6 Steps to Pass Cisco CCNA Certification Exams
CCNA is one of the most respected Associate level Certification in the world today.
Getting
a CCNA will definitely help you to get a better job or at least get
your foot into Professional Networking Field. When you meet a person
that has CCNA degree you will notice that he or she knows something
about Networking.
In the
70-291
exam resources, MCDBA Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure, you will cover
every field and category in helping to ready you for your successful
Microsoft Certification.
In the
sy0-101
exam resources, SECURITY+ CERTIFICATION EXAM, you will cover every
field and category in helping to ready you for your successful CompTIA
Certification.
1. Getting ready mentally:
First thing you
need to do is mentally prepare your self. What I mean by that is that
you have to seriously think about on why are you getting CCNA and why
do you want to be CCNA certified. You have to firmly decide and believe
that you will get CCNA within next 3-6 months or so.
Try to budget
your study time well. If you a very social person (like me) you will
have to give up some of your social time for the next couple of months.
Your
friends and family will understand. Trust me: it is well worth it. Once
you get that cert you can make up for the lost social time.
In the
70-647
exam resources, Pro:Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator, you
will cover every field and category in helping to ready you for your
successful Microsoft Certification.
In the
642-901
exam resources, BSCI - Building Scaleable Cisco Internetworks, you will
cover every field and category in helping to ready you for your
successful Cisco Certification.
2. Getting the right study material:
Second thing you need to do is to get proper study material.
There is lot of controversy around this and some people go overboard with study guides, books, simulators and such.
I
believe that two Cisco Press books INTR and ICND by Wendell Odom are
enough as far as the books go. They are really well written and easy to
follow. So sign up at http://www.ciscopress.com and get those two
books. Make sure you got the latest version.You will also want to get
some kind of a simulator that will let you practice commands and that
will also build up your confidence.You can buy real equipment but that
could get expensive. I highly recommend that you become member of Cisco
Certification forum.
Forum is huge and you will get lot of helpful answers, tips and advices pretty quick. (I know I did)
3. Approach and diving deep:
There
are many different approaches to studying from books but I will tell
you about mine. This step will take the most of your studying time.
-Before
you even start reading any of the books I suggest learning binary math
(really easy) and subnetting so you can do it in your
sleep.http//www.examsmarter.com is excellent resource. -read both books
casually once from front to cover (make sure you cover introduction and
practice questions too). This will give you good overview.
-Install both CD's that came with books and practices some of the questions. Don't worry if you get lot of them wrong.
In the
n10-003
exam resources, Network+ Certification Exam, you will cover every field
and category in helping to ready you for your successful CompTIA
Certification.
-Now, you will ready both books again but this time
you will have to read it to truly understand the concept and how things
work. Master one chapter and do questions from just that chapter until
you sick of it. Then move to the next chapter.
-Once you mastered all chapters do lot of questions and labexercises. Those two CD's will give you ability to do that.
4. Schedule the test:
You're
not done yet with studying but it is really good to schedule the test
after you completed step 3 in this article. Here is why:If you schedule
the test a month in advance right after you completed step 3, you won't
be able to slack and make excuses not to study hard until tests and it
is also good to give your self a headline. I have seen people working
on their CCNA for 2 years. They master one or two chapters, then they
rest for 2 two months and right when they think they are ready for the
next chapter, they forget what they have learned in the first chapter.
5. Read both books one more time to refresh.
This
is optional, but I highly recommend reading the both books one more
time. If you read both books in a three week that will give you one
more week before the test to cram which is subject of the next step.
So
by now you should've read both books three times over. I also suggest
re-reading questions and answers from both books one more time.
6.
Cram, Cram and Cram -This is the last part of your study and there is
no turning back. Deadline is hanging around your neck like a noose. You
should cram Q&A for no more then 10 days before you take the test.
At
this point it is really important that you get fresh and different
questions then those included with your CD's. Some people claims that
brain dumps or Q&A are bad and evil. I tend to disagree with that.
At this point you already firmly grasped the whole CCNA concept and
Q&A will only help you. So get some Q&A exam question and cram,
cram and cram them for a week.Don't use books or CD's anymore. There is
no looking back. No worries, material from the books will return to you
at the right time.