Yet Another ICND2 Fail

Hey all,

I almost hate posting yet another fail thread, but I'm looking for some words of encouragement, so where else to turn, right? I failed it with a score of 678/825 .... by long shot IMO. I felt I had studied rather well and was very confident during the test. Being that I felt well going through it I don't even know where to start reviewing (I know the post-exam summary sheet tells me where I did terrible

, but still ... I don't want to start from the beginning again.) What did you guys do after failing?

My study materials were Odom ICND2 book, 31 days before your CCNA and packet tracer (RANET labs.) Since my test I found INE's CCNA streaming videos and I'm going to get a practice test engine, but I just can't find the motivation to continue studying. I suppose I'm burnt out from studying so hard before my exam. Any time I try to sit down and continue, I find myself doing something else. It's already been a week and a half, so any excuse of a break to recoop isn't valid anymore. I NEED to get this behind me and get certified, but I'm just lacking the get-up-and-go right now. Any tips? Thanks for your help!!

~Flex

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Comments

seansabian

Hey Flex, I have failed ICND2 three times and I'm scheduled to retake the test on June 13. However, what I did after my last failure (December 2011) was to take some time to consider what I did not know. And I discovered that I did not know best route, EIGRP, OSPF, ACL, and IPv6. I mean I read and answered questions about them but did not know the minute details. So, I went through CBT nuggets and took notes. And I discovered and read Cisco CCNA Study Guide by Aaron Balchunas at Routeralley.com (free resource). And I compared and contrasted the coverage of the above topics across several resources (Odom, Lammle, Balchunas, CBT nuggets, etc.). And I was using packet tracer but then I bought some routers (my weak area). I started working on the labs at Howtonetwork.com to see if I could remember the commands by heart. And then I compare the solutions at howtonetwork.com to how I configure the lab. Sometimes I nail it and sometimes it nails me but I'm really working to understand why the solution is the solution. And I work on it; a little bit everyday. Now I want to add that I have several years of IT experience and Cisco switch experience. However, I realized that just like it takes time to get to know someone, it takes time to get to know Cisco. I hope this helps.

Keep at it. You'll get it. Good Luck

hitm4n04

why dont u use braindumps then?

fluk3d

hitm4n04 wrote: »

why dont u use braindumps then?

Why would you suggest someone ****?

cyberguypr

Really, braindumps? That is your solution?

veritas_libertas

Simple, because Flexxy wants to be employable upon passing the CCNA. If you **** your way through than you probably don't know the material.

@Flexxy: Good luck with your studies. I'm finding the material a little more overwhelming than I had thought it would be.

chaser7783

Sorry to hear that you did not pass, have you looked at your score print out and see what area you were low on? I failed my first composite test, looked at low scores and focuses on those. I re-read Odoms book over the topics, watched CBT nuggets, and hit the lab work.

I took about a week to brush up on all the topics, about 4 hrs a day after work, and it paid off. Took the test again and felt more confident and ready. Just make sure that you not only read the content but truly understand it. Also do not resort to brain ****, you will not be learning anything other to regurgitate information, and in the end will be cheating yourself.

Roguetadhg

hitm4n04 wrote: »

why dont u use braindumps then?

No. Just no. Besides not being correct, it's also a guanteed way to be stripped of your certification. There's a giant pool of cisco exams, and they've been known to change often. So You've spent $$$ to memorize answers to questions and if you need to do anything with your certification it's a waste of money.

However, I do recommend buying practice tests from Boson. It'll help you look at the weak areas, as the questions are scored like the real exam. They're not real questions, and it's safe. I used this option because it helped me realize that I did actually need to do more switch studying.

flexxy86

Thanks Guys! Don't worry ... Braindumps didn't even enter my mind. I actually want to get something out of all the time spent trying to get this cert. I just need to giddy up and get going.

@veritas_libertas: some of the stuff I've never used in my work experiences are absolutely harder to get down

@seansabian: IPv6 is definitely foreign to me and getting all the changed addresses down pat needs to be done. Also it'd be beneficial to me to get the wan & routing protocols down better. Luckily I'm pretty confident in my ACLS and subnetting. Good luck to you in June!

@chaser7783 I did look over that sheet. I was disappointed in that overview though because I felt like I did better in a few of the sections than it said I did, but I guess was wrong. I am going to use that as a guideline to my reviewing though.

@Roguetadhg I feel that I'd benefit from the Boson tests ... better than taking it again and failing just to see where I need more work!

Thanks for the words of encouragement! It's exactly what I needed.

Slowhand

Sorry to hear you didn't pass, flexxy86. Hopefully you can knock it out of the park the next time.

If you're having trouble with certain topics, don't be afraid to go out and find other resources to study from, outside the official ICND2/CCNA curriculum. Regarding IPv6, for example , I can't recommend Understanding IPv6 strongly enough.

jamesleecoleman

flexxy86 wrote: »

Hey all,

I almost hate posting yet another fail thread, but I'm looking for some words of encouragement, so where else to turn, right? I failed it with a score of 678/825 .... by long shot IMO. I felt I had studied rather well and was very confident during the test. Being that I felt well going through it I don't even know where to start reviewing (I know the post-exam summary sheet tells me where I did terrible , but still ... I don't want to start from the beginning again.) What did you guys do after failing?

My study materials were Odom ICND2 book, 31 days before your CCNA and packet tracer (RANET labs.) Since my test I found INE's CCNA streaming videos and I'm going to get a practice test engine, but I just can't find the motivation to continue studying. I suppose I'm burnt out from studying so hard before my exam. Any time I try to sit down and continue, I find myself doing something else. It's already been a week and a half, so any excuse of a break to recoop isn't valid anymore. I NEED to get this behind me and get certified, but I'm just lacking the get-up-and-go right now. Any tips? Thanks for your help!!

~Flex

Can you give us the score report scores????

I suggest using this set for subnetting:

Practice Subnet Skills: A Place to Practice Your Subnetting Skills

seansabian

@Flex Thanks for the encouragement! I look forward to earning my CCNA on that day.

@Slowhand Thanks for the reference. I will check it out.