CCDA right after CCNA?

AlexMR

I need an estimated time to get the CCNA and CCDA. A friend of mine has contract and he needs people witht hat level of knowledge and certifications. I will be taking the CCNA in 4weeks from now maximum.

What i need to know if it is possible to go straight to the DESGN course without studying BCMSN. I know it is part of the requirements but i think ive read around here people preparing and passing the exam without studying BCMSN.

My certification path after those will depend mostly on what i find in the job, but i think CCDP is next. I dont really have a problem studying for the BCMSN as I will do it eventually, but right now i have a little urgency to get both CCNA and CCDA.

malcybood

Hey AlexMR,

it depends on what your background is and what route you want to take.

From my own experience it took me around 8 months to do my CCNA self study around work, studying from the sybex book and a home lab I created from 3 routers and 3 switches.

I had some diagnostic backgrund in comms troubleshooting but was by no means an expert. saying that I was already competent in general networking and subnetting/routing protocol theory etc through on the job exp.

CCNA is not something that can be done in a few weeks (in general) but if you have a load of exp it will be more achievable in shorter time period.

CCDA is more technical theory and knowing which technology to use based on a requirement. again it depends on exp, I chose to do this as my company are going through several rfi/rfp's for a new WAN, video conferencing and IPT refresh. So far I've been stop starting with the studying for a fair few months for the CCDA and looking to sit the exam next month some time. I reckon the CCDA can be done it 2 - 3 months after the CCNA with dedicated study.

I don't have the bcmsn but have not found any problems with learning the material. 5 years exp in a mix of field eng and network admin roles.

Hope this helps

Cheers
malc