CCENT Passed!

SdotLow

Passed this morning with a 937. I saw someone say the other day that it is overhyped, and I would agree 100%. Not quite the 1000/1000 I was aiming for but not bad.

What I used for studying over my 4-5 weeks, from start to finish.

1) CBT nuggets. Watching these first gives you a good idea of what you're dealing with in the books. I watched these a bit after coming on these forums to get information about what gear to buy to set up a rack.

2) Cisco Press ICND1 by Wendell Odom - Decent book. Not a fan of his writing style in all honesty. Very good resource to have nonetheless. The CD in the back has some very good test questions and using the CD alone gives you access to $20 off ExSim-Max from Boson.

3) Sybex CCENT guide by Todd Lammle - Todd is just the man. Love his writing style. Lots of labs in the books. Practice tests are mediocre at best, and that's being pretty generous lol.

4) Boson ExSIM-max practice test software - I'd say this helped quite a bit. I'd been pretty terrified by all of the accounts I'd heard about the exam and how hard it was. I was a little nervous going in to the exam but, as soon as I got a few questions in I realized how over prepared I was. Really, really, overprepared lol. If you get this thing, and understand the questions and can pass - you're good to go. I see now they guarantee it for a reason, it's very thorough.

5) ExamCram - I read this probably 3-4 times the week leading up to my test while bored at work. Just bursts of facts to keep fresh in your mind. A really good tool if you've read everything, have learned everything and have dead time leading up to your exam. Keeps you from forgetting facts, and there's lots of facts.

And of course, all of the help of the guys in these forums. You've all provided a lot of help throughout the past month when I've had problems with my rack, and things I couldn't get my head around 100%. Thanks so much!

advanex1

Congrats - I did state it was overhyped but feels great to achieve nonetheless.

Huge step forward for anyone.

SdotLow

advanex1 wrote: »

Congrats - I did state it was overhyped but feels great to achieve nonetheless.

Huge step forward for anyone.

You were absolutely right about it to. I had 50 minutes to spare. I don't think I got stuck on any question. The only thing I had trouble with, that I was unprepared for, was that multi-window nonsense during sims. I remember saying out loud during the test "REALLY?", lol.

Yeah it feels good, but not as good as I thought. I thought it was going to be a really challenging test. With how easy it seemed, I doubt it's individual value to an employer. I think my Network+ exam was rougher than that.

advanex1

Network+ was pretty easy, it was just alot of memorization in regards to flash cards for me - since CompTIA has domains setup the way that they do and the key bolded words, 75% of the test can be completed from just definitions.

On the CCENT there was one question that I was feeling dumb on, but it's not because the answer was hard to look for, but the fact that a good enough answer didn't seem to be present - so all I had to do was rule out the ones that I knew were absolutely incorrect based on the data. Eventhough the right answers looked/were worded VERY wrong, it was still easy to come up with an answer since I had knowledge of what it couldn't be.

*Edit*

The reason I went the 1 and 2 route is due to what I get from being in the military for them. Not only do I get separate credits for my college which lead to promotion points, but I also get 10 promotion points per technical certification. It's quite helpful actually and once I passed the CCENT - I was hooked. Definitely would love to specialize in the Security aspect of Cisco with some R/S background.

SdotLow

Yeah, once I started with the Cisco CBT nuggets I was hooked. I don't know if I could stomach doing Windows admin work. I tried studying for the 70-680 Windows 7 config/deployment exam and couldn't make myself do it. I actually ENJOY studying Cisco stuff, and it's fun, as nerdy as that sounds. I plan on going for the CCNA security as well, the thought of having to further work with SDM makes me cringe though.

wave

Congrats dude!! Excellent work!

On with ICND2!!

Cheers

wave

You know, there are still a hell of a lot of people on this forum who fail ICND1 simply from not being prepared enough. I'm a firm believer that if you put the work in then you'll see good results, and it won't feel as difficult.

SdotLow

wave wrote: »

You know, there are still a hell of a lot of people on this forum who fail ICND1 simply from not being prepared enough. I'm a firm believer that if you put the work in then you'll see good results, and it won't feel as difficult.

I suppose. I worried about it far more than I should have, as you know

I'm guessing I'm going to have to wait for a week day to get my CCENT icon to go below my name? I want

wave

Haha go aheah and copy mine, you know you've passed!

