Approximate hours of study to pass Network plus....no networking experience

Ricohtech1984 · April 2016

Hello....I am interested in the thoughts of those who have passed Network plus and the time that was invested in gaining the knowledge to pass the test. I work for Ricoh Corp. and allowed my Network plus cert to expire last May, at the suggestion of my manager. Over a hundred techs, including myself were put through a bootcamp and all passed the test in about a week of preparation in 2012. I do not use networking skills to perform on my job, but Ricoh Cop. now has made it mandatory for my classification to have A plus and Net plus. I attempted the test again last December utilizing basically the same companies test material and prep for N10-006, but I was overwhelmed on the test and failed with a score of 659. I did use Mike Meyers videos, e-learning videos, and some other prep material, but it wasn't enough. Without any networking skills or job related experience in networking, approximately how many study hours would be an estimate to achieve the knowledge to just pass the test? A lot of the service techs who have the A+ cert already are not able to pass N+, with the little time (40-80 hrs.) given to study for the test. I have read Mike Meyers All in one book now twice, have the Pearson Vue simulations material, and some Skillsoft test prep material I am going over and over again. Also using flashcards to help. I'm trying to convince my employer that this is really going to take 250 to 300 hours of study prep, but they don't believe me. Am I out of line here? Funny thing is, through some research, I am finding out people working in the IT industry are having a hard time passing this test. Please provide your thoughts, anyone please?
Thanks

Plantwiz · April 2016

40-80 hours should be more than enough to prepare for the NET+ exam.

Download the objectives and work through them. Much will be definitions and if you have the Meyers' text you should be fine, but you may wish to add a CramBook or Sybex for a alternative perspective. 200+ hours is a bit overkill, particularly since you are fairly close to passing your exam.

Which area(s) did your report highlight as weak? Spend a little more time on those areas and go at the exam again. You'll be fine, but you will have to put out some honest study time.

636-555-3226 · April 2016

Ah I remember my Network+ days... Tough topics, lots new to me, most of it was me saying "who the heck actually needs to know any of this crap." Years later I look back and laugh at my old self now realizing just how much learning that material paved the way for so much more..... It's a tough topic if you're new to it, but if you spend the time to actually **learn** the material (not just enough to pass the test), then you'll both ace the test and be set up for your next stage in career development. The amount of time it takes is different for everybody - some people soak up stuff like a sponge (i'm fortunate in that regard), while others just need to keep pounding the things into their brain until it sinks in. Keep at it, try to not just memorize the material but figure out how to relate it to something in your life and it'll be easier to remember

adrenaline19 · April 2016

I learned Astronomy in college for a class I never attended. I took two exams and received an A on both after a night of studying for each.

I studied for the Net+ for hours every day for several weeks and failed on my first attempt.

My advice is study smarter not harder. If you are using crappy materials, a year isn't long enough. If you have great material, 12 hours might cut it.

thomas_ · April 2016

How are you studying? I know you mentioned that you read a book twice, watched videos, and used flashcards. Did you take notes while you were reading? Did you make your own flashcards or are you using your own flashcards?

I find taking notes really helps me. I will also type the notes up and create flashcards of them using the Brainscape app. I think taking the time to make your own flashcards is a lot more beneficial than just using flashcards that someone else made.

Do you know how to subnet or did you just read about it? I always recommend for Network+ and CCNA to have your subnetting down solid. Once again writing it out and going through the process really helped me learn it, it might help you as well.

AverageJoe · April 2016

Well, let me be the one to say that I do think you're out of line. If you need 250-300 hours of preparation to pass Network+ then as a manager I would certainly expect that to be your time, not the company's. Why? Because your company already put you through a boot camp for it (though it was a while ago) and you already passed the test.

So your company thought enough of the training and certification (and you!) to pick up the tab for you, but then you opted to let it expire. Now you basically want to bill the company for 250-300 hours so you can reaccomplish the certification that they already paid you to accomplish. That's basically about 7 weeks of fulltime employment that you want to dock them because you failed to keep the certification that they paid for up to date.

To be fair, I'm not heartless, and if one of my employees came to me and said they need a few hours a day for a couple of weeks to prep for an exam I'd certainly consider it, but that'd be a total of maybe 30 hours over 2 weeks. Big difference between that and what you're asking for.

Now maybe you're not talking about using company time at all, and you're just trying to explain to your boss why it's taking you so long to pass the exam. If that's the case, if you tested in December it's been well over 250 hours since December... pass the test already.

And the last point I'll make is that you didn't exactly score a zero on the test. You scored a 659 and needed a 720. You only missed it by 61 points. That's less than 10%. I'm not saying you should only try to increase your knowledge by 10%, but it's not like you have to learn everything from scratch. You just need to focus on the areas you're weakest in and fine tune the other areas. Hurry up and take the test again already.

Just my 2 cents.

Russ5813 · April 2016

Some of the material you mentioned is comprehensive, so I doubt the problem lies with your resources. You just need to find a learning method that's going to work for you. Also make sure you understand the material and aren't just trying to memorize facts. If you understand those concepts, you'll be able to work through difficult problems by process of elimination. 250 hours is overkill. Also, my two cents about the Skillsoft vids: They're good for a light refresher, but don't lean too heavily on them to pass the exam. I'd actually drop them altogether because they are so time-consuming.

