Or any Cisco Certification....but I am currently studying for CCENT.

I'm thinking 4 months of pretty intensive studying, before I even think about taking it. Realistic?

4 months with a decent study schedule should be more than enough

I've seen people do it handily in 2-3 of intensive studying without much prior knowledge.

If you're coming in a complete 'newb' - ie no previous knowledge of networking I would definitely want 4 months to wrap my head around everything; if you have some previous knowledge it should be doable in a month or so. I took CCNA & other networking classes when i got my associates a few years ago and basically took a 3 year break from there until I enrolled at WGU in march. I spent about 3 weeks of actual studying for the exam and about a month and a half of procrastination, and i passed with a 937/1000. (In hindsight this was a very bad idea; I'd be way ahead if i had put that much effort into it early on:D)

I'd recommend you get the official certification guide from cisco and use the Boson exams heavily. If you can nail those tests and generally understand all the exam topics (from cisco), and can do decimal to binary conversions/boolean ANDing quickly, you will be fine. The official exam guide comes with a great binary game as well. Its really addictive, and really buggy. but its fun.

Another great resource when you get there: subnettingquestions.com < I spent an hour a day every day on that site for 2 weeks before my exam. At first i was really frustrated because there are a lot of questions on larger subnets, but I eventually figured it all out.

The Bryant Advantage is another good resource.


They throw a lot of deceptive, tricky questions and possible answers at you, so you really need to be confident in those exam topics. If you get to a question and start second guessing yourself you're going to be in trouble, because it seems like there are always two answers that are blatantly wrong, and then the rest seem probable at first look.

Good luck.

Took me 3 months of casual studying to pass. I only used Wendell Odom's ICND1 book and I barely passed the test so definitely use CBTNuggets or other sources for your studying.

2 months of hardcore studying would probably be plenty or 3 months of casual study.

What would you guys call "casual study"? I'm studing for ICND1 but have a newborn so its tough going, so what I do is drive to work an hour early and study for 45mins in the morning, 45mins at lunch, is this enough do you think for a 3month study plan? (I've just started)

EDIT: I also wondered if it was worth purchasing the Wendell Odom CCNA certification pack (with books 1 and 2 - third edition) it also includes the network simulator?

I already have books 1 and 2 but 2nd edition and no simulator.

Thanks

Personally I think 1-2 hours a day is plenty if you can put in a few hours on the weekends doing lab stuff. It will really depend on your level of experience and how quickly and easily you learn the material.

Some people could study 3 hours a day for 6 months and still not be ready, some could do an hour a day for 2 months and be ready.

with no base knowlage at all it took me 1.5 years to get my CCNA... (it was horrible)

_________________
Freedom to all the people. Brave, true and strong.
Freedom to all the people. Unless I think you're wrong

dhimes.com

If I include the classes I took in 2001 then roughly... 7 or 8 years. I still have my old CCNA book and I have to say the PRI/BRI topics are AMAZING!

But seriously 2 months of focused study should do it. If you have no computer back ground then 3 months will be fine.

_________________
- Pete

Casual study for me was 2-4 hours a week and labs on the weekend

im going to shoot for 4 months total. so that leaves me 2 more months to go....

However, i just don't want to pass the test..i want to ace it. I want to have a very solid foundation.

I

another good book to try is 31 days before your CCENT, it's up on the
cisco press book of the week this week. 9.99 ebook
http://www.ciscopress.com/deals/index.asp

_________________
"If you're good at anticipating the human mind. It leaves nothing to chance."
-Jigsaw

I've yet to gain CCNA but now have to recertify @ CCENT. Only problem is I don't currently work in a networking career field. I'm IT application development and just got a federal acquistion certification but been away from the network side for quite a few years.

I opted to renew CCENT before it expires next month. Perhaps I'll try ICND2 soon but I'm simply not ready now. I've failed that exam 2X before they came out with the CCENT, kept running out of time. I've got experience in networking but wasn't on Cisco equipment. Glad the exam is still the one I took 3 years ago - 640-822. Started reviewing my subnetting a few weeks ago. It comes back pretty quickly.

I have a small home lab w/3X 2501 routers and an old 1900 switch (useless) and a 2950 switch. Being able to pound on live equipment is a big help.

@ristau5741 - I did my FAC-P/PM Capstone exam in Frederick, MD...

Let see... Took me about 2 months. I would have been ready in 3-4 weeks but I wanted to make sure I killed it when I did take it. All that I used was the Cisco Press Official Certification Guide for the CCNA. It has one book for each exam. I will warn you that I did have prior Cisco experience doing small deployments and what not though. That and I do have a home cisco 'lab' aka to home network which is all cisco. Everything from an 861W, to a 2950 (soon to be 2960), and a 1232AG access point. I wish I could get my hands on a cisco wireless controller to play with now.

Much respect for wanting to go that route. There is a difference between hashing out a cert to get a better paying job and getting a cert to learn the material and show you know it. My CCNA has been taking me a bit cause I feel the same way like you that I want to master the material. I pushed to get my CCENT towards the end and barely passed my test and I spent time going over the material I didn't do well on as penance for not getting the 900+ I wanted

A little over 5 months for me and the same again for my CCNA.

There are those who can read books and fully understand the concepts and there are those who need to do it (hands on and/or labwork) in order to really get it. Determine which one you are and focus your energy there while mixing in a sprinkling of the other.

I studied the CCNA on and off for a year until I passed on my first try.

The most important thing is to get a good grasp of the topics and gain the knowledge.

Took me between 2-3 months of studying about 2 hours a day before I passed yesterday with 950 (-:
I used the Official Cert Guide and the CCENT Studyguide along with practicing labs on my home lab, I read both books through and then went through the questions before and after each chapter. I had got previous knowledge though as I attempted the CCNA over 3 years ago but failed that one by less than 2 points and felt a lot more comfortable on the lab questions than some of the multiple choice ones, the first 2 questions I had yesterday made me wonder weather I had been studying for the right exam!

Good luck

I did both INCD 1 and 2 in a total of 5 months of quasi-lazy self study and practice labs with Boson NetSim.

_________________
Regards,

Steven King
San Diego Cisco User Group - http://www.sdcug.com
"The only time something is impossible is when you think it is." - Kevin Corbin, CCIE #11577