CCNA - self study or classroom??

I want to get the CCNA qualification. Can this be realistically achieved using the self study kit or is it best to do the course. The course is pretty expensive (€2250 in WIT) and my employers just do not have a training budget at the moment so I will have to foot the bill myself.

Find more posts tagged with

SAVE $250 on Your CISCO Boot Camp — Use Code "EXAM26"

Exclusively for TechExams members for Infosec Boot Camps starting before April 30, 2026

View CISCO Boot Camps

Comments

Forsaken_GA

plenty of folks do the CCNA self-study wise, it all depends on what you use for your sources. Good books and good training videos and some hands on lab time, whether you do it through emulation or real hardware all make it quite feasible. It all depends on how good you are at learning things on your own.

mikej412

A lot of people do the CCNA Self-Study -- and the more IT (and data/voice networking) work experience you have the easier it will be.

If you spend the time reading (and understanding) the suggested books and toss in a bunch of hands on lab work they practically give you the CCNA.

If you do want a class room environment to get access to an instructor and a nice hardware lab then look at the (Global) Cisco Network Academy program and see if there is a program near you. In the US the 4 CCNA semester courses can fit into 2 (community) college semesters and will usually cost less than a bootcamp and is spread out over more time so you have a chance to learn and retain the material.

If you do decide to pay for an accelerated training program, you'll still get the most out of it by doing a bunch of self-study before you go. So it probably make sense to start your self-study and then decide after a bit if it's the worth the money for a bootcamp -- or if you actually still think you need it.

jojopramos

+ 1 for Mike. Do the self study first. Maybe after doing self study with proper equipment lab or sim lab, you don't need to go for classroom training.

billscott92787

jojopramos wrote: »

+ 1 for Mike. Do the self study first. Maybe after doing self study with proper equipment lab or sim lab, you don't need to go for classroom training.

+2 for Mike. I did self study for my CCNA and even my CCNP. I am doing self study now for my CCIE. I would have done it really no other way. It all depends on the individual though. I know some people that only learn well in a class room environmnt. I say get use to using dynamips, GNS3, and Cisco Press Books by Wendell Odom and you should be good to go!

earweed

That makes +3 for Mike. Self study is probably the best way to go. Even if you do take a class you must also do studying on your own so why spend the extra money.

mtorres

Personally, i learn a lot better if I do it on my own. Mainly because of time constraints. For example, sometimes I have to work 12 hours or more in a day. If I was taking a class, in order to complete the homework I would have to rush through some chapters to get it finished but not really learning the material. If i'm on my own pace I can wait until i have time to really go through each chapter.

I have been the only I.T. guy for a 500+ computer school district a few years now and I guess I have had to teach myself so many things that I prefer doing it that way. I am not some genius tech. guy, i'm pretty average and sometimes it takes me a while to grasp certain things, but if I learn it on my own I seem to learn it a lot better then if someone is teaching me it.