Passed BSCI

I'm not doing this to boast. In my preparation for the exam, I read a lot on these forums about what other people were doing. So, I wanted to return the favor.

I got my CCNA this past May and immediately started studying for the BSCI.
It took me 3 tries in order to pass the exam.

The first attempt was in August and was almost a crash and burn. I thought I had studied enough but the BSCI was a lot harder than I was expecting, in comparison to the CCNA composite. Also I accidentally skipped a sim on the exam and that didn't help moral for the rest of the exam.

The 2nd attempt was 2 weeks after the 1st. I had studied a lot between and done a lot with GNS3. I felt really good going in but failed by 20-30 points.

For the 3rd, I reread the study guide and the cert guide and did a lot more labs. I took it 5 weeks after the 2nd and felt confident about my knowledge of the topics. The exam went well, the only surprising part was the last question was a sim. I was just grateful I had time enough to work it.

Preperation materials:
CiscoPress Books (study guide, cert guide, portable command, quick reference, lab manual)
GNS3
Cisco website
PacketLife.net **** sheets

After the 2nd attempt, I starting making up my own labs and creating scenarios and I found that most helpful.

On a side note:
I noticed some postings saying "Don't forget to do a 'copy run start' or 'write mem' when you're done with your sims." I didn't do that on my first 2 attempts but did it on the 3rd and it accepted the command. Now, I don't know if that even helps or is true, but it did give me a little peace of mind. I would hope that Cisco wouldn't make that a requirement with telling you.

I hope this has been helpful. Thank you all for posting your experiences, questions, and responses. This forum was a great help/motivation giver.

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Comments

mikej412

allredc wrote: »

It took me 3 tries in order to pass the exam.

Congratulations!!

allredc wrote: »

I thought I had studied enough but the BSCI was a lot harder than I was expecting, in comparison to the CCNA composite.

I'll usually say that the Cisco Professional level exams are about 2.5 or 3 times "harder" than the CCNA exam(s). I don't want to scare people away so sometimes I'll also point out that if you did well on the CCNA and stayed awake reading through the entire Odom CCNA Certification Library that you may not notice all of the increased difficulty (more focused set of topics but much greater depth).

allredc wrote: »

The 2nd attempt was 2 weeks after the 1st. I had studied a lot between and done a lot with GNS3. I felt really good going in but failed by 20-30 points.

Ouch -- that's the "tough one" -- but at least you got close enough for a hint of the light at the end of the tunnel.

allredc wrote: »

For the 3rd, I reread the study guide and the cert guide and did a lot more labs. I took it 5 weeks after the 2nd and felt confident about my knowledge of the topics.

Yep -- the more time you spend doing labs, the easier the exam becomes. And when it comes to the Cisco Professional Level exams -- it's definitely better to find out you "over studied"

or "studied enough"

than to find out you "almost studied enough"

or "under studied."

allredc wrote: »

PacketLife.net **** sheets

Always good to mention -- and great to go over in the parking lot outside the test center when you get there waaaaaaay to early to go in.

allredc wrote: »

I hope this has been helpful. Thank you all for posting your experiences, questions, and responses. This forum was a great help/motivation giver.

Thanks for posting and helping to motivate others!!

Bl8ckr0uter

Congrats. Way to keep at it.

mathelize

Congrats, I'll give mine a go by December.

wirerat

Congrats on the pass!

miller811

congrats

Cyanic

Congrats!! I hope I can join your celebration in a few months from now.

iproute

Awesome. It's a bit terrifying that *almost* all of these "passed BSCI" threads make note of multiple attempts. I'm taking the BSCI (for the first time) Oct. 16.

captobvious

Good job!