Passed ICND2

Version4Version4 Member Posts: 58 ■■□□□□□□□□
Passed ICND2 earlier today with a good score.

This was my second time taking it, I nearly passed the first time, but failed. What hit me last time was mainly nerves, I hadn't taken a Cisco exam in a year before that first attempt.

The ICND2 exam is very fair, it not only tests you on theory and application but on your time management skills as well. In my mind, the 2 exam route to CCNA is a bit more difficult than the 1 exam composite route. The primary reason being is you have to be pretty well versed in every topic. There is no room for not knowing topics on the ICND2. In contrast, the composite gives you some area for error. I base this off of having taken the 607 way back when, it surely is not the 802, and the various comments across discussion forums regarding the two tests.

What made me fail the ICND2 the first time:
* Going in with the attitude that if I fail I suck and I if I fail I need to end my career now
* Nerves and not taking my time on the test itself
* Looking at the clock count down and saying "oh crap oh crap"
* Material knowledge on every topic, I felt confident on most topics except for IPv6, STP elections, and timers, mistake
* Not taking detailed notes on my own

What allowed me to pass the ICND2 this time:
* Going in with the attitude that if I fail, big deal, it isn't the end of the world, I will take it again if I fail
* Patience and not letting my nerves get the best of me
* Not looking at the clock, I think I glanced at it 3 times total during the majority of the test, and only every few minutes on my last problem question
* Material knowledge on every topic, I made sure to study my weak points from my previous failure
* Taking detailed notes, overall I took almost 100 pages of hand written notes since my previous failure and this success
* Taking a break during study time, there were 2 or 3 key points during my study time that I just through up my hands because of ERRORS in material, its OK to take a break

Materials I used to pass ICND2:
* Chris Bryant videos for ICND2 - I took the advice from others in my failure thread and watched these videos. Chris Bryant is very dry at times and he does rush through material in my opinion, but I did get a higher level of understanding after I paused the video and thought about it that I was not able to gather from Jeremy Cioara's ICND2 videos. Chris Bryant gets 5 stars for content and depth, but 3.5 on delivery - he needs to slow down (for me). Jeremy Cioara gets 3.5 stars for content and depth, and 5 stars for delivery.
* Wendell Odom's 3rd edition ICND2 book (brand new) - I had used Steve McQuerry 2nd edition 640-816 and Todd Lammle 6th 640-802 previously in my failed ICND2 attempt - Odom's new book is prone with a large number of formatting errors - beware. At least for me and my learning style, these formatting errors added more leg work to try and understand what he was talking about. Overall the book was OK. I would give Odom's new book 3.5 stars. In my opinion the errors kill it. If you can get past that, it is a good resource.

Study methodology used to pass ICND2:
* Schedule test at the crack of dawn, in advance.
* Watch Chris Bryant videos from start to finish while taking detailed notes, pause as needed. I took about 40 pages of notes here on his videos.
* Read Odom's book from start to finish while taking detailed notes. I took about 40 pages of notes here too.
* Day before test, hit the weak areas that you do not understand and go over the memorization tasks. For me this meant going over Frame Relay configs in the lab, NAT configs in the lab, IPv6 address ranges (multicast, loopback, NDP RA/RS), Routing Protocol Update addresses for both IPv4 and IPv6, all timers (STP, OSPF, VTP, EIGRP), and random "what is the Cisco default for X technology". I took about 20 pages of notes here, reminding myself of all these things.
* Night before test, go to bed early. This is hard for me since I don't usually go to bed until 1am, but I was still in bed at 10pm. Watched something boring on TV to fall asleep.
* Day of test, make sure your test is as early as possible to avoid crowds and traffic - this works best for me, arrive 1 hour early and go over notes that you wrote down the day before test.
* Take test with a winning attitude, take your time.

Total time studying since last failure - 3 weeks.
Total time studying entirely for ICND2 including failure - 7 weeks give or take.

That's it I think. Individual learning styles vary, but this method worked for me. If you fail a test, you are not the first to fail and you will not be the last to fail. Success comes from failure. Your attitude will help you more than you realize. If someone tells you they win all the time at life and with cert tests (perfect scores), chances are something is fishy. Don't worry about other people, worry about YOU.

Now its time to take a little break. I'll be starting Security+ next Monday. Mainly because it interests me, the certification is an after thought and an added bonus. While I'm at it and in the security mindset I will knock out the CCNA Security after the Sec+. Next after that will probably be the long journey to CCNP RS - I have a lot of unanswered questions about Routing and Switching that I hope the CCNP journey will answer for me, taking my time with that one though.

Thanks for all the wonderful people on this forum and the discussions and perspectives you provide.

Comments

  • cisco_kiddcisco_kidd Member Posts: 64 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Version4 wrote: »
    Passed ICND2 earlier today with a good score.

    This was my second time taking it, I nearly passed the first time, but failed. What hit me last time was mainly nerves, I hadn't taken a Cisco exam in a year before that first attempt.

    The ICND2 exam is very fair, it not only tests you on theory and application but on your time management skills as well. In my mind, the 2 exam route to CCNA is a bit more difficult than the 1 exam composite route. The primary reason being is you have to be pretty well versed in every topic. There is no room for not knowing topics on the ICND2. In contrast, the composite gives you some area for error. I base this off of having taken the 607 way back when, it surely is not the 802, and the various comments across discussion forums regarding the two tests.

