Straight for CCNA Test or CCENT first

rowelld

Hey all,

For those who have passed the test, would you recommend going through the CCENT first or should you just go for the single CCNA test?

Slowhand

I decided to take the CCNA exam (which was 640-801 at the time) because I preferred to take a single exam and get it over with. I see no reason why you can't simply take the 640-802 exam and go straight for your CCNA if that's what you want to do. The pros are that you're studying for a single exam and that could potentially save you some money on the cost of sitting for it. The downside is that there's a lot of information to cover, and that's why a lot of people went the two-exam route. The downsides to the two-exam route is that you're shelling out money for two exams, and sometimes it can feel a little disheartening to have to "cross the finish line twice", so to speak. Of course, the upside is that you get the CCENT, in addition to CCNA, if you do the two exams.

In my honest opinion, the CCENT isn't well-established in the industry yet, and you'll probably have no marketable benefit of having it and your CCNA as opposed to having just the CCNA at this point. In this case, it'll be a matter of looking at the pros and cons of taking one all-encompassing exam, or breaking it up into two steps for the sake of focusing on fewer topics at a time.

scheistermeister

I went the one exam route and I like it more than having to do multiple exams.

wbosher

It depends on how much Networking experience you have. If you have some hands on experience playing with and trouble shooting Cisco networks (not to mention the theory knowledge to back it up) then the CCNA route is probably for you.

If you're a complete newbie like me who up until a few months back hadn't even seen a router or switch, then the CCENT ICND1 might be more appropriate.

Good luck!!!

rowelld

Thanks for your input. I have quite a bit of networking experience so it would probably be better if I just took the one exam route. I've got one more chapter to read and then I'll be doing some reviewing. I also have the cbt nuggets and a boson lab pack.

Plazma

Defiantly the 2 exam route if you haven't touched this stuff before. It used to be harder to do the 2 exam route but from what i have seen now its easier to do the 2 exam route (topic wise)

tech-airman

Slowhand wrote:

I decided to take the CCNA exam (which was 640-801 at the time) because I preferred to take a single exam and get it over with. I see no reason why you can't simply take the 640-802 exam and go straight for your CCNA if that's what you want to do. The pros are that you're studying for a single exam and that could potentially save you some money on the cost of sitting for it. The downside is that there's a lot of information to cover, and that's why a lot of people went the two-exam route. The downsides to the two-exam route is that you're shelling out money for two exams, and sometimes it can feel a little disheartening to have to "cross the finish line twice", so to speak. Of course, the upside is that you get the CCENT, in addition to CCNA, if you do the two exams.

In my honest opinion, the CCENT isn't well-established in the industry yet, and you'll probably have no marketable benefit of having it and your CCNA as opposed to having just the CCNA at this point. In this case, it'll be a matter of looking at the pros and cons of taking one all-encompassing exam, or breaking it up into two steps for the sake of focusing on fewer topics at a time.

Slowhand,

Unfortunately there is no longer a financial incentive to take the one exam route over the two exams route because they've raised the price of the 640-802 CCNA exam to US$250 and the 640-822 ICND1 (leading to the CCENT) and 640-816 ICND2 exams are US$125 each. So now, there's a benefit of taking the two exam route because you'll end up with two Cisco Certifications: 1) CCENT and 2) CCNA. Another benefit of taking the two exam route is that your CCENT would be recertified when you take and pass the 640-816 ICND2 exam.

Source:

1. FAQs: New Prices for Cisco CCNA and CCNP Composite Exams - http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/downloads/pdf/FinalFAQ_June24_PriceChange.pdf
2. CCENT Certification - Career Certifications & Paths - Cisco Systems - http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le45/learning_certification_level_home.html

Tech109

Thanks for that latest post. That cements my decision to go for the CCENT first vs. CCNA.

Anyone found any benefit to having CCENT yet?

Kaminsky

I am going to go the two exam route but not for monetary reasons...

I keep finding myself going over and over the same material and if I do the CCENT first, that basic theory is over and done with and I can then just concentrate on the labs and hands on type stuff to finish the ccna.

As for the worth of a CCENT, maybe for non network types to give a base understanding of networking basic theory without the need to get too much hands on. A lot of folks really have no time for networking /boggle.

However, for someone considering a career in networking, even CCNA on it's own is not going to do you too many favours. It will get you in on the ground floor but not do much for you after that. It is considered that ccnp is the real base standard for a standard networking guy and with more and more companies wiring themselves up, the ccnp is what they are asking for. Good thing about these later exams is that they are a lot more focussed on a particular aspect rather than the sheer breadth of knowledge required for the ccna.

Kam.

nel

If you have alot of experiance like you say then i assume you are probably working at ccna level or even above? if so i would take the one exam route.

From my perspective, if you are new to cisco i would do the 2 exams so you can learn the material better and basically break it down because ive met people who have simply been overwhelmed by the amount of content the ccna has.

Ive went the 2 route because im new to it all and i want to make sure i have a solid foundation before i progress