Passed ICND1: A long time in the making.

dontstopdontstop Member Posts: 579 ■■■■□□□□□□
Materials:
Subnetting:


I spent around 30 minutes a day for many days (10 or more) practicing subnetting questions over and over until the numbers stuck in my head. I learnt both the decimal and binary process but in order to be quick at the process you should exclusively use decimal. Learn the 8x and 16x well or just remember that 128 is a network ID for all subnet masks.

Study:

I completed a chapter a day and recorded everything into a spreadsheet. I made sure everything was dated and that if I had to miss a day due to an event I would just shift everything +1 day and move on. I would not stress about getting behind or being delayed which helped immensely.

I got into a routine of waking up at 5 am in the morning and study for a few hours before my day started. I found that a very important part of studying is having a very consistent routine. Also for me waking up at 5 am avoided a lot of distraction and noise that middle of the day and the afternoon generated.

I did make the mistake of leaving a lot of labbing toward the end. I felt a little rushed in the last few weeks of my study so this will change for next time around. It took 2 months 1 day to study for the exam with all the materials above. I completed all of the labbing in the last 2-3 weeks which kept it fresh but it was painful grinding through lab after lab to get them done. I'll need to reconsider my strategy for this for ICND2.

I left taking the exams until the last 7 days before my exams as it becomes just way too easy to learn the answers and questions from the banks. Also learn that a fail on these practice exams around the 700-800 is a good indication that you just need a few more facts or made a few silly mistakes (keep pushing on!)

Labbing:

I almost exclusively used Packet Tracer for study, using some physical gear at the very end (last 2 days) to just get my brain into the mindset of taking requirements and turning them into a physical network. It's actually challenging when you spent so much time logically planning stuff out to go and actually wire it up for real.

Thanks for listening! If you have any questions shoot!

Community:

How could I forget! Community was also a major part of my study too. Reading the posts of others and trying to help out on this forum, over on /r/ccna and over at Cisco Learning network helped immensely. Seeing other people's responses and being able to help others solve their problems really forced me to think outside my comfort zone.

Comments

  • NetworkNewbNetworkNewb Member Posts: 3,298 ■■■■■■■■■□
    Congrats on the pass! Not the worst score I've seen before... icon_thumright.gif
  • p@r0tuXusp@r0tuXus Member Posts: 532 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats! Great write-up and resources. :)
    Completed: ITIL-F, A+, S+, CCENT, CCNA R|S
    In Progress: Linux+/LPIC-1, Python, Bash
    Upcoming: eJPT, C|EH, CSA+, CCNA-Sec, PA-ACE
  • PCTechLincPCTechLinc Member Posts: 646 ■■■■■■□□□□
    Awesome that you finally found the determination to finish what you started! Whatever you do, dontstop! :D
    Master of Business Administration in Information Technology Management - Western Governors University
    Master of Science in Information Security and Assurance - Western Governors University
    Bachelor of Science in Network Administration - Western Governors University
    Associate of Applied Science x4 - Heald College
  • rob42rob42 Member Posts: 423
    Good onya, mate. What a bewdy!
    No longer an active member
  • Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Nice congrats and great attack plan you had for passing the exam!! icon_cheers.gif
    *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
    *Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
    Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

    Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63
  • JoJoCal19JoJoCal19 Mod Posts: 2,835 Mod
    Congrats on the pass!!
    Have: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, eJPT, GCIA, GSEC, CCSP, CCSK, AWS CSAA, AWS CCP, OCI Foundations Associate, ITIL-F, MS Cyber Security - USF, BSBA - UF, MSISA - WGU
    Currently Working On: Python, OSCP Prep
    Next Up:​ OSCP
    Studying:​ Code Academy (Python), Bash Scripting, Virtual Hacking Lab Coursework
  • nisti2nisti2 Member Posts: 503 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Thanks a really good score!!! Congrats!!
    2020 Year goals:
    Already passed: Oracle Cloud, AZ-900
    Taking AZ-104 in December.

    "Certs... is all about IT certs!"
  • MagmadragoonMagmadragoon Member Posts: 172 ■■■□□□□□□□
  • dontstopdontstop Member Posts: 579 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Thanks for the congratulations everyone! I hope my story can give someone else the courage to commit to studying and passing the exam too. For the longest time it's been the biggest monkey on my back.
  • 7255carl7255carl Member Posts: 1,544 ■■■□□□□□□□
    congrats icon_cool.gif
    W.I.P CCNA Cyber Ops
  • MAC_AddyMAC_Addy Member Posts: 1,740 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Nice one, mate! I just replied to your Reddit thread about this! :P
    2017 Certification Goals:
    CCNP R/S
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