Best CCNP bootcamp

Has anybody taken a CCNP boot camp from any IT training companies?

I was looking at either the Intense School 12-day boot camp with onsite CCNP testing, or the Global Knowledge 15 day (3 separate weeks) training sessions.

Cost and location are not a concern. Any insight would be great.

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Technito

CheesyBread wrote: »

Has anybody taken a CCNP boot camp from any IT training companies?

I was looking at either the Intense School 12-day boot camp with onsite CCNP testing, or the Global Knowledge 15 day (3 separate weeks) training sessions.

Cost and location are not a concern. Any insight would be great.

I've always heard bad things about bootcamps when it comes to the big certifications. For entry level certs like A+, Net+ etc, the 5, 7 or 10 day bootcamp course will typically get one through the exam. But CCNP is I believe is 7 exams, and covers a LOT of information. Unless you are a highly experienced networking professional and already know most of the material, I wouldn't recommend it. I think it would be more beneficial to take it one exam at a time and find yourself a reputable CBT provider. Too many stories I've heard from people that they regret wasting their money on one of those bootcamps. And I somewhat fall into that category myself :P.

cyberguypr

Technito wrote: »

I've always heard bad things about bootcamps when it comes to the big certifications. For entry level certs like A+, Net+ etc, the 5, 7 or 10 day bootcamp course will typically get one through the exam. But CCNP is I believe is 7 exams, and covers a LOT of information. Unless you are a highly experienced networking professional and already know most of the material, I wouldn't recommend it. I think it would be more beneficial to take it one exam at a time and find yourself a reputable CBT provider. Too many stories I've heard from people that they regret wasting their money on one of those bootcamps. And I somewhat fall into that category myself :P.

The only way CCNP is 7 exams is if you go for voice and count the CCNA and CCNA Voice exams. I think OP is talking about basic CCNP, which is 3 exams.

pham0329

12 days for the CCNP??

I know bootcamps are 8 hours every day, but even then, 12 days to cover everything in the CCNP is pretty short. I don't know if you would be able to remember half the things you guys go over.

spiderjericho

I've probably touched upon the CCNP material about three times. The first time was in a 13-day bootcamp with American Interactive: American Interactive - CCNP Accelerated Certification Training If you're just pursuing the certification, then programs like this or UKI/Global Knowledge are good. They'll help you pass the exams. However in the short term, you won't learn or retain anything. You're just being taught how to pass a test. There's no way they can bestow upon you more than 1,500+ pages of information in that time plus lab time. But if you're getting an employer to pay for it, then there's nothing wrong with attending and then learning later.

Joshuab009

My company sends folks to the Global Knowledge boot camps (3 separate weeks). Always have great success. That being said, all that attend are already seasoned IT Professionals working at the CCNP level on a day to day basis.

CheesyBread

Thanks for the responses.

I'd first like to say that I wouldn't be going into the class blind. I read around 5000 pages of CCNA material before I attended the bootcamps, and I would probably match that moving forward to the CCNP training.

The CCNP is 3 tests. I went to Global Knowledge ICND1 and ICND2 classes, and passed both tests without much grief. Basically just go to class, and take the test whenever you want.

Two of my coworkers are attending a 5 day CCNA bootcamp from a place called Infosec Intense School. The CCNP bootcamp here is 12 days, 12 hours a day. You take the CCNP tests at the training. day 4 you take SWITCH, day 8 you take ROUTE, and day 12 you take TSHOOT.

JaCkNiFe

CheesyBread wrote: »

Has anybody taken a CCNP boot camp from any IT training companies?

I was looking at either the Intense School 12-day boot camp with onsite CCNP testing, or the Global Knowledge 15 day (3 separate weeks) training sessions.

Cost and location are not a concern. Any insight would be great.

This is worth taking a look at. Brian Dennis (5xCCIE) and Brian McGahan (CCIEx3) are hosting live boot camps including a 5-day CCNP R/S bootcamp. If I wasn't just now finishing up the NP I would be there. These guys are an amazing crew.

Best of luck in your search!

xirtlook

Training Camp Home Page
- Sunset Learning Institute

I have personally attended TrainingCamp on a few occasions... just not the CCNP.
going to try to self-study for the tests, but if that doesnt prove successful after a few attempts, thats where I'm going.

My company likes sunset.

CiscoSandwich

Hello Xirtlook, I'm considering Trainingcamp for ccna, could you tell me what you think of them? I've been self studying for several months and I don't think I'm a complete noob but this would be my first cert.

Thank you so much for any info you have on them.

nickelito

I would recommend buying one or more online video bootcamps instead of a class room bootcamp.

Why?

- You can set your own pace
- Focus on weak areas instead of having to sit through a day or two with techs you already know
- You can replay videos to cement your knowledge.
- We all have bad days, insufficient sleep, family issues etc.. videos will always be there for when it suits you to study.

What turns me off about classroom training is that we are all different on how we learn and WHEN we learn to our fullest potential. I tend to peak at absorbing information around midnight, in a dark room with no distractions.

tl.dr:

The steps I take when learning:

1. CBT Nuggets video series
- They are great for "breaking the ice" on new concepts. You gotta learn how to walk before you can run and Jeremy Cioara does a great job of breaking concepts down and making things simple to understand.
- The series does however lack in depth, so the next step is...

2. Chris Bryants full CCNP bootcamp on Udemy.com - great price! together with INEs CCNP bootcamp videos.
- Great depth, more real-world scenarios and explains things "around" the topics if you know what i mean.

3. When I have a good knowledge about the technologies and I need just that little extra to feel that I fully understand it:
- Cisco documentation
- Google

4. Refresh knowledge.
- After spending time zooming in on various technologies its easy to start forgetting the details on things you studied 2 weeks back.
- Thats when I go back and look at notes, watch the CBT nuggets again.

edit: just realized this is a 5 year old thread and you're already a CCNP, but oh well :P