How I Passed CCNA in 30 Days

Disclaimer

No section of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means – electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any

information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the

author.

The information provided within this eBook is for general informational purposes

only. While we try to keep the information up-to-date and correct, there are no

representations or warranties, expressed or implied about the completeness,

accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information,

products, services, or related graphics contained in this eBook for any purpose.

Any use of this information is at your own risk. It is my CCNA journey that covers

tools and material that I used to efficiently pass my exam.

The methods describe within this eBook are the author’s personal thoughts. They

are not intended to be a definitive set of instructions. You may discover there are

other methods and materials to accomplish the same end result.

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Resources I used to clear my CCNA exam ................................................................................................ 6

CBT nuggets ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Packet Tracer ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Lab Guide ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Exams Dumps ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Subnetting ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Resources I used to clear my CCNA exam .............................................................................................. 12

Should we use the Exam Dumps? Is it ethical? ....................................................................................... 14

What to Expect after CCNA certification ................................................................................................ 19

How to proceed with other Cisco certifications...................................................................................... 21

CCNA salary expectation ........................................................................................................................ 23

Fast track you IT career post CCNA ........................................................................................................ 24

Introduction

CCNA is the most sought after certification in the IT industry because of the deep

insights it covers of the technical networking concepts and skills, which are in

great demand in the job market. As a general rule of thumb, if anyone wants to

get a job in the networking industry or in IT sector in particular then CCNA is the

certification that will assist you in securing your first IT job to a big extent.

For those who are new to the Information Technology field have to know that

there are generally two ways to proceed in the IT industry: a) One is towards the

programming side b) and the other is with networking. Those who choose

programming will first have to get a professional degree and have to invest years

into learning and grasping the technologies involved, along with the different

coding concepts. Software programmers have to familiarizing themselves with a

whole range of programming languages and scripts, which is some serious work.

Its downside is that the programming languages and technology gets obsolete

faster than any other profession, so you have to keep learning and updating

yourself with the arrival of new languages and its coding conventions. On the

contrary, people who don’t have a professional IT qualification or are not good in

programming or it does not interest them whatsoever, they can choose a slightly

easier alternative in IT networking as their professional career.

So in this book, we will be discussing how to go about with the CCNA certification

including some other major IT certifications in demand that will make your CV

stand out among the others and considerably increasing your job prospects.

IT industry is the most expanding and ever evolving sector in the job market,

which means that the technologies in use today may get outdated in the next 2 or

3 years. And because of this rapid change, it is very important for the

professionals working in this area to adapt to change and keep themselves up-to-

date all the time. So working within short time frames is always going to be

important. We will discuss about this topic in the later part of this book.

But due to this constantly changing state of the IT technology sector, your main

objective as a networking professional should be to complete your certification

within a short period of time to maximize your chances of safeguarding your

existing job or to switch to a better position in the same or a different IT

company.

Resources I used to clear my CCNA exam

CBT nuggets – offering the CCNA video tutorials. If you haven't heard about CBT

nuggets, it is an online resource of IT tutorials that provide video training for

various vendor certifications. Although you can find many different video tutorials

of Cisco certifications online but I found CBT nuggets to be the best CCNA video

training source because it was right on point, and with clear explanation of

various concepts it is easy to understand even for the beginners who are just

starting out.

Not just for CCNA, Cbtnuggets is ranked among the top websites that offer video

courses for other Cisco certifications as well because their teachers and trainers

hold latest certifications themselves so they know their stuff inside out. And trust

me! You will not find any tutors equivalent to their level of expertise in any

coaching center anywhere. Moreover, you can watch the video tutorials

repeatedly until you get the clear understanding of different concepts. So there is

no need to waste your money on expensive tutorial classes.

Cbtnuggets videos are comparatively cheaper than other sources, though if you

can't pay or don't want to pay for some reason, you can arrange it by some other

means you know of, like asking a friend, or request it from someone who has

access to the videos. Nevertheless, if you want to get some other certification

videos as well then you can gain access to the entire cbtnuggets IT videos for a

monthly subscription of just $99, and make the most of it by downloading other

videos that you are interested in i.e. those that you could use to gain more

certifications in near future.

