is it possible to prepare for CCNA in 1 week?

Guys,
would you please advise about that.
Just found that
http://www.complete-...20&limitstart=0
by phone they told me that i will be able(i know, that depends of person) to pass a CCNA exam.

Currently i'm working as IT technician(around 2 years,but never worked with cisco), but i thought that those certifications take at least half a year learning and require a work experience with cisco hardaware. And the price is kinda cheap(i thought it arount 3000$).
I dunno if thats true or that just a "trick" to get as more students as possible?
thank you

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earweed

Unless you either have experience with Cisco or have already self studied that 1 week dael will probably be a waste of time and money.
If you wish to study Cisco buy the books and set up your own lab and self study. It'll be way cheaper and if you just feel like you should pay more to learn Cisco I'll PM you and you can send me a check..j/k

Mojo_666

mig29fulcrum wrote: »

Guys,
would you please advise about that.
Just found that
http://www.complete-...20&limitstart=0
by phone they told me that i will be able(i know, that depends of person) to pass a CCNA exam.

Currently i'm working as IT technician(around 2 years,but never worked with cisco), but i thought that those certifications take at least half a year learning and require a work experience with cisco hardaware. And the price is kinda cheap(i thought it arount 3000$).
I dunno if thats true or that just a "trick" to get as more students as possible?
thank you

[FONT=&quot]As you state that you have never worked with Cisco then no, you will not [/FONT][FONT=&quot]be able to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]legitimately prepare in 1 week.[/FONT]

mig29fulcrum

So,
whats the better way to get that certifcate?i think i will begin with self study then i will go to that place probably..i really dunno

earweed

There are 2 good ways to do it. Go to a Community college or Junior college which is a Cisco academy member and take the courses ( a lot of people here have done that and will recommend that) or buy the books, CBTs, and either a. set up a home lab or b. use a simulator like GNS3.
Those places are mainly good if you have experience with Cisco already or have already self studied.

tiersten

Buy some CCNA books from Cisco Press or Sybex. Read books. Learn contents. Buy a simulator or hardware for a lab. Test out scenarios and exercises. Look up CCNA exam blueprint at the Cisco Learning site to see what topics you need to know. Review every topic. Take exam. Pass.

bertieb

tiersten wrote: »

Buy some CCNA books from Cisco Press or Sybex. Read books. Learn contents. Buy a simulator or hardware for a lab. Test out scenarios and exercises. Look up CCNA exam blueprint at the Cisco Learning site to see what topics you need to know. Review every topic. Take exam.

Tiersten, you forgot to add 'pass' on the end

earweed

tiersten wrote: »

Buy some CCNA books from Cisco Press or Sybex. Read books. Learn contents. Buy a simulator or hardware for a lab. Test out scenarios and exercises. Look up CCNA exam blueprint at the Cisco Learning site to see what topics you need to know. Review every topic. Take exam. Pass <-- Most important part

Hate to be nitpicky but the most important part is to actually learn so that you can use the knowledge. Passing the test should be easy if you do that.

Chris:/*

Like the rest of the people have already stated it is near impossible to pass in one week without experience. I personally am not sure even with lots of Cisco experience you can walk in and pass it without really spending quality time preparing.

A few of my friends have attempted it near blind and have failed even with years of hands-on experience.

The certification is supposed to represents the knowledge you have not the trophy you want to achieve. Focus on the certification as a goal that will validate your knowledge.

As the others have stated a community college or trade school can provide you with the knowledge to help you land an entry level job in which you can gain experience.

tiersten

earweed wrote: »

Hate to be nitpicky but the most important part is to actually learn so that you can use the knowledge. Passing the test should be easy if you do that.

