ICND1 & ICND 2 passed!!

Well...

I know some of you might hate me, but I went on a cram course and passed both exams within 6 days.

The good news is that I went from pretty much zero knowledge to CCNA level and remembered it all quite well.

2 things were to account for this:

1) I am a NOC engineer for a medium level enterprise company
2) I didn't look at a practise exam to try to 'remember' the questions - I made sure I learned the material.

The only real reason I went on the 6 day course was due to the company paying for it btw!

Results weren't amazing - 837 for ICND1 and 849 for ICND2.

I could have done better on both - I finished the ICND1 exam, my first ever Cisco exam, with 32 mins left!! ICND2 I managed to get out with 15 mins left.

Main reason for this was due to slight anxeity and accounting for any slippery extra sims/testlets that Cisco might have decided to throw in!

Thanks to my engineering background, I grasped subnetting within 5 mins and could easily mentally subnet within 30 mins. I worked with binary for a good portion of my degree which helped lots!

Other than that, CBT nuggets are really a good way of learning, and, IMHO, should be viewed completely before even looking at a book.

The most difficult part of the exam for me was remembering all the associated commands for the devices.

Engineering is engineering, and if you are good a logical problem solving and applying certain criteria to a problem, you will find the CCNA enjoyable!

Oh well, CCNP now, but I feel I may take a bit longer to do that!

Ron

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Comments

coffeeking

Congrat mate! like they say: A pass is a pass, regardless of the score you get. I go for it soon myself, wish me luck.

mikej412

Congratulations!

Hypersonik wrote: »

I know some of you might hate me, but I went on a cram course and passed both exams within 6 days.

Nah.... work paid for it and you already have experience (so you weren't starting from zero).

We would have made fun of you if you hadn't taken the company paid training

Hypersonik wrote: »

Oh well, CCNP now, but I feel I may take a bit longer to do that!

11 day bootcamp?

Hypersonik

mikej412 wrote: »

11 day bootcamp?

Wel.....

They do do a 13 day boot camp for CCNP.

However I feel as if it would be more beneficial for me to learn this my own way.

The CCNA boot camp was beneficial as it gives you a nice kickstart in terms of effort and enthusiasm into the real Cisco world.

Now that I have the formats and areas covered in the CCNA out of the way, I feel as if I can really get into being a quality engineer first, and a certification junkie second

Megadeth4168

Congrats!

networker050184

Congrats!

SurferdudeHB

Congrats and no hate here! We're all on the same side!

captobvious

Well done mate!

nel

Congrats mate

michaelkahl

Fantastic, CONGRATS on the cert!!!!

Slowhand

Sounds like you had the experience, just need that bootcamp to kick your butt into gear and get the cert. Congratulations!

itdaddy

hypersonik
we dont hate you as long as you are honest...you can't tell me you didnt have some CCNA experience already; to say you never have seen EIGRP/OSPF etcc and VTP and STP and subnetting in your life and blew the test away after 6 day cram would be lying...
I am going to read your post for sure but I would not believe you did it from scratch..
but congrats anyway man! now go ahead and takea 2 week course on CCNP and blow that bby away! will ya?????

itdaddy

Hypersonik

I just read your post; why do guys like you say stuff like that??? I have never seen CCNA stuff and looked at a boook and passed; you are a freaking NOC man????? what does that say?? you work with it daily here and there and the pass a test.?????
You are not helping anyone else by bragging your job is a NOC and then you walk on the scense and smoke a test...you had training hands on which is much better than books
the books only confirmed what you know..this is a bad post!
no ofense man but bragging after you have had hands on is not bragging it is just silly!
hands on is the best training!

kalebksp

Congrats!

itdaddy, I didn't think the original post came across as bragging. What's wrong with going to a bootcamp and then passing the exam? While I personally have no interest in going to a bootcamp, if that's how others want to learn, more power to them.

Accosting people for simply sharing that they passed an exam is extremely rude.

itdaddy

kalebksp

dude it is not rude what is rude is saying you are NOC and Computer engineer and bragging how you didnt even study what is the point! I have no problems going to a 6 day bootcamp!
or saying you past a test it is the way he did it. Think about it!

