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Decided to take CCNA wireless since new job wants me to do a ton with wireless. I didnt know jack about wireless, but have been working on it a lot past couple months and really hitting the books. Have to say this was the worst Cisco exam I've taken so far. Also, first cert test I've ever failed. I wasn't even close to passing after 90+ hours of book study. This is the first time I've been in an exam where I knew the answer to the question, yet couldn't pick the correct multiple choice answer. I could have written an essay on the answer, but still wasn't good enough to decode the answer I was supposed to select from the insanely confusing choices. Every question was "What is the name of device driven on highways", you'd be looking for "car", but no you have to choose "horseless carriage". Also loving awesome when there is like 10+ questions that are not covered in the books or exam criteria. Had questions about the capabilities of wireless NICs in different Ipad and Iphone models, like holy poo poo! Why would I have that memorized? I realize theyre super prevalent now, but if youre gonna ask questions like that maybe a heads up that I should memorize this somewhere in the exam criteria or official books? I know this is mostly a bitch post, but I had to vent. Never felt like I got tricked before even when doing NP exams. Gonna retake it next week. SPeaking of that, when did they raise the price for these tests from $150 to $250? This stuff is getting absolutely out of hand now.
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May 12, 2013 03:29
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Fatal posted:Don't mean to doubt, but I'd honestly wait more than a week to retake. In my experience and those of my co-workers, you want to wait a bit, solidify your knowledge and then reattempt especially if you're certing into a field you don't have live experience with. Basically getting sucked into the mentality of "I know what I messed up, I won't make that mistake again Taking it tomorrow and too late to reschedule. I've been studying like crazy. Wrote down all the questions I could remember, 58 + labs, and researched them all. Reread the book. Read white paper on anything that was murky and I feel like this payed off for quite a few of the gotcha questions. Have to admit that I may have been overly critical of the quick reference for 640-722, but good lord so many of the questions I missed are three to 4 word bits in this book that completely look like useless information and never mentioned again. Watched 14 hours of INE video on 640-722 this weekend and watchin more today, gonna cram for the rest of the day and at work in the morning then take test over lunch. Hopefully it goes well.
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May 14, 2013 03:10
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" and rushing into the test after failing it most likely won't work. I dunno though, just my experience with these things.
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So wanted to comment on the current discussion, because this got me thinking. Finally passed CCNA:Wireless, after another week of studying. When I failed the first time, I wrote down every question I could recall from the test after and searched the quick reference guide or whitepapers for the answer. Even with that I literally could not find answers for some questions due to how confusingly they were written. So after doing that, watchin INE, and restudying again I retook the test. I want to say about 15-18% of the quests I got were repeats, and most of the labs were the same, except something that was off before was on, or different IP etc. I ended up passing, but I got to thinking. Whats the real difference between taking the test repeatedly, failing, and researching the answers, vs getting it from a dump? From a ethics standpoint it seems exactly the same to me. Moving on to the subject of horrible tests. The CCNA wireless a huge load of poo poo, if you do not memorize every single loving number, FCC/ETSI EIRP values for every band, term, acronym, and definition WORD FOR WORD you will fail this. You will get questions wrong when you know the answer, because that's how confusing they make it. There was at least 10 questions which were 100% wordplay trickery, not technical trickery. This exam was a tier higher in difficulty than the NP Route/Switch, at least that's my opionion. I just cannot understand why it was so difficult for an associate exam. Also, how loving hard is it for a company that is writing a test to write a book that somewhere within its depths contains answers to the questions which will be on the test? What am I supposed to feel, except for burning hatred when there are questions I don't know the answer to because it wasn't in the study material? Am I supposed to feel dumb or inadequate? Because I don't, I feel like you conned me out of my money and I hate you. I don't understand what the end game is for the certification business. I use certification tracks now as a great way to set a coursework for myself and I find the material you learn from is almost always very high in quality (though missing stuff you need to know for test). With the daily increasing use of dump sites by testers, this system seems doomed to fail. The only way I see them saving this industry is rewriting questions to be logic problems using random values. Instead of a question about subnetting being "What is the broadcast address for 192.168.1.0/24" it will be what is the "X" address for "Y" / "Z"", where each value is picked from a table at random. The only test I really enjoyed that I've taken was NP Route, which I felt was the ideal way to test people. Every question is asking you to find and fix a problem, think on your feet, solve an issue using your brain, troubleshooting skills, and knowledge; not rote memorization. I think they structured the questions kind of stupidly which makes the test to easy though. Everything was 1: Where is the problem, 2: What is the problem, 3: What is the answer?. Except, I don't understand how you can fail to find WHERE the problem is if you're capable of breathing through your nose, and how hard is it to find out WHAT the problem is when you only have 5 multiple choice answers and have even a passive understand of networking? I hope they come up with a way to make these tests braindump free to legitimize the effort people put in, and also to make these easier. Once they can nip the dumping I feel like the difficulty will come way down due to more legitimate statistics about pass rates and the like.
