How To Become an Effective CCNA Network Engineer (Part 2) – CCNA Self Study or Cisco Classroom Based Training?
If you are starting from scratch, and have no specialized networking or Cisco networking knowledge, there are generally 2 ways to prepare for the CCNA certification and pass CCNA to become a qualified and certified CCNA network engineer. These are to go for a structured classroom based training (CCNA courses) or to do self-study via the many CCNA books and other CCNA materials readily available.
Cisco Training – CCNA Classes
Cisco provides several options for classroom based CCNA training. The most well known is the CCNA academy program (also known as CCNA 1 through 4). This is a very structured course which over the course of approximately 280 hours, will provide a strong foundation for Cisco networking professionals. More information can be found at the Cisco Networking Academy site. Alternatively, Cisco also provides the Cisco Discovery and Cisco Exploration programs in partnership with Cisco training partners.
An alternative to the Cisco Academy are the offical CCNA classes provided by Cisco Training Partners worldwide. These usually come in the form of 640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2 classes. It usually takes 5 days to complete both the classes. This is a faster option as compared to the Cisco Academy training but is shorter and thus not as in-depth.
Generally, classroom based training is extremely effective, and students will have a chance to have practical hands-on knowledge which is of the utmost importance in today’s competitive networking industry. However, I would not recommend the classroom training for busy professionals juggling a day job or anyone who does not have the financial resources for this method as it takes a substantial commitment of time and money.
CCNA Self-Study using CCNA Books and other CCNA materials
This is the method I used to study for and obtain my CCNA. I took approximately 2 months to study for and pass the exam (your mileage may vary depending on your free time and the methods you use). There are plenty of CCNA Books and CCNA materials which can be used to study for this certification at your own pace. Just purchase a suitable CCNA study guide and get cracking. The downside to this is that it is less structured and depending on what CCNA material you use, you might not have the requisite skills in order to tackle the difficult exam. The current CCNA exam requires a certain degree of practical knowledge, not to mention that prospective employers will be looking for the same practical skills. A candidate with only book knowledge may not know enough to pass the exam and to satisfy increasingly picky employers.
However, this is still the way I recommend to get certified. With the correct choice of materials, you will not waste time studying things that are not relevant to the exam or to your future career as a successful CCNA network engineer. With so much CCNA online training, CCNA courses, CCNA books, notes and materials, this is simply the fastest and cheapest way to get your certification and to finally land that elusive network engineer job.
I’ll be reviewing many of these recommended CCNA preparation materials in future. If you like this blog, please subscribe to my RSS feed (on the right) or follow me on twitter (@savvynetcert).
[Update 22 Jul 2009: This is the 2nd post in the series, please see the first post here.]
Cheers,
Francis (SavvyNetCert.Com)
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