Giving up on ICND2

I failed the ICND2 for the 2nd time today with a 739. I just feel like the wording/presentation of the questions is way too confusing and I am sick of fighting that clock to the last second.

The sims were fair, and I did much better on them this time, but the multiple guess questions were so vague. The ICND1 questions were much more straight forward.

I am giving up on the ICND2 in favor of the composite exam which I have scheduled for Friday. I hope it is loaded with sims and ICND1 questions.

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Comments

advanex1

I would have to say thats the wrong attitude and disappointing to me as a current CCNA. If you dont know the material enough to pass ICND 2 and you are hoping for ICND1 questions, that would make you an unqualified CCNA and just a paper holder. For your sake I hope no employer has to find that out. If this is harsh, it has to be said. Take it easy.

Blackout

You just passed the CCENT like what 21 days ago? Sounds to me like your trying to rush this test, take your time bro. Slow down study the material fully, it's been two weeks since my CCENT and I am just now starting to understand OSPF, I haven't touched Frame Relay, NAT, VPN, ACL's, EIGRP. I have only finished VLSM, VLANS/STP/VTP in a course of two weeks. Took me a solid week to fully understand VLANS/STP/VTP, your only doing yourself a disservice by rushing the test.

pham0329

advanex1 wrote: »

I would have to say thats the wrong attitude and disappointing to me as a current CCNA. If you dont know the material enough to pass ICND 2 and you are hoping for ICND1 questions, that would make you an unqualified CCNA and just a paper holder. For your sake I hope no employer has to find that out. If this is harsh, it has to be said. Take it easy.

^ what he said.

What's the point of getting a CCNA if you don't know the material well enough to pass ICND2? From what I remember, ICND2 was a fairly straight forward exam. The questions were well written and wasn't confusing (unlike SWITCH..). Unless you have some time constraint, why not just reschedule and review the materials?

soooowutnow

The thing is I do understand the material. In real life you work on routers/switches etc. You don't sit there and have to memorize the multicast of an IPv6 address that you won't have to worry about for 10 yrs anyway. Those are the questions I have a beef with.

I am time constrained and that I why I am trying to cram this in. I am put approx 36 hours a week for 3 weeks into studying this material.

cisco_kidd

soooowutnow wrote: »

The thing is I do understand the material. In real life you work on routers/switches etc. You don't sit there and have to memorize the multicast of an IPv6 address that you won't have to worry about for 10 yrs anyway. Those are the questions I have a beef with.

I am time constrained and that I why I am trying to cram this in. I am put approx 36 hours a week for 3 weeks into studying this material.

The questions you have beef with is how Cisco weeds out candidates who study the bare minimum. If the exam requires you to memorize the IPV6 multicast address, then memorize it!

Also newsflash, the world has run out of IPV4 addresses early this year. The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) released their last block of IPV4 addresses in April. There are NO MORE IPV4 addresses.

One thing that helped me was Boson ex-sims. It helped me pass the CCENT, and I'm using it for the ICND2. Don't give up!

Version4

Hey soooowutnow,

I was in your shoes until today when I finally passed the ICND2. You mentioned you are under a time constraint to pass, I can understand that and appreciate it. What I would advise you to do is breathe first. I felt the same way about the test and the memorization of the "silly stuff", however when you step back and look at it, that is what sets it apart from the 802. I too thought about just taking the 802 because I know the odds are better and in my favor if I get more ICND1 type questions. However, that didn't sit well with me and I understand now that the 2 exam route is a bit more difficult than the 1 exam route.

If you can do it, re-evaluate your study habits. Are you taking notes? What material are you using? Give Chris Bryant videos a try if you haven't already. Also try the latest version of Odom's ICND2 book. The biggest thing that it sounds like you are doing is RUSHING, do not do this, that goes against you - big time. It happened to me the first time I failed the ICND2. Have patience, learn the material, focus, become the expert that you need to be in order to pass the test.

It is true that some of the material may not be used that much in your particular job function, but realize this: Cisco is not only testing your ability to understand what YOU think should be on the exam, they are testing theory and application for all topics in the ICND2 domain while at the same time pushing you to perform under pressure. If you can't perform under pressure on the exam, you probably will not fair very well in real life when it comes to real engineering work.

Take a step back, smile, breathe, and then hit the books again. You will pass it, it is only a matter of time.

soooowutnow

Thanks guys. I am using Boson, Lamell's book and extra labs for packet tracer, and CBT Nuggets. Time if definitely an issue for me. If it was up to me I would lab and study every day for 3 months but that is not happening due to time constraints. I guess I am just frustrated.

techie2012

Don't be frustrated, your success after the pass will be that much more rewarding. I would agree on using the Boson ex-sim max for study. I feel that it was tougher than the actual exam and helped me pass. I took the 640-802 simply because I hate the nervousness of taking exams and wanted to nail it in one shot. You will get there!! Also make sure to really hit on the areas that you were weak in on the exam.

method115

I know how you feel I failed ICND2 twice as well. The first time I was not ready for the test but by the time I realized that I couldn't reschedule the test so I studied as much as I could and took it.

The second time I took it I was 100% sure I was ready. I was so confident in me passing that I was already preparing for my MCITP:SA studies. Then I failed it again.

I thought about doing what you are doing just taking the CCNA but I didn't want to pay Cisco an extra $125. So I studied again came back and passed the test. Funny thing is I was less confident the third time then I was the second time.

Just keep studying try to remember what questions you didn't now and see why you didn't know them. I know it's hard studying something you feel like you already know because you basically go over a bunch of info you already know but don't give up.

asoft

ICND2 is much harder compared to ICND1. At first instance all answers seem to be correct or very close. There are two methods in answering multiple choice questions. One is to pick the right answer from the lot, and the second is to eliminate wrong answers from the given answers. If an question is confusing, the second approach is more useful.
Secondly, prepare thoroughly and ensure that you understood the topics well. Have you taken any practice tests like Boson, Transcender, or CertExams.com? Take a few practice tests from a different source than those given in your study guide. This will provide a different perspective of the questions being presented/asked.

Good luck!