Packet Tracer – Packet Tracer is networking simulation software that is best in

the market to practice CCNA and some basic CCNP labs.

I highly recommend the use of Packet Tracer software for exercising practical labs

as it is more than sufficient to train for the CCNA. But it is not too effective for the

other advanced Cisco certifications like CCNP because it does not execute all the

higher level commands required for the CCNP training and certification.

Therefore, if you are looking forward to prepare for CCNP certification in a

foreseeable future then there is another tool known as GNS3. GNS3 is a giant that

emulates the real Cisco iso and is equipped to run all the commands that are

possible on real routers, so it is like as if you are working with the real routers,

which in turn gives you the feel of real world Cisco devices.

You can use GNS3 to practice CCNA labs too but it is kind-of a little too complex to

set it up. It requires a lot more time, and some practical knowhow to set up GNS3,

as a result you will end up spending a lot more time just in the process, which

could be somewhat discouraging at first. Therefore, in order to keep it simple and

quick, it's best to work with Packet Tracer for practicing basic CCNA labs. Packet

Tracer is very easy to operate and a great practice tool, which is just what you

need to prepare for basic certification like CCNA, though if you are willing to try

your hands on GNS3 and have all the required tools, you can still check it out and

get the real feel of how the Cisco devices work.

Eventually, once you are well versed with the ways to configure routers and

switches on the Packet Tracer software, and have gone though sufficient

scenarios and different troubleshooting problems. It means you are ready to

embark on the simulation questions that you would be facing in your CCNA

exams, and are almost there!

Lab Guide – It could be easily downloaded or bought online at a nominal price.

Lab Guide includes all the CCNA commands that you would be using and more.

This guide is of great assistance as it would allow you to specifically go through a

full list of Cisco commands in one place, both saving your time as well as giving

you a complete overview of the lab environment.

Exams Dumps – Have you heard of Cisco exam dumps? If you haven't then you

must familiarize yourself with this important “key” word as it forms the most

important ingredient of all the learning resources that you'd be using to

successfully clear your CCNA examination. That said, Exam Dumps should be at

the core of your preparation for the exam because 99% of the questions in your

CCNA examination comes from latest dumps except for a few new questions here

and there. So technically saying, you can pass your exam simply by studying the

dumps itself, it's that easy! But then of course there is no use of attaining that

sort of certification or clearing the exam when you do not have the knowledge to

do any sort of practical work. That's why, I would suggest you to first study, clear

your concepts, and get enough knowhow of the practical networking just so that

you have idea about the technology and equipments that you'd be required to

work within your job.

I don't vouch for them, but I personally studied the dumps from

www.examcollection.com. When I prepared for my certification, the Exam

Collection used to offer free dumps but now they charge about $79.99 per month

to download premium VCE files, which according to them are valid for the current

session. In case you want to try them, just don't worry about the other files that

are available on their website for free, those are worthless! But whatever online

source you try, just do some homework to ascertain the legitimacy of the exam

dumps first, discuss in relevant forums, talk to trusted people, and then if you are

certain of their validity then you can download those dumps. Additionally, if you

try any monthly based service, don't forget to download as much related files of

other relevant exams as you can in that duration so that you can use them in near

future, or help someone out with some of that material. It's a great way to make

the most out of your spending as well. Be generous, help others, and always

remember - knowledge increases as we share it. There are some other famous

websites that offers latest dumps, like Testking and Pass4sure, which according to

some people have a few success stories.

In conclusion, irrespective of the website source, simply find and practice with the

latest and legit dumps to prepare for your exam.

Also, you have to buy software to use the VCE files. It costs around $16 to use it

for a month.

Tips – Read the following tips before buying any of the services:

Note – Use Ctrl + Click to open the following links

http://lessons-learned-from-life.blogspot.in/2014/07/examcollection-premium-

service-scam.html

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2278737

Some websites buy fresh dumps from legit sources and put them on their

websites. It allows them to cater to the needs of interested people where they

can download and use them free of cost. One such website is the

www.examcollection.com. You can check the free dumps from Examcollection by

downloading the VCE file, which is available for its registered users. Once you

register, just login to the website. And then you can easily download any of the

vce files you require for the CCNA or any different set of exams. But more

importantly, make sure you check the comments section below before

downloading any of the material to ascertain if those exam dumps are still valid or

not. And don't forget to check the date of those comments as well so that you

don't end up using the older or invalidated dumps.