That is like me saying wow! Hey I passed my algebra II and well I do have a Masters in Physcis though, and by the way I didnt study for it...just seems weird..if he is honest but
saying he didnt even study and blew them away; he did study; he is NOC and a computer engineer. if I am rude so be it man! then I am rude bragging that you are doctor and pass your CPR class is not any help for others...then rude I am..

itdaddy

Another commet frome the rude guy.

I think that is the best way to get your certs personally. I see guys who work full time as a MCSE tech and or CCNP tech and are not certified then go and take a 6 day or 15 day bootcamp and get all their certs..that is the way to go if you can do it for a living and then brush up and take a boot camp. seems to really work doing it all day and then a boot camp
I am just jealous! really that is the truth..I do not get to work with it daily. it sucks
but great job nonetheless..sorry if i was rude but not trying to be..just making my point.

but that is my choice work in the field do the work and then take a bootcamp and slam the certs....

kalebksp

itdaddy wrote: »

if he is honest but
saying he didnt even study and blew them away

Please point out to me where he said that he didn't study. Also, being a NOC engineer could mean different things to different people/in different companies. It doesn't necessarily mean that he has experience with Cisco equipment. Even if one does have extensive experience, are they not allowed share that they passed?

I have no intention of getting into a childish argument about this, but I also don't like to see people giving new members a hard time.

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. I just thinking you're taking it the wrong way.

itdaddy

kalebksp

This are the statements that set me off:

"The good news is that I went from pretty much zero knowledge to CCNA level and remembered it all quite well."

"I know some of you might hate me, but I went on a cram course and passed both exams within 6 days."

he is bragging that he didnt have to work hard at all! but below is the real truth!
why mention you are a NOC engineer if it doesnt matter; it is context man! why do you think he says 'hey dudes dont hate me" for being such a smart guy! when in fact
he could be but has a background in network engineering. I see guys like this all the time
in college. saying they never studying just to make others feel inferior! when they really
worked very hard and never told you they did! see it all the time. and I eat these guys for lunch man!

"2 things were to account for this:"

not true why here is (5):
1. I know some of you might hate me, but I went on a cram course and passed both exams within 6 days.
2) I am a NOC engineer for a medium level enterprise company
3)Thanks to my engineering background, I grasped subnetting within 5 mins and could easily mentally subnet within 30 mins. I worked with binary for a good portion of my degree which helped lots
4)Engineering is engineering, and if you are good a logical problem solving and applying certain criteria to a problem, you will find the CCNA enjoyable!
5)Other than that, CBT nuggets are really a good way of learning, and, IMHO, should be viewed completely before even looking at a book.

This is more than 2 reasons why he did okay 837 and 849 are good:
but 950 is amazing!

sorry if I sound rude; not my intention but I will never claim half truths and say
I am amazing. If I am ever amzing it is because I work my ass off..

rwwest7

I don't mean to sound arrogant either, but I picked up the CCNA FastPass book...read the back cover once then went and aced the ICND1/2 exam with a 815 and 822 respectively. Booyah!

itdaddy

rwwest7

good for you! it doesnt matter really...but I guess I am a dumb ass! any takers???
ahhahahaha

haha

whatever man.good foryou! me I have to work hard...I dont just read a book and pass
a test..but good for you! you will go far why dont you just read a book on ccnp and take the exams i bet you pass them

you should be ccie in a year then maybe ccnp and ccie and ccsp tooo. you can do it!

mikej412

itdaddy wrote: »

but I guess I am a dumb ass! any takers???

No, but I would suggest you visit a proctologist to get that stick removed.

rwwest7 wrote: »

aced the ICND1/2 exam with a 815 and 822 respectively.

