Preparing for CCNA on your own (Self-Study).

Hi,

I actually wanted to know if it's possible to study for the CCNA on your own or do you have to take one of those classes. I'v talked to a lot of people and gotten very mixed replies. Some say, that you can do it on your own, and some I'v talked to (this guy was a CCIE) say that its damn near impossible, if not impossible. Another lady, I talked to, said that she studied for about a month and went for the test.

So my questions:

1) Is it comparitively difficult to study on your own?
2) If you DO study on your own, how much time would it take to be prepared for it?

p.s.- I have access to routers and switches and stuff, and full permission to do whatever the hell i want with them, so thats not really a problem, and Im sure I can get access to good books. I want to study for two-three weeks (when i mean study, i mean study like hell) and then appear for the exam, I just wanted to know if it was possible, and if it IS possible, whats the approximate time frame to be prepared for the exam.
I just did my bachleors in NT, so I do have a good foundation of networking principles and stuff....

Its is 150% possible... most of the people who come to this site and sit for the exam are self study people and do really well on the tests..

Especially if you have access to the equipment and a background knowledge, it will be very easy.. pick up a good book (look through this forum for info on the best ones) and you should have no trouble getting a 900+ score.



Cheers,

thanks a lot for the reply and the vote of confidence. I will definitely go and have a look around this site. How long, do u think, does it take an average person to prepare for the exam or does it depend solely on the person?

It does depend a lot of things, namely the person in question. Two to three weeks, in my opinion, is not even close to the time you should spend studying and practicing the curriculum for the CCNA. Im 18 myself, with a job, internship and school, and I have enough time to study for 2-3(self study material) hours, splitting it between programming and network topics. It's been 2 months since I started the CCNA and as easy(some of it gave me trouble) as it is, you have to practice practice practice, reading it out of a book is never enough. So, with saying that, take your time, regardless of your intelligence and access to labs. The faster you rush it, the faster it leaves your brain.

One more thing, have fun with it. I have a passion for networking and with that I really enjoy working with routers and switches which helps the material absorb a bit better. If you cloud your studying with JUST your career in mind, you lose a lot of it, once again, in MY opinion. Hope this help and good luck

hi...i understad what ure saying, and that definitely helps..the reason i was saying two-three weeks, is I already have a background in NT (a B.S.- yes, I know this doesnt say much, but belive it or not, college actually did teach me a little bit ) Like, i looked over the topics in those prep books at one of those classes, and the topics i saw, i'v already done...like the intro exam...i have knowledge of all the basic concepts and principles...the only thing im lacking is specifics... and i actually wanted to break my time between reading from the book and then doing practical configuring on the switches and routers....and yea, my career is definitly NOT the motivation for this certi...... i want to give the exam in first week of january by the latest...is it doable?

also..what exactly is this "modules" that ppl keep talking about on here?? they say there are 4 modules and stuff..what exactly is that?? and do i need to worry about it?

perhaps what you they meant by with modules is the Cisco net academy breaks down the CCNA curriculum in 4 semesters(yes thats 2 years for the CCNA :x) or 4 modules. First semester is fundamental concepts then it moves to router configuration switch configuration and finally tying them all together to implement WAN's using cisco technology. Or they could mean something else :roll:. And Im assuming that the bachelors in NT means networking technology which means you have college experience over me, so my advice may not be really applicable lol. But I still stand behind my rushing theory, so could you pass the exam in the time allotted? Of course it's possible, but will you gain and retain how to apply that in a real world situation is the key. Don't let me damper your goals, go with what you think is best and good luck