CCNA Composite vs. ICND2

jdancer

I am almost done with my ICND2 studies.

However, after reading some threads here on how hard ICND2 is, will it be wiser to just take the CCNA composite exam instead?

I already have my CCENT (ICND1) certification.

Thanks for the info!

ccnxjr

The composite exam costs as much as ICND1 + ICND2 or thereabouts.
However it means greater chance of failure.
I am aware of several people who did opt for the composite after taking ICND1 and were satisfied in going that route.

It boils down to how comfortable you are with the material .
I took the ICND2 exam twice, so even though i wanted to save a few $ i ended up paying the same amount if i took the composite.
On the other hand, if I failed the composite, a retake would've been more expensive!

Remember it is a knowledge-based test, so while some amount of luck is factored into it, you can still get by if you have a solid understanding of all the material. I would dare say that the questions that you miss might boil down to a weak understanding of the material or a mis-interpretation of the question.
There's also a matter of test technique. We all know at least one person that has a lot of book-knowledge, certificates and excellent grades but are completely clueless in a production environment.
It's no secret that multiple choice tests will have at least two answers that are very similar to each other, sometimes the questions itself might contain unnecessary information, which is not a factor in determining the answer, but because it's there you may get the nagging feeling that your missing something by not using it in determining your answer. (think about the real world, when your investigating an obscure problem by going through logs, think of how much information in an event log will not factor into the problem? )