It was a joke from Bertie's post but okay... I'll alter it just for you.

earweed

I was just kidding Tiersten

howiehandles

1 week, no way. Even if you had considerable experience, I would believe that you would take 1 month minimum, to fill in whatever gaps you may have in your knowledge. Those crash courses and boot camps are a waste if you've never used the product.

rwwest7

The will get you ready to pass the exam in 1 week, by giving you all the questions you will see on the test.

tiersten

rwwest7 wrote: »

The will get you ready to pass the exam in 1 week, by giving you all the questions you will see on the test.

I'd be surprised if anybody can remember the questions and corresponding answers from just 1 week of being terrible and using a ****. Even if you do learn it enough to pass, the second you walk out the door you'll forget it all and then you'll get a nasty surprise when you do get a Cisco job.

mikej412

mig29fulcrum wrote: »

they told me that i will be able(i know, that depends of person) to pass a CCNA exam.

Lots of people pass the CCNA with minimal time and effort -- but they don't necessarily EARN it and gain the knowledge and skills that a REAL CCNA should be able to demonstrate (like during a job interview or on the job).

There really isn't any way to teach someone without any previous networking knowledge or experience to pass the CCNA exam in a week except by teaching them the answers to the questions -- which means they're doing the cheating for you (and not telling you). You might pass the exam, but your skill level will probably be just slightly better than someone who cheated on their own.

tiersten wrote: »

Even if you do learn it enough to pass, the second you walk out the door you'll forget it all and then you'll get a nasty surprise when you do get a Cisco job.

Shouldn't that be if you get a Cisco job? Between 50-60% of people with CCNAs fail our simple 10 question technical phone interview.

Chris:/*

mikej412 wrote: »

Shouldn't that be if you get a Cisco job? Between 50-60% of people with CCNAs fail our simple 10 question technical phone interview.

Wow that is an impressively bad statistic, should have known with the number of paper certification monkeys I have met.

jojopramos

1 week to prepare CCNA and never work in Cisco. Wow.... It is impossible. NO. The most important thing to remember in taking up or studying for certification is to learn. Buy CCNA books and setup lab (real or through SIM lab like GNS3/packet tracer) and devote maybe 4 months of study and maybe, you can learn and pass CCNA.

rogue2shadow

Does...not...compute!

The CCNA is some serious business. I'm sure there are still tons of people who **** the exam (for shame) but as everyone else said, if you actually get the job, the effect is that of a swinging door. If you have real life experience with it, this should take at very least a month to refresh your memory of all the commands you may not be using as well as design/subnetting.

Somnipotent

mikej412 wrote: »

Lots of people pass the CCNA with minimal time and effort -- but they don't necessarily EARN it and gain the knowledge and skills that a REAL CCNA should be able to demonstrate (like during a job interview or on the job).

There really isn't any way to teach someone without any previous networking knowledge or experience to pass the CCNA exam in a week except by teaching them the answers to the questions -- which means they're doing the cheating for you (and not telling you). You might pass the exam, but your skill level will probably be just slightly better than someone who cheated on their own.

Shouldn't that be if you get a Cisco job? Between 50-60% of people with CCNAs fail our simple 10 question technical phone interview.

+1 to mike. There are plenty of "paper" CCNAs out there that took boot camps or brain **** just to have the certification, however real life demonstration and application of the principles and theory are left to just that, principles and theory. i've worked with new hires who don't know a thing about networking and were hired solely on the basis of their certification. it's sad because those with experience and who have taken their time to get legitimately certified are often looked down upon because we're NOT certified from the get go. needless to say, don't chase the certificate, chase the knowledge behind it.

bertieb

Somnipotent wrote: »

+it's sad because those with experience and who have taken their time to get legitimately certified are often looked down upon because we're NOT certified from the get go.