Subnetting – Even though subnetting is only a part of the CCNA curriculum but I

am mentioning it separately because it is an extremely important part of your

preparation. You don't have to be afraid though but it takes some time and

practice to understand this concept entirely. To your advantage, Cbt nuggets

provide a very streamlined and clear explanation about subnetting. But at the

end, it is you who has to ensure that you have understood this crucial concept

well. And even more important is how proficient you become in calculating the

subnets on your fingertips, otherwise it is going to consume lot of your time in the

exam. Since calculating the subnets with pen and paper especially in the

examination is going to eat up a lot of your time. In a CCNA exam, time is

something you cannot afford to waste because every second is valuable to

complete the entire questionnaire. Moreover, you will feel the pressure if you do

not have adequate time left to complete you exam, leaving you with a bitter

experience. That's because the CCNA exam amounts for a fair share of questions

related to subnetting, so if you cannot calculate quick enough then you will suffer.

Ironically, even the exam dumps cannot help you with that in your examination.

So make sure that you are proficient enough to calculate the subnets in your

mind. No doubt you will get questions from the dumps but their numerical values

would be different so train yourself well and be able to quickly calculate the

subnets to be able to choose a correct answer without wasting any time.

Resources I used to clear my CCNA exam

When I practiced for my CCNA paper, I took a break for one whole month so I had

to quit my job to be able to prepare nicely. To be honest, I wasn't much happy

with my existing job at that time, so I had a perfect excuse and an opportunity to

follow a new career path. During the preparation period, I sidelined myself from

every distraction, be it my friends, or my girlfriend, and all forms of socializing, so

I literally had zero activity. It sounds hard but when I look back now, I understand

the importance of focusing on your target and its reward. And it was only for a

month, as one of my British friend used to say, put blinkers on your eyes, mate!

Though we all have different circumstances, and our priorities differ from each

other. Hence, if you are not expected to complete your preparation in a single

month then please don't push yourself too much, take another month or

something but make sure you don't prolong it over 2 months. Try to finish your

preparation ASAP, because otherwise it will work counter to what you are trying

to do or achieve. So my advice to you would be to finish it within a dedicated time

period without investing too much of extra time, effort, or energy in months of

training and resources.

1. I booked the exam date exactly about one month from the day I started

preparation. This is important because it will gives you exact time-frame to

study. It also avoids you to get lazy when you have an exam date finalized.

2. I completed watching the CCNA video training in just one week. And in the

second week, I started practicing Labs on the Packet Tracer software with

the knowledge I gained from the CBTnuggets videos. Upping the ante, I

quickly went through the videos once again, alongside practicing the Labs.

The second time around, I understood the videos even better. During the

same week, I also went though the Command Guide to get the overview of

the commands, particularly pertaining to the CCNA curriculum.

3. In the third week, I specifically concentrated on the subnetting –

understanding and practicing really hard to improve my calculative skills

that I mastered by exercising a lot of questions related to subnetting

4. During the fourth and final week, I stressed on dumps, going through all the

questions from the CCNA exam dumps. I revised the dump questionnaire

many times and tested myself with them the equal number of times, until I

was confident that I have memorized the exam dumps satisfactorily

Should we use the Exam Dumps? Is it ethical?

The reality is that 95% of the students who pass the CCNA exam take assistance

from the dumps. And to be very honest with you, it is way too difficult to clear the

examination as such i.e. without going through the dumps, no matter how much

hard work you put into your preparation. Since it was my first time attempting the

exam, I was a bit nervous having heard many rumors that a very few people are

able to pass it the first time, so I put so much hard work into my practice and

literally left no stone unturned to be able to successfully clear my CCNA in the

first attempt only, and with so much at stake because I was technically jobless at

that time. But after I was done with my exam, I told myself that one thing for sure

that I would have failed the exam, have I not had solved the questions from the

dumps. I clearly remember that when I started attempting the questions from the

dumps, in spite of how strong I thought my preparation was, I wasn't able to solve

even 20 percent of the questions from dumps correctly. They were so tricky. But

after about a week's practice I got better and better at solving them. What I am

trying to say is that the style of the questions in your CCNA exams is going to be

the exact replica of those from the dumps. Hence, you have to be proficient

enough to understand the structure of the questions from dumps to succeed.

