Mixing Cisco with Windows (studying at the same time)

RomBUS

Hello I kinda need some advice with my current situation...I am currently studying for the Windows 7 Configuring exam (70-680) and I am planning to take this exam eventually. Now I've always wanted to start some Cisco learning at some point in my IT life but never gotten the chance to re-learn (was learning the IOS commands in college) the basics. Now a very cool co-worker gave me his CBT nuggets for the first Cisco exam (ICND1<--sp?) and I wanted to pick it up and study that with these videos first just to get an idea. Now my current job I do not even touch the Cisco devices we have (we have a couple ASA's and our gateway) but want to still learn some Cisco. Now I do not want to be a CCIE or anything like that (at least not even close to thinking that right now) but just to get the first couple under my belt and familiarize myself with the IOS and maybe get the security side of it after. Now my question is should I start the CBT nuggets for the Cisco or do not because I am currently studying for a Windows exam? I mean usually its not a bad idea to study for multiple exams but they are usually in the same field...what do you guys think?

buzzkill

Go for it, it keeps it interesting to mix things up and they're sufficiently different so you won't start typing IOS commands into a powershell window.

KenC

Mmm, bit of a strange post for someone with your certifications. I cannot see why you should not go for both certs, but I would advise you to do one first, then the other.

jamesleecoleman

Go for it. People study multiple certifications at the same time. It's great that you can practice by using an OS and then applying the network theory behind computer communicating with each other. You'll get a better understanding of troubleshooting networking when you start to put multiple things together (desktop, router, switch, ASA, and whatever).

odysseyelite

considering its the ICDN1 exam I'd say for it. You won't have any problems with study it and windows 7 at the same time. If it were some of the higher end certs like route, swtich, cissp I would say to focus on one or the other. The stuff you learn in ICnd1 is a good foundation for any windows guy. You need to know subnetting no matter if you are cisco guy, ms guy or linux guy.

kurosaki00

Agree with most of the guys, go for both.
Its normal to study/practice more than one subject in a dialy basis.
The only scenario I would tell you otherwise is if it was an extremely complex cert or if you didnt had time/limited time

xbuzz

Well i'd personally just knock out 1 cert at a time, but everyone's different. Even the first cisco exam cannot be taken lightly, i'm not saying it's imba hard, but as long as you realise you will need to know basically everything, in detail, then you will have no problems.

CBTnuggets videos are awesome for cisco. They don't go as far indepth as you need to go, but jeremy explain the concepts REALLY well, and the videos are as entertaining as any tv show normally, so it's not like study at all. I would say when you are tired studying for your other exam, throw on CBT nuggets.

For the icnd1 exam, you will prob need another source of learning other than cbtnuggets, such as wendell odoms book, or chris bryants material. Odoms book is alot dryer, but he goes into alot of detail. Chris bryants stuff is excellent also, it strikes a happy medium between cbt nuggets videos and odoms book. It gives you the info, but it's alot easier to read.

Brain_Power

I would concentrate solely on one vendor. By mixing up the study material, your exam preparation could potentially suffer, thereby not producing a passing score. Memorization is hard when learning two totally different sets of material. Just my 2 cents...

pwjohnston

I don't know if it's just me, but Cisco made a lot more sense to me after I started learning Linux. Not that I would even remotely consider myself a Cisco or Linux expert, but just my two cents.