    What made me fail the ICND2 the first time:
    * Going in with the attitude that if I fail I suck and I if I fail I need to end my career now
    * Nerves and not taking my time on the test itself
    * Looking at the clock count down and saying "oh crap oh crap"
    * Material knowledge on every topic, I felt confident on most topics except for IPv6, STP elections, and timers, mistake
    * Not taking detailed notes on my own

    What allowed me to pass the ICND2 this time:
    * Going in with the attitude that if I fail, big deal, it isn't the end of the world, I will take it again if I fail
    * Patience and not letting my nerves get the best of me
    * Not looking at the clock, I think I glanced at it 3 times total during the majority of the test, and only every few minutes on my last problem question
    * Material knowledge on every topic, I made sure to study my weak points from my previous failure
    * Taking detailed notes, overall I took almost 100 pages of hand written notes since my previous failure and this success
    * Taking a break during study time, there were 2 or 3 key points during my study time that I just through up my hands because of ERRORS in material, its OK to take a break

    Materials I used to pass ICND2:
    * Chris Bryant videos for ICND2 - I took the advice from others in my failure thread and watched these videos. Chris Bryant is very dry at times and he does rush through material in my opinion, but I did get a higher level of understanding after I paused the video and thought about it that I was not able to gather from Jeremy Cioara's ICND2 videos. Chris Bryant gets 5 stars for content and depth, but 3.5 on delivery - he needs to slow down (for me). Jeremy Cioara gets 3.5 stars for content and depth, and 5 stars for delivery.
    * Wendell Odom's 3rd edition ICND2 book (brand new) - I had used Steve McQuerry 2nd edition 640-816 and Todd Lammle 6th 640-802 previously in my failed ICND2 attempt - Odom's new book is prone with a large number of formatting errors - beware. At least for me and my learning style, these formatting errors added more leg work to try and understand what he was talking about. Overall the book was OK. I would give Odom's new book 3.5 stars. In my opinion the errors kill it. If you can get past that, it is a good resource.

    Study methodology used to pass ICND2:
    * Schedule test at the crack of dawn, in advance.
    * Watch Chris Bryant videos from start to finish while taking detailed notes, pause as needed. I took about 40 pages of notes here on his videos.
    * Read Odom's book from start to finish while taking detailed notes. I took about 40 pages of notes here too.
    * Day before test, hit the weak areas that you do not understand and go over the memorization tasks. For me this meant going over Frame Relay configs in the lab, NAT configs in the lab, IPv6 address ranges (multicast, loopback, NDP RA/RS), Routing Protocol Update addresses for both IPv4 and IPv6, all timers (STP, OSPF, VTP, EIGRP), and random "what is the Cisco default for X technology". I took about 20 pages of notes here, reminding myself of all these things.
    * Night before test, go to bed early. This is hard for me since I don't usually go to bed until 1am, but I was still in bed at 10pm. Watched something boring on TV to fall asleep.
    * Day of test, make sure your test is as early as possible to avoid crowds and traffic - this works best for me, arrive 1 hour early and go over notes that you wrote down the day before test.
    * Take test with a winning attitude, take your time.

    Total time studying since last failure - 3 weeks.
    Total time studying entirely for ICND2 including failure - 7 weeks give or take.

    That's it I think. Individual learning styles vary, but this method worked for me. If you fail a test, you are not the first to fail and you will not be the last to fail. Success comes from failure. Your attitude will help you more than you realize. If someone tells you they win all the time at life and with cert tests (perfect scores), chances are something is fishy. Don't worry about other people, worry about YOU.

    Now its time to take a little break. I'll be starting Security+ next Monday. Mainly because it interests me, the certification is an after thought and an added bonus. While I'm at it and in the security mindset I will knock out the CCNA Security after the Sec+. Next after that will probably be the long journey to CCNP RS - I have a lot of unanswered questions about Routing and Switching that I hope the CCNP journey will answer for me, taking my time with that one though.

    Thanks for all the wonderful people on this forum and the discussions and perspectives you provide.

    Congratulations! And thanks for the encouragement!!
  • techie2012techie2012 Member Posts: 150
    Big congrats on the pass to you!! icon_thumright.gif Good luck on your upcoming cert studies!!
    (CCNP: Switch) Passed!
    (CCNP: Route) Goal: 11/15/12 Progress: 75%
    (CCNP: TShoot) Goal: 12/15/12 Progress: ​50%
    (Perl Scripting) Ongoing :study:
  • CiscoCertsCiscoCerts Member Posts: 112
    Congratulations Version4! Thanks for the feedback.
  • jkongbonmejkongbonme Member Posts: 17 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congratulation on your CCNA and thank you for advices. By the way how many sims question did you ran into and what's typical configuration if you can recall? I'll plan taking mine soon thanks and good luck for your next exams.
  • Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Congrats on pass!! icon_thumright.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
  • soooowutnowsoooowutnow Member Posts: 83 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats on the pass and thanks for the detailed write up. With my current struggles it is just what I needed to hear right now.
    2018 Achievements:
    Cloud Essentials SME
    Project+
    CRISC

    2019 To conquer:
    Maybe CGEIT? I don't know - help!
  • tex3030tex3030 Member Posts: 19 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congratulations on getting your CCNA! I am sure that the write up you gave will help others do well too.
  • leeseleese Registered Users Posts: 4 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congratulations!
  • djfunzdjfunz Member Posts: 307
    Congrats on the pass. Great write up on the details of your journey.
    WGU Progress - B.S. IT - Completed
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