Another thing to remember is that you have to get all your CCNA concepts clear

before you take on the dumps. Passing the exam and having the efficiency to

perform practically are two entirely separate things. If you only crack the exam

with the help of dumps, you will not be able to succeed in your job interview. And

eventually, your certification will be of no use without the networking knowledge.

So clear your concepts first, get a fair amount of knowledge, and then attain your

certification with the help of exam dumps.

A little advantage from the dumps should not affect your learning in any way.

Your main aim is to land a job, and you can't keep your job if you compromise on

the knowledge. Certificates and degrees can surely get your foot in the door, but

your skills and dedication towards your work are going to take you where others

fail to reach. That said, you should definitely get the help from exam dumps

because these certification exams are designed in such a way that if you don't

study smart, you wouldn't get through the line. Without dumps, it is highly likely

that you would fail your exam, no matter with how much dedication you put into

your preparation or how strong your hold of the technical concepts is.

When you sit in your test, you will see the similarity that the exam questionnaire

will have with the dumps. Just like I felt, you might realize too that how would you

have performed if the exam dumps weren’t available to you. Sometimes I feel

sorry for the people who put on so much hard work into their studies, but end up

failing the exam because they didn't had the right information at a right time. It is

as if, some kind of a scam that these certification organizations and the dump

providers hatch up collectively. But it is what it is, and that's how corporate world

works unfortunately.

Another small bit you need to be careful about is the similarity between the

different choices of answers. Never get confused when choosing an answer from

a list of options. In fact don't look at the answers, if possible, until you calculate

your own because it will be a common sight to have two almost similar answers

for a single problem. They are there to confuse and trick you to select either one

of them. And the more you get puzzled the more time you are going to take to

answer it. And as I discussed earlier, time utilization is also an important factor in

your exam which affects your scoring big time.

The importance of exam dumps is for the sole purpose of cracking the CCNA

exam. When you work as a networking professional in any company, you will

hardly use even 30 to 40 percent of the skills that you've gained from your

professional certification. Moreover, some networking jobs are such that you will

not get to use almost any of the skills that you've learned from your CCNA

curriculum. Majority of the times, organizations prepare over the top job

descriptions, and post insane qualification prerequisites for most roles,

particularly for the entry level jobs. And it is true that organizations mostly don't

want the same skills that you acquire after putting so much of the hard work. And

as a result, you will have to go though their own job training and learn about your

roles and responsibilities afresh anyway. That's when you feel like you are holding

a certification just for the sake of certification. Hence, there is no need for you to

go too far in your learning and wasting your time and energy just for the time

being. Because if you will be working in this sort of job i.e. that does not require

your advanced certification skills, then after some time you will start to forget

everything you've learned due to lack of its implementation. And if or when the

situation calls for it, you will be required to go through the those technical

concepts all over again, i.e. in case those skills are required in your job in future,

so no need to go berserk over learning too much either. And besides, someone

rightly said, “education just for the sake of education is worthless.”

Let me go through an example from my own job experience. When I applied for

the job of an Analyst, I was expecting to be interviewed regarding lots of technical

stuff, since the job description asked for the skills required in the server

monitoring, basic networking skills, Linux, and a lot more. So I prepared for it

accordingly. And as expected in the job interview, the interviewers asked all sorts

of networking questions, some of which were from CCNA and some weren't.