Not sure if I'd call that aced

Do you have an "I Passed" thread somewhere -- or do we just have to pick one of your posts where you mentioned your pass and congratulate you there? By the way -- Congratulations!

itdaddy

Mike

hahah okay I will get the stick out!....and go back to my sad life! ;(
of working my butt off and then passing while all you smart guys smoke exams by reading
fastpass books and 6 day bootcamps and zero knowledge but cary Phd's -- yeah!

going now to get stick remove but now mike I have proof now that I can do same
and it is okay! :)hahaha heeee

just messing with you I am done; will praise all who pass from now on no matter
what level of NO Experience they have and take 6 day bootcamps and slam a CCNA
exam with a 837 yeah....hahaha okay I am done but the best one is take a CCNA
exam with only the fastpass book and no hands on..that one is my favorite...

back to my sad life!

rwwest7

mikej412 wrote: »

No, but I would suggest you visit a proctologist to get that stick removed.

Not sure if I'd call that aced

Do you have an "I Passed" thread somewhere -- or do we just have to pick one of your posts where you mentioned your pass and congratulate you there? By the way -- Congratulations!

No, I was just being sarcastic. Aimed at the OP. I did pass my ICND1 exam with a 925 on Monday. I'm not the type to start a thread about passing, not that there's anything bad about that. Thanks for the congrats anyway.

mamono

I spent 9 months on mine, used 2 books, nearly daily study, lots of simulator practice and labs, and passed with decent scores. I literally had ZERO experience with Cisco when I started. CCNA landed me my NOC job and I can attest, that people who start here working in a NOC that is Cisco centric will have a fast track to being able to pass CCNA if they haven't already. You are given network audit projects that will allow you to access devices and look around to verify configs and whatever else your team lead or manager says is important. If I had this experience, I am positive that I would have passed my CCNA faster than what it took me.

It is good to be confident in one's abilities, but what I believe is the true essence of the debate was that it is good to show some humility.

Congrats on passing. Once I'm settled into the groove of things, I hope to follow suit and start cracking open CCNP books.

rwwest7 wrote: »

No, I was just being sarcastic. Aimed at the OP. I did pass my ICND1 exam with a 925 on Monday. I'm not the type to start a thread about passing, not that there's anything bad about that. Thanks for the congrats anyway.

Congrats to you too!

jmc012

For some reason this thread makes me think of a section I read in the back of the book called Network Warrior. Excellent book by the way, here is a small snippet of it.

How not to be a computer jerk.
There are two ways to look smarter than other people:
Be smarter than the people around you
Knowledge is different from intelligence. Knowing a lot of things is not the
same as being able to troubleshoot a problem. Memorizing a book on anatomy
is not the same as being a surgeon.

People who are naturally smarter than the people around them—and who don’t need to flaunt it—are widely known to be smart people. The people who are the smartest are often the most humble, for they have nothing to prove.

Make the people around you look stupid
This is the way the computer jerk likes to operate. He believes that if he
makes everyone around him look stupid, those people will see how smart he
is. Sadly, what the computer jerk misses is the fact that all of those people
will come to dislike the person who made them look stupid. If computer
jerks could stop doing this, many things would change in their lives.
Everyone you meet is good at something. I learned this the hard way all those
years ago.

mikej412

jmc012 wrote: »

Network Warrior. Excellent book

+1 Great Book!

itdaddy

+2 everyone I talk to says excellent book have to get it!

bump

Knowledge and experience are like money. If they are earned in 6 days, they will probably disappear in two weeks. This is what I learned first-hand in school and work.

I passed ICDN2 yesterday. ICDN1 two weeks ago after failing 802 in mid Feb. Although I have prepared for it the whole winter, looking back, I am sure I can get people with average IQ to pass within a week or two with exactly what he needs for the exam. Nothing more. You just feed the guy with exactly amount to pass. No depth and breadth. This is basically what the boot camps do. But after the exam, I bet the guy will forget everything in no time.

I have a friend took a two-month cram course to learn French speaking and passed immigration interview. But a year later, she has no gut to speak French even to buy a cup of coffee in Quebec.

Smart or not, I always take my approach personally. One or two exams per year through self-study. In the process, I look up everything in Wikipedia. As always I remember most of what I learned after many years. BTW, this progressive approach also looks good on resume.