After reading the posts on this thread I wondered if I had studied for longer than I needed too (4mths). But, I had to learn subnetting and I know you had that down going into this SdotLow. I spent a solid two and a bit weeks on that and also had to take a couple of weeks off due to other commitments, so it was probably more like three months.

SdotLow

Yeah, I had subnetting down pretty well walking into ICND1 studies, which obviously helped quite a bit. I wasn't nearly as fast as I am now, and the method I used was piss poor but I understood it pretty well.

I'm not trying to say anything negative about anyone. I'm sure the exam could be hard if you're not prepared, or don't have the time to study (I do work 50 hours a week). But I made studying my second job and put aside everything else outside of work, and I probably didn't need to. I worried a lot, quite a lot, and I didn't really need to. I was walking into that test center expecting to barely skate through with no time left, having challenging questions, and that was totally not that case.

I guess my main concern is I'm trying to get my foot in the door and, after taking this test, I don't see an employer taking this cert serious. I wouldn't, it feels like a CompTIA cert to me.

I hope CCNA is much more challenging, and subsequently more valuable.

wave

To me the CCNA is the real goal.

wave

Actually, the CCNP and beyond is the real goal. Every exam in a stepping stone

SdotLow

wave wrote: »

To me the CCNA is the real goal.

A job doing something I enjoy is my real goal.

mark_s0

Excellent score, well done on getting that CCENT! Sounds like your hard work really paid off!

Good luck on the rest of your studies.

andy4tech

Congrats on your pass.People sometimes are well prepared for the test but emotional they are not,so the test may be hard in such situation.

GreenLantern

congrats. good luck on the icnd2

maddem

Congrats!

wave

SdotLow wrote: »

Yeah, I had subnetting down pretty well walking into ICND1 studies, which obviously helped quite a bit. I wasn't nearly as fast as I am now, and the method I used was piss poor but I understood it pretty well.

I'm not trying to say anything negative about anyone. I'm sure the exam could be hard if you're not prepared, or don't have the time to study (I do work 50 hours a week). But I made studying my second job and put aside everything else outside of work, and I probably didn't need to. I worried a lot, quite a lot, and I didn't really need to. I was walking into that test center expecting to barely skate through with no time left, having challenging questions, and that was totally not that case.

I guess my main concern is I'm trying to get my foot in the door and, after taking this test, I don't see an employer taking this cert serious. I wouldn't, it feels like a CompTIA cert to me.

I hope CCNA is much more challenging, and subsequently more valuable.

50 hours/week! Wow, you're lucky to have that much time available!

I bet when you hit BGP and more complex areas as you work your way up that pyramid, you'll be sure to find many challenges ha! And hey, we might all have been over prepared, but that's a good thing! Now we're a step ahead of everyone else. I'm certain that extra knowledge will be useful for ICND2, CCNP...or what ever path you choose.

sizeon

Can you tell us the type of questions that were in the ICND1 exam?

wave

Sizeon, no, we have signed a NDA

charunanda

congrats

melcredo

congrats on the pass sir.

...sir do u have any idea on the credibility of the ******** sim exams??? thanks in advance for the reply

SdotLow

melcredo wrote: »

congrats on the pass sir.

...sir do u have any idea on the credibility of the ******** sim exams??? thanks in advance for the reply

Huh?

If your question is about the simulations on the exam, well, I have no comment.

If it was in relation to the Exsim-Max practice exam then yes, it's a very good exam. I don't agree with some of the bogus questions they put on it, as it gives you a lot of false concerns, and because of the NDA not many people want to touch on whether or not those types of questions are on the exam. If it's not in the Cisco press book I'd venture to guess you won't see it on the exam. But otherwise, very in depth and challenging practice exam. Harder than the real one I'd say.

lrb

Great work mate!

whatthehell

Congratz on the pass!

SdotLow

wave wrote: »

50 hours/week! Wow, you're lucky to have that much time available!

I bet when you hit BGP and more complex areas as you work your way up that pyramid, you'll be sure to find many challenges ha! And hey, we might all have been over prepared, but that's a good thing! Now we're a step ahead of everyone else. I'm certain that extra knowledge will be useful for ICND2, CCNP...or what ever path you choose.

50 hours right now, from September to November I'll be doing 60-70 hours per week. I was hoping to land an IT job before October so I could avoid the nightmare that is closely approaching at work, but that's not looking like it's going to happen.

Already watched the first half of the CBT nuggets this weekend and I can say that it's much different than ICND1, lol! Looking like it'll be much more of a challenge.