Certification - How hard is it

My only expereience is with the MS tests, and I can tell you that I think they are worth it, but only after you have some experience in the field. If not then you might be considered a "Paper MCSE\MCSA\MCP" which is a term I am beginning to see more and more. I do think that certs can help, but experience is what makes the man/tech/administrator/engineer/etc. :mrgreen:

The security+ test costs about the same as the network+ - not cheap and a little more difficult than the network+ - IMHO.

How much does the CCNA run today? I am currently studying for it right now and its driving me nuts because I don't feel like I am remembering any of it or learning it enough. For example, a friend asked me what a MAC address was and I couldn't remember when in fact I did study it and thought I remembered. I don't see who in the world I am gonna pass this test. I am currently a network admin but under my bosses wing as a intern. But you did have to have knowledge of networking to get the job. I felt smart when I got the job but now I feel stupid and even more stupid day by day of studying for the CCNA. I noticed Chris said he studied 4hrs a day which is not even close to what I am studying. With school and work its tough to squeeze in sleep let alone studying for my CCNA. If anybody has any advice, Im all ears.

ZiPPy

I forgot to also mention that I am kind of discouraged about buying the CCNA Exam 640-607 book awhile back. Now as people put it, the book is retired. If I studied this book completely and thorougly would it still be sufficient enough to pass the newer exams? Don't tell me I have to buy another CISCO book. Those books are so expensive I would think they are hiding pieces of gold in the back.

ZiPPy

Well,

Unfortunately, that's the case. But as I mentioned in the other post, the information in your old book is not wasted. Much of the CCNA is general concepts - this doesn't change.

10BaseT is still the same. Ethernet is still the same. The OSI model is still the same. Subnetting is still the same, etc.

If you spent your time studying the old book, I'll bet you would have 90% of it. If you had that down, you should be able to go through the new book fairly quickly and get the new stuff. The nice thing about multiple books is each author has his own way of explaining the different subjects. We talked about how long it takes to get subnetting. You may never get it looking at one authors teaching technique and then totally get it with anothers.

Yes, they are expensive. But you haven't lost your investment. The tests in the books are a worthwhile study tool.

I agree with Tom,

The new Cisco exam will cover around 85-90% of the older exam.

The main difference is that they simply focus on different areas. For example, I read that the new Cisco exam includes ISDN DDR (Dial on Demand Routing), something that was never examined in older exams, or at least I never had to answer questions related to the topic.

So, if you have an older exam study guide, read it and just make sure you practice using some sample exams to help you understand the way Cisco wants you to answer their questions!