No IOS experience. How long might study take?

DoubleNNs

I have absolutely no Cisco IOS experience. I have my net+ however.

Would it be completely unrealistic to try to pass the CCENT after 6 weeks of studying? I'm trying to plan out my 2013 cert goals.

goldenlight

Take as long as you need to prepare for the CCent. I'm using the Cisco Netacademy to review for the ccent/ CCNA.. Then study each objective on the Cisco website and do pervue Practice TEst to see where I am week at.

goldenlight

Also cbtNUgget videos help. Better instructors then Public institutions.

Wish they had DVDs. I would purchase them in a heart beat.

oli356

I wouldn't say it would be unrealistic, hard though. No one can answer this but you though.

Will you be studying for an hour a day.... you have no job so therefore studying 4+ hours a day? etc etc
Good luck

DoubleNNs

Well, I ask because I'm taking a year off from university - set to return this may for summer session. I'm trying to get as much cert knowledge as I can b4 then. I know once I start school back up again I'm not gonna wanna even look at any book outside of my curriculum, let alone open it to read it.

As of now I'm working part time. But by the end of Dec I'll have my A+, N+, & S+ - CompTIA Trio, so I might try to get some full time temp work starting Jan to get work experience, seeing as I haven't gotten an IT job yet (even tho I have sent out numerous applications).

So I'm trying to get certain Certs as fast as possible. Net+ took me 4 weeks. I have a very basic understanding of networking concepts from that. Would it take me that long to make the jump to CCENT after? (Judging from other people's experiences w/ the material.)

martell1000

6 weeks is a tight scedule to do ccent for someone new to the cisco world. i would say it depends on how fast you are able to learn and what materials you use.

for me ccent took about 3 month but i didnt know about this forum back then and had to put together my whole learning material setup by my own.
hardest thing about ccent is not the material, it is beeing new to this whole cisco universe.

so i guess if you really dive into it and check back your approach with people who already did it you can give it a shot. at least you can earn some basic ios skills and get an impression if you really want to go down that path.

Ismaeljrp

I'm still preparing for CCENT, and it's been 2 months now. Although I think I'm ready, just can't afford the test this month. I would say If you have the N+ topics completely mastered, then you've saved yourself a lot of study time. For you, I would say 80 hrs should be more than enough. I like to count in hours studied, not weeks or months, as that will vary on how you could spread it out.

But this is thinking that you actually dominate the N+ topics, which covers so many of the same fundamentals as CCENT. If you don't have a mastery of it, and just have a "paper cert", then I'd say prepare for anywhere between 120-200 hrs.

QHalo

It took me 90 days from start to finish both exams. You can certainly do the CCENT in 6 weeks if you use your time wisely. I was studying about 1-2 hours a day and a bit longer on the weekends. I had no IOS experience but I had network fundamental experience. I had a physical lab and used Chris Bryant's stuff. He was very thorough.

DoubleNNs

Ismaeljrp wrote: »

But this is thinking that you actually dominate the N+ topics, which covers so many of the same fundamentals as CCENT. If you don't have a mastery of it, and just have a "paper cert", then I'd say prepare for anywhere between 120-200 hrs.

I scored ~ an 850/900 on the N+. I know the concepts, and know them pretty well. I haven't looked at the CCENT objectives, seeing as I don't plan on starting it for another month and a half, but I feel like my main problem would be the IOS stuff and lack of hands-on experience.

QHalo wrote: »

It took me 90 days from start to finish both exams. You can certainly do the CCENT in 6 weeks if you use your time wisely. I was studying about 1-2 hours a day and a bit longer on the weekends. I had no IOS experience but I had network fundamental experience. I had a physical lab and used Chris Bryant's stuff. He was very thorough.

CCNA within 3 months? That sounds reassuring. Even if I can't do it within 3 months, at least shows something like passing after 4-5 months of consistent studying would be possible. I might even change my goal to just start in Jan and get my CCNA before going back to school in late May.

I'll probably be aiming for an avg of 15-20 study hrs a week. But if I'm working full time during that period, might be hard execute.

Ismaeljrp

In that case you're in pretty good shape, to be honest, CCENT does not go deep into configuration in IOS. It's mostly Fundamentals, and how Cisco products work in general. Definately try practice tests though. The one thing I can say is the test is very scenario based, so we have to have a thorough understanding of the processes that happen in any given question.

goldenlight

Take labbing into consideration. Some labs take a while to complete. Especially the "Challenge Labs".


Not sure how it is with the CCent. I'm Just reviewing everything before I even try to take IND1 and INd2

DoubleNNs

goldenlight wrote: »

Not sure how it is with the CCent. I'm Just reviewing everything before I even try to take IND1 and INd2

The CCENT is the INCD1.

Roguetadhg

You earn the CCENT by passing the ICND1.
You'll then earn the CCNA by passing the ICND2.

You can pass the CCNA Composite exam and get your CCNA. But you won't have earned the CCENT. Which isn't a big deal.

DoubleNNs

Yeah, I realize that.

But, to digress from the original topic of this thread, what would employers think about someone w/ a CCENT and no experience trying to gain some versus someone with a CCNA and no experience trying to get foot in door? I read in another thread on this forum that CCNA isn't entry level and a candidate holding it w/o any other related credentials could actually be detrimental to whether an employer considers them.
Does anyone agree w/ that?

Brandon1981

Just throwing this method out there, it worked for me on ICND2 (the time that I passed anyway .

For book work...

• Get a good book from Cisco Press (Odom) and read it word for word.
• As you read, have a laptop open with a spreadsheet open.
• On the spreadsheet, make a "questions" column and an "answers" column.
• As you read, make questions for yourself along with the answers.
• Upload this spreadsheet into a free flash card program (just Google "free flash card program")
• Test yourself like crazy, until the stuff is burned into your brain.

This method allows you to learn pretty quickly. Better than taking pen/paper notes if you ask me.

I like using Cisco Press books because they are coming straight from Cisco, and you don't really have to worry about accuracy.

Also, use free subnetting tools like the one linked in my sig, or subnettingquestions.com. KNOW YOUR SUBNETTING! CAN'T STRESS THAT ENOUGH.

Use GNS3, and lab like crazy! You can use the multi-layer switches to roughly simulate switching. Learn how to save your labs so you don't spend 1/2 hour configuring your network before finally working on whatever your it is you're working on.

The question of how long it will take you is really up to you. Arm yourself with what you need, and the answer lies with you. How hard to you want to work for it?

Good luck! PM me if you have questions.

Roguetadhg

It depends. Its all about how you do in the interview, and the person's thoughts about the certification. Some consider CCNA "Entry" as it was the "Entry" certification. Others won't and will throw out someone without experience.

I think it's "Do you have any IT experience" for those with CCNA. Whereas if you go beyond CCNA (NP/IE), it'll become "Do you have networking​ experience?"

Either way, be prepared when you go into the interview. Do your best to be the "other" guy that knows, cares, and has some degree of fire behind them.