It's sad, but chances are that one day you'll be a Cisco animal like mikej (or an animal in whatever field you chose to specialise in

) and "those" people will still be bumping around between jobs because they dumped the exam and don't have the knowledge (and the true learning skills) that are required to have a successful career in the long run.

manny355

no its not possible to study for CCNA in only 1 week...unless you already have experience with cisco equipment...which means that you have already been studying...so my answer is still valid.

kidfry

mig29fulcrum wrote: »

Guys,
Currently i'm working as IT technician(around 2 years,but never worked with cisco), but i thought that those certifications take at least half a year learning and require a work experience with cisco hardaware. And the price is kinda cheap(i thought it arount 3000$).
I dunno if thats true or that just a "trick" to get as more students as possible?
thank you

I certified as a CCNA back in 2001. I then allowed my cert to lapse since I was working within an area of IT that had absolutely nothing to do w/Cisco.

Recently, (about 6 months ago) I decided to pursuit my CCNA for a second time. I set a target date of 45 days... I purchased three routers, three switches and the latest Sybex (Lammle) textbook...

Fast forward three months later and I found myself about three quarters of the way through the book. I tried to read a chapter a day but only certain days (extremely slow ones for that matter) allowed me to do this. Moreover, there were some days that I wasn't even able to study! This made it very difficult because I felt like I constantly had to go back over topics that I had previously studied.

Well, ~5 months later and it finally happened,... it was only at this time that I felt semi-comfortable taking the exam. I had read the book cover to cover, practiced a ton of labs on my routers/GNS3 and soaked up as much *NA applicable information as I possibly could.

I ended up passing the exam, but just barely. (I think I scored just above whatever the passing score was at that time!)

So, to make a short story even shorter, ....no, there is simply too much subject material to cover in a week; it's not gonna happen, it just isn't reality - especially if you don't already have prior Cisco experience.

Somnipotent

phoeneous wrote: »

I'm curious how I'd do. Care to share those 10 questions?

not sure what questions they ask at his, but i sat in on an interview here at sprint and some of the questions are as follows:

1. in what order would you put the the following routing protocols in terms of efficiency: eBGP, EIGRP, OSPF, ISIS, static.

2. What is VRF and what does it do?

3. Describe QOS and why you would implement it.

4. What are the top four BGP attributes?

5. What is a /27 in dotted decimal notation?

6. What are two ways routes are advertised?

7. What is the difference between a DV and a LS protocol? Name examples of each.

8. What does split horizon mean?

9. What is the default AD of EIGRP?

10. Explain how to troubleshoot a network issue given a customer cannot reach a given destination.

Heero

Somnipotent wrote: »

not sure what questions they ask at his, but i sat in on an interview here at sprint and some of the questions are as follows:

1. in what order would you put the the following routing protocols in terms of efficiency: eBGP, EIGRP, OSPF, ISIS, static.

2. What is VRF and what does it do?

3. Describe QOS and why you would implement it.

4. What are the top four BGP attributes?

5. What is a /27 in dotted decimal notation?

6. What are two ways routes are advertised?

7. What is the difference between a DV and a LS protocol? Name examples of each.

8. What does split horizon mean?

9. What is the default AD of EIGRP?

10. Explain how to troubleshoot a network issue given a customer cannot reach a given destination.

Couple of those are easily CCNP level. Not surprised though given the business Sprint is in.

Somnipotent

Heero wrote: »

Couple of those are easily CCNP level. Not surprised though given the business Sprint is in.

Yeah, my group deals with MPLS specifically... CCNA is the minimum requirement for new hires now. I got lucky in getting hired on prior to it being mandated. Needless to say, you gotta know your shiz.

lanrexng2

I really doubt that unless you have been working with CISCO products for years and even then you won't be using every topic covered on the CCNA.

If you are referring to 5 day boot-camps those in my opinion are optimized for people with experience.

I am a student still in college and I started a count down for A+, Network+, Security+, CCENT(CCNA fingers crossed) before I graduate in May so fingers crossed. I have given myself 6 months for just the CCENT

hope it works out.
Good luck

lanrexng2

I am also in the DC area and looking for study partners for Cisco etc

Somnipotent

lanrexng2 wrote: »

I am also in the DC area and looking for study partners for Cisco etc

i'll be more than happy to assist. pm me.