Interview was a success. And when the job started, I was hoping to use my CCNA

skills being a certified professional, but after spending a few weeks in the job I

realized that I was in fact NOT using any of the networking skills barring a ping

command that could be taught to anybody within a minute. Isn't that funny? So

do you think it is worth studying that hard or preparing for the exam over a period

of several months so as to master the technicalities when in reality you aren't

sure whether you'll put any of that to use. That's the irony; there is no use of the

CCNA skills in the real world for any beginner's role. As with me, I found it

extremely difficult to keep up with the same skill level that I had when I just did

my CCNA. Do you think it was worth it for me? Absolutely not! It would have been

better for me to learn the technical stuff as per my job requirement because

things change pretty quickly in the IT industry, and we have to keep ourselves

updated all the time. So do yourself a favor, don't go too deep and finish your

exam within a month's preparation.

As soon as you receive your certification, it will increase your chances of getting

into the networking sector, which in turn will also increase your salary scale.

In conclusion, you can't manage to fail the exam after having invested both your

time and money into it. Months of preparation and expensive training does not

guarantee success either. And unable to crack the exam wouldn't do you any

good. You will only waste your time as well as resources even after the putting so

much hard work into the exam. So simply have a quick overview, clear the

important concepts, and last but not the least, make sure that you go through the

dumps to be able to pass the CCNA exam in the first go.

What to Expect after CCNA certification

CCNA entails rich networking concepts that helps you to configure and

troubleshoot basic to moderate networks, including TCP/IP, OSI models, WAN, IP

addressing, VLANs, access list, etc. so you will definitely have more confidence in

attending your job interviews, knowing those basics.

Having a CCNA certification will definitely improve your chances of getting your

first IT job or to switch your career to Cisco based networking, as it dominates

over 90% of the total networking infrastructure around the world.

And as a job seeker, it will help your resume to stand out among your peers, but

don't forget that qualification is not an alternative to experience because one still

has to learn the real-time skills while at work, along with the troubleshooting

tricks that big networking engineers possess. That said, while you make your way

up, you learn from one another and get better with your experience.

Another thing, start from the scratch. First job is always going to be challenging

because with no experience under your belt you would have to be really lucky to

land an ideal first job. So don't be too picky when you get a random opportunity,

just don't look at the technicalities and think that it won't be of much use to you.

Whatever the job description is, it should be an IT job and somewhat related to

networking because once you will have some experience then your certification

will have more recognition. You can always switch from one job to another that

better suits your skills after a while. This is just how it works in reality, most

organizations don't bother about your skills or the knowledge you possess. For

the more relevant jobs, the HR personnel will always ask for some kind of an

experience – voluntary or otherwise. If this happens to you, don't be discouraged,

never think that your certification is worthless, or it is not helping. Its real

strength will be exploited at a later time, but for the time being use it to

strengthen your resume as it will give you an advantage over other candidates for

you can bring new dynamics to your skills and have success at the job interviews

i.e. you can make a great first impression.

And once you get your hands onto the job that truly implements your CCNA skills

that will be the time when you will show your real capability and correspondingly

see a rapid growth in your career particularly built on Cisco networking

infrastructure.

How to proceed with other Cisco certifications

After completing the CCNA, you unlock many different paths to move forward

with, namely Routing and Switching, Security, Voice, Data Center, etc. So you will

have to decide which direction you want to go based on your experience, interest,

job market research, availability, opportunities, growth, and so on.

Some people likes doing the certifications one after the other, but some like it

doing slowly giving enough time to see how or where their careers headed. In my

opinion, the best method is to complete the CCNA first and then once you have a

relevant job, start studying towards the CCNP but not by taking one exam after

another. It's because of the following reasons:

1. A Cisco certification is valid for 3 years. After 3 years period, the

certification expire so all your previous exams become invalid in an instant.

That's until you clear the same or a next level exam. Now, imagine if you

will complete all your CCNP exams within a year (especially without having

the real need for it) then 3 years later your entire certification will be

expired. So you will be left with no other option but to take the last exam

again or advance onto the next level exam, which will cause you to prepare

all over again anyway, using the fresh modules and resources. Hence, I'd

suggest you to wait until the last few months of your exam's expiration

date and then take another exam within that time. In this way, you will stay

updated with the latest certifications for longer and utilize the complete 3

years of the same.