Ricohtech1984 · April 2016

AverageJoe,

Thanks for your 2 cents. I was not offered CE to recertify, as the managers did not have their act together and didn't realize that was an option in May, 2015. If you reread the my first post, you will see it was the advice of my manager to let the cert expire, not mine. Why? Becasuse I am a copier/MFD tech that is responsible for a whole school district here in Texas, and there was no one to cover my territory at the time. Schools were in session in May. It was management's idea that I could just retake the test after studying again for a week or two. I was given some time in July, 2015, but no guidance from them, basically I was on my own. Our "bootcamp" in 2012 consisted of a "learn Acronyms and learn how to read a test question and answer it, as you will see it again", from ***********. So, with no guidance, I bought the SaaS online for $315 last July out of my own pocket (*********** software again), was repeatedly getting 90% correct from the over 1000 questions, and retook the test. Additionally, out of my own pocket, I purchased the M Myers videos, and looked online for other free test questions (examcompass), and others.

Fast forward to December 2015....I thought I was ready and took the test. I had put about 100 hours additionally of my own time in studying, and scheduled the test. I was not "prepared" for this test, obviously, failed it due to the test format being so much different than the N10-004 test nearly 4 years ago. I had no idea there would be 8 simulations, testing your ability, as well as other 25-30 scenario based questions I struggled with.
My original question was what is a fair amount of time needed to pass the test without any Networking skills. My prior "bootcamp" in 2012 was of no assistance helping me with knowledge of Networking. I did not take A+ prior to doing this, as my employer suggested in 2012 to do the Network plus because it has only one test you need to pass. I Do Not Use Networking, of any kind, to perform my job, so am not gaining any skillsets on the job to help with the certification. After reading Mike Meyer's book, I am now much more prepared than 4 months ago. All of my extra hours studying since December have been on "my time". To make matters worse, my employer put me on probation in December until I get this certification passed. I am losing 7 - 8 % of my Salary as a bonus because of this. They have also threatened me with termination. They will pay for the second attempt, if I pass it, but if not, it's on my dime. I have done a lot of research, all over the internet, and many are struggling with this N10-006 version. I guess I would like to be as fully prepared as possible before I attempt the test again.

Sad thing is, I don't use any of this to perform my job. It would kind of be like asking one of the skilled networking people on this forum to come over to my side of the world and expect you to be able to service a 135 copy per minute machine, after completing a two week course (providing you could pass the training, which I seriously doubt), putting you in the field and expect you to service the machine on a passing level. It actually takes about 2 years to be efficient on a Segment 5-6 machine. I've been in this industry for 32 years, and I understand my company is trying to gear it's strategies to a more "services led" company. All of the MFD manufacturers are doing this, such as Canon, Minolta, and Konica.

Any suggestions are appreciated. I am going to attempt the test again later this month

Ricohtech1984 · April 2016

A little follow up on my last post. I said I don't use networking of any kind on my job. That's not true. I do set up up scanning and printing on MFD's when needed and do know how to use utilities such us Ipconfig, Ping, and DNS, but that's about it. I can connect my computer up to a MFD, and test the equipment, but that's about as advanced as we go at this. Anything beyond the RJ45 jack at the patch cable is probably considered my "demarc".

AverageJoe · April 2016

Thanks for the additional info, Ricohtech1984. It does help put it all in perspective.

What you're missing is that the number of hours needed to prepare will differ based on experience and, frankly, natural aptitude for networking material. If you read the messages on this board you'll see that some people pass the exam with no experience and just reading through a book. Others study painstakingly. Many people here chide about how easy most CompTIA exams are. Others struggle to pass. Some give up.

So here are two bits of advice worth exactly what you're paying for it. The first has to do with attitude and the other has to do with the actual certification.

Regarding attitude, put out of your head that a manager advised you to let the cert expire and stop researching how people are having a hard time passing the test. Neither is helping you. Focus on your issue: that you have to pass now. It doesn't matter what a manager said years ago (I'm sure he or she was giving advice based on what was known at the time--that info is old and no longer relevant). And it doesn't matter that some people have a tough time passing. A) The number who have passed is pretty huge!

If everyone passed the certification wouldn't mean very much, would it?

Regarding the certification exam, take the test as soon as possible. A lot of people fall into the trap of wanting to learn everything before they test, especially if they've had a bad testing experience. Don't try to know it all; you never will. Heck, some of it is just luck... we all guess on some questions, and you just happened to guess wrong on a few too many that day.

I'll add this: if it were me, I would take the test without even letting anyone at work know. It seems you're at a point where failing again could damage your professional reputation, so take some of that pressure off by doing it strictly on your own. Then if you pass you can let your manager know it's taken care of -- high fives! But if you fail, just keep it to yourself and consider it an expensive practice test -- AND schedule the test again for 2 weeks later (CompTIA says you have to wait at least 14 days after failing a second or subsequent time).

So take the test this week! And if you pass you're good to go. If you fail you can still take it again 14 days later. Heck, if it were to save my job I'd be doing it every 14 days until I passed. Well, if I liked my job

YMMV -- make sure to verify time limits and such, it's been a while since I've looked this stuff up.

Good luck!

Approximate hours of study to pass Network plus....no networking experience

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