exams too?

sthomas

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le11/learning_certification_exam_policies.html

According to that if you fail you have to wait 5 days before you retake, and if you pass you have to wait a minimum of 180 days before you can take the exam again.

Almost forgot - Congrats on obtaining your CCNA!

mikej412

Congratulations!

GPU wrote:

It made me feel sorry for those that had to retake the exam, after reading the bottom of the score that says it takes 180 days before you can retake the exam (640-802).

You just scared a bunch of people!

This is the correct info:

sthomas wrote:

if you fail you have to wait 5 days before you retake, and if you pass you have to wait a minimum of 180 days before you can take the exam again.

nel

mikej412 wrote:

Congratulations!

GPU wrote:

It made me feel sorry for those that had to retake the exam, after reading the bottom of the score that says it takes 180 days before you can retake the exam (640-802).

You just scared a bunch of people!

This is the correct info:

sthomas wrote:

if you fail you have to wait 5 days before you retake, and if you pass you have to wait a minimum of 180 days before you can take the exam again.

Few! Boy you nearly gave me a heart attack!

Vito_Corleone

mikej412 wrote:

Few! Boy you nearly gave me a heart attack!

I thought the same thing when I passed the ICND1. When I saw that, I started worrying about failing the ICND2 and having to wait 6 months to get a CCNA. Didn't sound right to me, so I looked it up and found the info that was posted earlier in the thread.

Congrats to the OP, btw.

Glynixx

Ok, this is a newblet question but why (the hell) would one want to retake the exact same same exam they just passed?

Per Cisco's site:
"Once passed, a candidate must wait a minimum of 180 days before taking the same exam with an identical exam number"

The only scenario is that you want to score higher but wouldn't you want to start to concentrate on your next exam instead?

dazed and confused lol

later,
g

dynamik

Glynixx wrote:

Ok, this is a newblet question but why (the hell) would one want to retake the exact same same exam they just passed?

Per Cisco's site:
"Once passed, a candidate must wait a minimum of 180 days before taking the same exam with an identical exam number"

The only scenario is that you want to score higher but wouldn't you want to start to concentrate on your next exam instead?

dazed and confused lol

later,
g

The certification will expire after three years, so you will need to retake the exam eventually. Six months seems like a reasonable wait period for a retake. Whether intentionally or not, it also prevents people from repeatedly taking the exam in order to create ****.

Glynixx

dynamik wrote:

Glynixx wrote:

Ok, this is a newblet question but why (the hell) would one want to retake the exact same same exam they just passed?

Per Cisco's site:
"Once passed, a candidate must wait a minimum of 180 days before taking the same exam with an identical exam number"

The only scenario is that you want to score higher but wouldn't you want to start to concentrate on your next exam instead?

dazed and confused lol

later,
g

The certification will expire after three years, so you will need to retake the exam eventually. Six months seems like a reasonable wait period for a retake. Whether intentionally or not, it also prevents people from repeatedly taking the exam in order to create ****.

ah makes sense. i just figured most people would wait at least 18 months to 2 years before trying again. Makes sense to keep on top of it, less of a study curve I would imagine. Speaking or which ... (opens Odom's book.. yawns...)

tech-airman

Glynixx wrote:

Ok, this is a newblet question but why (the hell) would one want to retake the exact same same exam they just passed?

Per Cisco's site:
"Once passed, a candidate must wait a minimum of 180 days before taking the same exam with an identical exam number"

The only scenario is that you want to score higher but wouldn't you want to start to concentrate on your next exam instead?

dazed and confused lol

later,
g

Glynixx,

One reason why you may want to retake a Cisco exam is because there are different passing scores for Cisco Career Certification and eligibility to become a Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (CCSI). The eligibility score for CCSI candidates is higher than basic Cisco Certification.

Glynixx

Glynixx,

One reason why you may want to retake a Cisco exam is because there are different passing scores for Cisco Career Certification and eligibility to become a Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (CCSI). The eligibility score for CCSI candidates is higher than basic Cisco Certification.

Ah ha. now that makes perfects sense. I honestly did not know that.

Thank you!

GPU

sthomas wrote:

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le11/learning_certification_exam_policies.html

According to that if you fail you have to wait 5 days before you retake, and if you pass you have to wait a minimum of 180 days before you can take the exam again.

Almost forgot - Congrats on obtaining your CCNA!

Oh , Cool

Thanks for the correction. Now I feel a whole lot better.

To those that are still studying,

A sys, a this,
a ko, a ris,
Cisco, pays allot of this $........,
Respect, it has,
Exam, you'll pass,
Once you cram, and study hard!

pooker

Congrats and thanks for almost giving me a heart attack

gaby_978

CONGRATS KEEP IT UP

kadshah

hey man congrats!