Switch + Tshoot same day?

f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
So I've been doing my studies as needed for the switch and had this crazy idea... What if I scheduled the tshoot pretty much right after the switch exam, on the same day? Any one out there done that before?

I have a lot of stuff going on outside of this exam (i'll be traveling the week before, and the week after) so I'm wanting to just get the tshoot done with so I can call it a day on my CCNP.


Thoughts? Advice?

Comments

  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    First I'll say I've never taken either of these exams so take my advice with a grain of salt.

    That being said, if I were going to take two Cisco exams on the same day TSHOOT would definitely be one of them. There are only two issues with this approach I can think of. First, you might get burned out testing for that long on a single day. Second would be trying to review all of the material before test day. You will not only need to get ready for the SWITCH exam, you will also have to refresh the ROUTE material. I don't think either of these reasons would be much of an issue if you have the material down.

    Good luck!
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
  • shodownshodown Member Posts: 2,271
    Sounds like a good idea. You can double down on switching and hopefully that carries you through the exam. I'm not sure what questions they are asking now, but if you know the switching cold you should ace those questions. Try it out and let us know.
    Currently Reading

    CUCM SRND 9x/10, UCCX SRND 10x, QOS SRND, SIP Trunking Guide, anything contact center related
  • f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
    And so it shall be done.... Just scheduled Tshoot, same day. Switch@11AM and Tshoot@2:15PM. Wish I could have done switch earlier in the day but I should survive :) .
  • DPGDPG Member Posts: 780 ■■■■■□□□□□
    I would definitely take the TSHOOT exam first. You will pass if you know the material. It is a very straight-forward exam.
    This should give you extra confidence going into the SWITCH exam.

    Make sure you give yourself a few hours between the exams to recharge.
  • jamesp1983jamesp1983 Member Posts: 2,475 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Good luck! That sounds like a tough day.
    "Check both the destination and return path when a route fails." "Switches create a network. Routers connect networks."
  • MickQMickQ Member Posts: 628 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Brave man. All the best with it.
  • nehalemnehalem Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
    f0rgiv3n wrote: »
    Thoughts? Advice?

    Go for it. Personally I would have put a day between them but TSHOOT is such a nice exam, if you have a strategy going into it, then it shouldn't be hard regardless of what happened earlier in the day.

    Let us know how it goes... :)
  • f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Passed switch today!!!

    SO, my schedule with this exam and Tshoot has been pretty hilarious.

    I initially scheduled switch for nov 20 and tshoot was going to be in december.

    After a month of studying for switch I realized nov 20 is too far away and that tshoot was looking easier than i thought so I wanted to get it done. So I scheduled tshoot same day as switch, still nov 20.

    A few more weeks go by and i realize "damn, Nov 20 is a long ways away". So last week some time I decided to reschedule both the tshoot and the switch. Switch for next monday, and tshoot that friday.

    OK so yesterday... I'm sitting here, I took all 4 Boson tests and passed with a score around 900 on each. I realize "I don't want to study another weekend". Can I do it Friday? no. I have a meeting. Thursday? Yes, but what will I do on wednesday that will help me on the test? Nothing. Ok so Wednesday(the very next today) it is.

    And here I am, sitting here having passed switch :D. I think I'm going to schedule tshoot for tomorrow if I can. If not, it'll be next week. Woooohoooo!!!

    By the way, this was the trickiest test I've ever taken from Cisco.
  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    Congrats!
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
  • IvanjamIvanjam Member Posts: 978 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats, f0rgiv3n - good luck on TSHOOT! icon_thumright.gif
    Fall 2014: Start MA in Mathematics [X]
    Fall 2016: Start PhD in Mathematics [X]
  • DPGDPG Member Posts: 780 ■■■■■□□□□□
    TSHOOT will be very easy compared to SWITCH. Good luck!
  • bermovickbermovick Member Posts: 1,135 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Agreed, and probably the funnest exam I've ever taken. I skipped the 2nd to last sim, totally bombed the last one (I hate when you hit whatever completes the sim and realize your entire line of thinking was wrong), went back and figured out the 2nd to last. Probably could have taken me just a bit over an hour if not for that one that had me stumped for a long time.
    Latest Completed: CISSP

