How I Passed the CCNA After a Frustrating Start, Better Practice, and a More Honest Study Routine

When I decided to pursue the Cisco Certified Network Associate, I wasn't starting from scratch. I had been working in IT for many years, mostly focused on systems and cloud computing; however, I have always been exposed to networking as part of my day-to-day role. I was able to work with servers, perform virtualization, define access policies, manage backups, and perform troubleshooting on infrastructure devices. But, every time the conversation would become deeper regarding the routing behaviour of packets, the logic of switching, the speed of subnetting, the methodology of designing access control lists, and controller-based networking, I felt that gap again. I had enough knowledge to get by; however, I didn't feel that I had enough knowledge to be confident. That is why I committed to taking the CCNA exam serious. Currently, Cisco's way to get to CCNA certification is through the single 200-301 CCNA v1.1 exam as defined by Cisco. Cisco states that the exam tests, among other concepts, the fundamentals of networking and routing, access to the network, IP connectivity, IP services, the fundamentals of security, and features of automation and programmability. I want to make it clear what the intent of this article is. It is a testimonial, but I am not trying to create a sales document. I am writing what I wish I would have found before I began: what is the exam experience really like; where people waste time; significantly changing my preparation; and the reason why CERTIFICATION EXAM has become the exam tool I have used most often. Wherever I have made a factual claim regarding the exam, delivery method, salaries, or competitors, I am backing it with verifiable sources. However, wherever I could not cleanly verify something, I will state it clearly. Why I chose the CCNA in the first place CCNA is relevant because it will apply to many job types across the board. They have marketed it as the basis for a new career, mid-level, or future within a job, as seen on their current certification webpage (i.e. they have no formal prerequisites to take the certification). In my opinion, candidates should benefit from 1-2 years of experience in Implementing and Administering Cisco products /solutions. Microsoft states that no other certifications are required before taking the exam, but it helps; with hands-on experience as well, Cisco provides many information on job related to CCNA, such as Network Engineer, Network Administrator and Help Desk Administrator. This was a major issue with me. I did not want a small piece of identification that just stated I knew a series of commands; I needed something to help me understand how networks function in real world situations. The reality of the exam I did not trust old forum posts and blog articles anymore after realising Cisco’s website was a much better source of accurate information. The official Cisco practice exams page had more up-to-date information about current certification exams than “noise” surrounding them. The current exam is titled “Administering Cisco Solutions”, and its exam code is “200-301 CCNA v1.1”. It has an exam duration of 120 minutes and has 2 languages available for it (English and Japanese). All current exams from Cisco show the CCNA is still active, as I confirmed multiple times due to many third-party sites erroring in their mix of old and new exams. It was also clear that Cisco provides all the necessary details for taking the exam such as it being an associate-level written exam which can either be taken at a testing facility or online with Pearson VUE as the sole distribution partner. In addition, Pearson VUE confirms that all written proctored Cisco certification exams can be given through OnVUE as long as they are live via an active proctor unless otherwise stated in a small list of exceptions which does not include the CCNA. It also shows the CCNA is not a fixed-exam (the only time you can take the exam will be when Cisco presents them) but is open-ended with Cisco implementing a rolling schedule on either Pearson VUE test centre availability (or) online proctoring availability. Cisco’s registration page provides you with 3 options for registering; through the Cisco Certification Tracking System via the internet, by phone to Pearson VUE or in person at one of their testing facilities. Cost, scheduling, and where you can take it The current CCNA exam price posted by Cisco on their exam-topics site is $300. When researching, I didn’t find any official Cisco site that could show a country-specific final price list for the exam. It would be good to have something like that, as the final price may vary from country to country due to local taxes, VAT, or currency conversion. Third-party prep vendors who sell preparation for the CCNA, like MeasureUp, have stated that prices may also be subject to VAT depending on the country where the purchase is made, therefore it is important to remember not to assume that all candidates are going to see the same final amount after checkout, no matter where in the world they are located. So, the proper estimate of the price for the exam is $300 USD listed by Cisco, but the actual amount paid locally can vary depending on local factors. To schedule your CCNA exam, you can go to Cisco’s page or Pearson VUE’s page for information. Cisco and Pearson VUE direct candidates to Pearson VUE for either in-person or online scheduling of their CCNA exam. Candidates looking to schedule testing should use the exam program home page as a way to locate local testing centers or verify availability for their exam location online. To date, I have been unable to find an authoritative published listing of Milan testing center seats available for Cisco exams. As a result, I would not speculate as to what the current Milan Center listings would show. A better way would be to use the live Pearson VUE locator that works with your Cisco testing program. Passing score and scoring method Many people are confused about how much they will need to score on an exam to pass. Cisco has stated they will never provide this information to the public so it can’t be used as a baseline for everyone’s expectations of what constitutes a passing score. The exam information section on their website explains that each passing score will be determined through statistical analysis and will change frequently, meaning that a passing score could be different from one exam attempt to the next without notice. You’ll also receive a performance report with your score on all sections after completing the test; but Cisco has indicated that there will be no permanent benchmark in place for candidates prior to an exam so as not to provide an unfair advantage/disadvantage against other test-takers. Because of this, I made some major changes in my approach to preparing for the exam. Initially I was looking for a target number that would guarantee I had passed (rumored) but now my focus is on treating the exam as a skills assessment where the only thing that counts is how well I perform in each of the areas being tested (not some internet legend). Topics measured, and why the exam feels harder than people expect According to the Cisco official CCNA Blueprint, there is a lot of information about the exam. The official exam Topics page and the Cisco Official Exam Topics list shows that there are 6 different domains, with Network Fundamentals making up 20%, Network Access also making up 20%, IP Connectivity 25%, IP Services 10%, Security Fundamentals 15% and Automation and Programmability 10%. The specific tasks included in the blueprint are: Configuring IPv4 Addressing and Subnetting, Interpreting Routing Tables, Configuring Static Routes and Single Area OSPFv2, Describing ACL Use Cases, Explaining Port Security and DHCP Snooping, and Understanding the Basics of APIs, JSON, Ansible and Terraform. The weighting of each of the domains, is not just random, and can help explain why the exam may seem to have a more difficult feel for some than others. The highest weighting for an area of exam is the area of IP Connectivity, therefore the majority of questions will test the candidate’s knowledge of routing logic much more than most candidates realize. Also, the blueprint splits the areas of knowledge into very different areas of thinking/mental modes, i.e., One minute is spent on VLANs and trunks, then you switch mental modes and read routing related scenarios, then you switch again and work with security controls, and then last, you switch and think about automation concepts. The continuous level of switching between these mental modes contributes to the overall difficulty of this exam. While studying for the exam, I had some of the predictable “weakest” areas once I was honest with myself about my current knowledge base. I had difficulty with Subnetting under timed conditions, interpreting routes correctly when the wording in the problem statement was just slightly changed, answering ACL questions, where changing just one of the directional details caused the entire problem to change, as well as Automation related topics that I, at the time, was continually putting off, thinking that they were only “10%” of the total exam. These topics were not impossible to learn, however the problem was, I was trying to study them in a comfortable manner instead of studying for the exam if I was taking the actual CCNA Exam. What I got wrong at the beginning My preparation did not give me the world-class performance I expected from myself during my first month. On the outside, it appeared like I was on schedule; if I would have been asked at the end of the first month if I was prepared for the exam, I would have said "yes!" It clearly did not result in any success. The main problem is that I did not use the correct process to assess whether I was succeeding or failing in my studies. Instead, I used activity to guide me rather tha