Which way to go with CCNA?

eddie174

I am debating which way to go with CCNA. I am wondering if it is better just to jump right into the CCNA 200-120 than to take both the ICND 1 100-101 and the ICND 2 200-101? any advice or suggestions?

WilyOne

Depends on your starting point. If you're already very familiar with the fundamentals and have some experience, you may be able to go for the combo exam. Otherwise you should probably take the two exam path.

Serpente

The CCNA single exam is very tough and is really only for people with lots of experience or those re-certifying. One of the biggest issues with the single exam is time: you have to know the material extremely well and need to be extremely fast in order to finish it.

So my advice is: take the two exam path unless you have a lot of networking/cisco experience. You will hear a lot of people say that the single CCNA exam is harder than the CCNP because of the amount of topics it covers.

NetworkVeteran

I've always taken the combo exam--it makes sense if you already have a bit of experience with Cisco routers/switches, or have previously otherwise taken networking courses. Otherwise, I recommend the two-exam route. After all, if you pass it costs the same, and if you fail one of them it costs you less and you may have a CCENT to show for it.

eddie174

I'm taking the Cisco net academy through school, lots of labs and we are covering the new topics. I feel pretty comfortable with most of the router side of the house and the routing protocols. This quarter is switching, WAN and some wireless. The instructors are recommending that we just take the CCNA and get it over with; they also insist that the final is pretty similar to the CCNA. Apparently on completion they have an option of letting us take the CCNA practice exam from Cisco. We have had a majority that jumped right into the CCNA pass; but that was the old CCNA..I guess when I get closer to the end I will make my decision. I get a discount either way as long as I get an 80 on the final so we will see.

fredrikjj

eddie174 wrote: »

I am debating which way to go with CCNA. I am wondering if it is better just to jump right into the CCNA 200-120 than to take both the ICND 1 100-101 and the ICND 2 200-101? any advice or suggestions?

I think you'll find that the number of people who have taken ICND1/2 and the CCNA exam are few and far between, making direct comparisons difficult. However, taking two exams will expose weak areas to a larger extent because you're essentially getting twice as many questions on the same topics. On the other hand, with the combined exam you need to know more things at the same time. There is no right answer.

Routerronin

Found out the track you like the best and go to at least the professional level. The cisco universe is large, indeed.