    Current goal: Dunno
  • MrBrianMrBrian Member Posts: 520
    Congrats on your pass man!
    Currently reading: Internet Routing Architectures by Halabi
  • DeathgomperDeathgomper Member Posts: 356 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats on the pass. I wouldn't wait to take the Tshoot.
  • RouteMyPacketRouteMyPacket Member Posts: 1,104
    You are one crazy dude. lol

    Major props to you, awesome to pass Switch. TSHOOT next, when? Tomorrow? haha

    You're my new best friend...inspirational.
    Modularity and Design Simplicity:

    Think of the 2:00 a.m. test—if you were awakened in the
    middle of the night because of a network problem and had to figure out the
    traffic flows in your network while you were half asleep, could you do it?
  • f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Haha thanks for all the congrats on switch!!
    Well last night at 8PM i decided to schedule the Tshoot for today. Just passed with 1000/1000!!

    So stoked right now, that wraps up my CCNP!!

    I agree with everyone regarding the Tshoot on how it's actually "Fun". It was a blast!
  • MrBrianMrBrian Member Posts: 520
    Dude, congrats on the NP!

    So I see in your signature that you're thinking CCDA/DP, CCNP:Security, etc.. so what's it gonna be have you made the choice yet?
    Currently reading: Internet Routing Architectures by Halabi
  • JackaceJackace Member Posts: 335
    Congrats man that was quick getting those done. I'm just now getting back to my studies after changing jobs and being thrown into the deep end of SP networking. I'm now a lot more comfortable with my job and I can again start studying for certifications. I'm still hoping to get Route down by Xmas.
  • f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Yeeeeaaaah! :) Thanks for the congrats!

    Well, I promised the wife that I would take a break till March of 2013. BUT! I actually am leaning more towards getting CISSP in 2013. I would absolutely LOVE to have a CCNP coupled with a CISSP. CCDA/P are very intriguing to me... but from what I've heard CCDA is very Cisco target word focused. If I were to go down the CCDA/P path, I'd go all the way to P because that's where the good design stuff exists.

    CCIE is always in the back of my mind but... I took 5 exams in the past 9 months, receiving 3 certifications (jncia-junos, jncis-sec, ccnp). I think i need a break for awhile, maybe I'll pickup knitting. :P
  • JeanMJeanM Member Posts: 1,117
    Congrats man, my plan is to hit CCNP R&S next year :)

    How much hands on experience do you have currently on CCNA/CCNP level?
    2015 goals - ccna voice / vmware vcp.
  • f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Thanks JeanM.

    I have been doing network administration for 4-5 years. It's slowly ramped up in complexity as I've changed jobs. I had quite a bit of switch experience as I was the only network admin for a company for a few years of that, so this made the switch material go by quickly. Troubleshooting has always been one of my best skills so this exam was the easiest since I had the material down from the route and switch. I had done a medium amount of OSPF before this but not multi-area OSPF.

    The hardest was CCNP route. Routing protocols were always scary to me before this... Automation scares me if I can't predict exactly what it will do. Now, I do know what it will do after doing the labbing/studying for CCNP route.

    If you're curious you can look at my linkedin profile (I have it under my forum profile). 4-5 years I feel was a perfect amount of time for me to get solidified in my CCNA, CCNA-Security and overall good experience in networking. Every topic in the CCNP exams I have been able to apply to real-life situations. Let me know if you have any further questions.
  • DeathgomperDeathgomper Member Posts: 356 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats!!!!!! Wow, a 1000...... Loss for words! icon_thumright.gif
  • f0rgiv3nf0rgiv3n Member Posts: 598 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Woohoo! Thanks Deathgomper :D


    BTW: Here's my story if anyone's interested :) : Conquering Ghosts in the System One Day at a Time...: I'm now a CCNP! Here's my story.
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