CCNA Exam: 2 Exams or 1? - ICND1 (CCENT) + ICND2 or CCNA Composite?
About this video
Chuck compares the two routes to the CCNA that existed at the time: one composite exam, or the two-exam route of ICND1, which on its own earns the CCENT entry-level certification, followed by ICND2. He says he personally chose the two-exam route. His main argument is chunking: the composite covers every CCNA topic at once, which he calls daunting for a beginner, while ICND1 and ICND2 each cover roughly half, giving a milestone, a credential, and encouragement halfway through. Cost is his other deciding factor: he says both routes cost the same in total, putting the composite at around $300 and, as he recalls, $325, with each half exam at about half that price, so failing the composite loses the full amount at once while failing one half exam loses less. He recommends the composite only for people already experienced in networking who never certified, or for recertification, and notes another certification at the same or higher level can recertify the CCNA anyway. He advises against stopping at CCENT to jump straight into Security, Collaboration or Data Center tracks before finishing CCNA Routing and Switching. The video closes as day 10 of his 10 Days of Christmas series, with course giveaways and a note that he was about 50 subscribers shy of 15,000.
Key takeaways
- Two routes are described: a single CCNA composite exam, or ICND1 (earning CCENT) plus ICND2 to earn the CCNA
- Chuck recommends the two-exam route for beginners because it splits the topics in half and provides a motivating milestone halfway through
- He says total cost is the same either way — around $300, recalled as $325 for the composite, with each half exam at about half the price — so a composite failure is financially riskier
- The composite is framed as best for experienced networkers who lack the certification, or for the rare direct recertification case
- He advises completing CCNA Routing and Switching before branching into other CCNA tracks, even though CCENT alone technically allows it
Episode details: published December 24, 2017 · 13:06 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.
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