2. If you are currently not working in an IT job then you should avoid any

advanced level certification other then the CCNA. Higher certifications

don't weigh in on your resume even if you have let's say, CCNP. It won't

assist you professionally if you don't have any work experience to go with

it. That's because for an advanced certification like CCNP, organizations will

see whether or not you are working in a relevant position. So when they

will notice that you are not working anywhere even with such a

certification, they will consider your CCNP to be of no use. On the contrary,

it will negatively affect your aspirations. Therefore, initially you should just

stick with CCNA and then get into a relevant IT position. And after you have

some experience to show on your resume, only then you should proceed

with other advanced certification exams – one at a time. This is the best

way to make the most out of your certifications.

The bottom-line is that Cisco certifications will benefit you the most when

you are working in a real Cisco environment i.e. when you are handling and

troubleshooting real Cisco routers and switches. In such a situation, you can

proceed with other advanced certifications as per your wish and pace. And

that's when your certifications will assist you in reality and help you to

thrive on a career based on Cisco networking at a greater speed.

CCNA salary expectation

Many people are made to believe that on completion of the CCNA they can

secure a job in a range of 50k but you've got to make your salary expectations

right. Though I don't deny the fact that some positions do offer this much, but

employees’ salary is never based on the certifications. There are many different

aspects taken into consideration on the basis of which salaries are decided. Don't

get demoralized, it is true that the CCNA networking professionals are highly paid

but in most cases, your real salary package would be based on a number of things,

such as your skills and experience, not on the certifications. Hence, it is entirely

out of the context to expect high salary just because you are a CCNA certified. As

a fresh employee, you will have to start on a basic salary package in the

beginning. And with time and experience, your certifications are going to help you

in a salary rise in the later part of your career.

As a rule of thumb, the salary package varies according to different jobs and with

the roles and responsibilities each position entails. So if your job requires basic IT

skills then you will get a comparatively less package compared to others

regardless of your personal expertise and certifications.

Meanwhile, if you are offered job that specifically requires you to work on high

end networking equipments, in other words a job that involves designing,

troubleshooting and operating the routers and switches in a network then you

can easily get package well above 50k. So remember, if you are a fresher then it is

best to start working in a basic level IT job that becomes available to you. After

that you can continue to explore for the other advanced level jobs that are more

relevant to your skills and expertise.

Fast track you IT career post CCNA

IT certifications are very helpful for those who are new to the booming IT industry

or are a fresh graduate because these vendor specific certifications particularly

teach you the hands-on IT and networking skills, which not only improves your

overall profile but also helps you to successfully clear the technical interviews.

The knowledge you have gained from these certifications helps you to create a big

positive impression on the interviewer’s mind, plus you will possess the strong

industrial IT skills that the fresh college pass-outs lack.

CCNA is definitely a hit but this does not make the other vendor certifications any

less important. As Cisco is world leader in the networking sector, similarly there

are other famous certifications that teach the skills required for succeeding in

other specialized jobs in the IT industry. Therefore, you can look forward to and

try your hands at other famous certifications such as A+, Network +, ITIL,

Microsoft certifications, etc. This will substantially add to your technical expertise

in more than one niche and improve the possibilities of you working in many

other specialized technical jobs. But before choosing the another certification to

do, assess the current job market and check what the employers are looking for,

particularly in sync with your existing profile. And then using a similar approach,

acquire that certification as soon as possible with the help of the exam dumps and

other relevant practice material as required. Up skilling will help you gain the

much needed competitive edge in the ever changing job market and keeps you

going smoothly.

Important: The best way to proceed with any certification is to pre-check what’s

hot in the IT market and what the companies are after on the job portals and

websites. Then prepare yourself accordingly.

Finally, pass your exam quickly. You can easily finish any certification in a month’s

time if you study smart, are serious and dedicated towards it. So fast-track your IT

career – learn the basics and then build over it. Complete a different set of IT

certifications steadily with time; alongside working in a relevant IT job and gaining

the much needed work experience. This will allow you to grow very fast in your IT

career. But you got to love whatever you are doing; otherwise you can’t drag

yourself for too long. So what are you waiting for? Set your goals, roll up your

sleeves and go hunting.