I PASSED THE CCNA EXAM!! - ICND2 Exam Tips

NetworkChuck Technology Careers Career & Money

About this video

Despite the title framing, this is NetworkChuck interviewing his younger brother Cameron, who has just passed the ICND2 and earned his CCNA Routing and Switching. Chuck notes in the intro that Cameron, who was on help desk at a mortgage company after earning his CCENT/ICND1 while previously working at a computer repair shop, has since landed a job paying, in Chuck’s words, over $60K about a month after getting the CCNA in late June/early July. Cameron says ICND2 was harder than ICND1: his weak spots were infrastructure services/maintenance, SNMP, PPP/PPPoE and APIC-EM, while his two simulations — EIGRP and OSPF routing labs — likely carried his pass. He credits self-built Packet Tracer labs (not just following others’ labs), Keith Bogart’s INE course and Packet Tracer labs, Jeremy Cioara on CBT Nuggets for complex topics, some David Bombal/GNS3 material, random YouTube videos, and Cisco Press books. The gap between ICND1 and ICND2 was about eight or nine months while working full time. His coping advice is to taper practice tests in the final days and do nothing the night/morning before. Next he plans CCNA Collaboration plus dabbling in Python and Cisco DevNet, arguing programmability/APIs are coming to every track. They close on job marketing: post the cert everywhere including LinkedIn, put certifications — including ones in progress — at the top of the resume so recruiter searches find you, because employers typically want three to five years’ experience and a rare specialty helps you stand out.

Key takeaways

Cameron’s hardest ICND2 areas were infrastructure services, SNMP, PPPoE/multi-link PPP and APIC-EM; EIGRP and OSPF sims were his strongest part
Best prep method he cites: build your own Packet Tracer labs and troubleshoot with show commands and help, rather than only following prepared labs
Resource stack he used: INE/Keith Bogart, CBT Nuggets/Jeremy Cioara, David Bombal GNS3 material, YouTube fill-ins, and Cisco Press books
He took about eight or nine months between ICND1 and ICND2 while working full time; the CCENT had helped him move from computer repair to help desk
Market the cert immediately — social posts and LinkedIn, certs (including in-progress) at the top of the resume for search visibility — and differentiate with a rarer track like Collaboration plus Python/DevNet skills

Episode details: published August 11, 2018 · 20:39 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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