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May 16, 2013 00:35
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Sickening posted:Jesus loving christ. It doesn't matter how much you try to reword it, its not going to come out a way that isn't morally bankrupt. You don't possess the knowledge to pass the CCNP, so instead you cheat it. You cheat yourself and everyone else as well in the process. You are nothing more than another member of a large group of people who doesn't want to loving learn poo poo anymore. I think the argument that you are competing against other dumpers for jobs IS actually legitimate, everything else is pure bullshit though. I'll just say that when I was trying to become a network engineer originally, it was so loving hard to get my foot in the door even with degree, experience, and CCNA. It would be SO nice if there were real tests where you could prove yourself and were accepted by everybody. I don't really know of any test people hold in esteem anymore besides the CCIE. I've noticed when I was looking for work before that every place is doing in depth technical interviews now. Also, while there are bullshit questions on all the tests, you actually DO have to know AD values subsconsciously or you are going to screw yourself not understand why a route isnt showing up. I don't know what purpose questions like "How many hosts can you have in a /21 subnet", and "What is the hello timer for this protocol?" serve though.
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May 16, 2013 02:14
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psydude posted:Getting your foot in the door is about three things: #3 is really bullshit and just as much cheating as dumping is. Everything people talking about with 'Knowing people' is just ways for them to get jobs over more qualified candidates.
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May 16, 2013 02:21
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psydude posted:Yes. That's how life works, deal with it. I understand and accept it, but that doesn't mean I have to pretend it isn't as morally bankrupt as cheating. I've never gotten a single job, ever, through networking. I guarantee you if we had more meritocracy going on and less politicking we would have much better economy going. Every place I've worked has done this poo poo with promotions based on knowing people, or time, or going to the same church as the head manager, its all bullshit. I work there for a year or two, make them a shitload of money, then they act all surprised when I leave. I've adapted to the situation, but I'm not going to resort to this poo poo unless it becomes a matter of life or death survival. Also I don't really see the personality thing being an issue except in a few extreme cases. I've worked with people who I would never in a million years hang out with, but I'd rather work with them for the rest of my natural life than with good friends I have. Teams made up of only like minded people are REALLY bad when it comes to coming up with original ideas or have very varied skill sets. I worked on a team composed of southern hilbillys, indian H1Bs, bikers, and super nerds and it was a MUCH better team than other places I've been where it was all guys who went to the same high school or college. The only "personality" issues that get in the way of work are anti-social behavior and if you can't sniff that out in an interview, then you probably got your job through networking.
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May 16, 2013 02:44
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Tab8715 posted:Fargo, North Dakota. Hahahha, I'm originally from Fargo as well, small world. I'd help you out if I could, but I'm not knowledgeable about your field. However, if you get a chance to leave Fargo, I'd go anywhere. THen try to get where you want to be. If I waited to leave Fargo until I found my dream job I'd still be there
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May 16, 2013 04:00
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Why do people use such complete bullshit arguments that the most qualified guy is some raging rear end in a top hat who pulls his dick out while working, surfs porn on his computer, then hangs around the woman's bathroom. Using social connections is par for the course, I agree. Doesn't mean it's not completely unfair advantage, and not really any different than cheating on certs. Both are unfair advantages compared to the rest of the people on the level playing field. I'm not out to change the world regarding this, but do we have to glorify it? Everyplace I work see people hiring the most attractive girl, or the guy they know from high school, or the director's cousin, etc. It's stupid bullshit. Give me a cutthroat meritocracy any day. There is nothing better than losing because someone else is better, or winning because you're the best.
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May 16, 2013 06:49
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Remy Marathe posted:A few questions of where to focus my study time. I have about 8 weeks to go back over everything I learned this last year in my community college's CCNA curriculum before I sit the test. I'd like some idea of what to sweat/cram without purchasing practice tests; I figure I already have Cisco's online course books at my disposal (for a few weeks anyway), packet tracer and plenty of labs, and Lammle's book should be showing up soon. 1 - You don't need to know every single thing, but you need to understand stuff like 802.1q, IP, MAC, TTL, QoS, etc flags. Stuff that will impact switching and routing decisions. 2- If you don't know the command verbatim, you really don't know what the command does 99% of the time. Knowing the command verbatim is so low on the totem pole of mastery that I would not set it as your "bar". Yes, you can use question marks in most sims, but I can't recall a test where I used a question mark where it wasn't immediately preceded by me going "FCUK!, should of studied this more". 3- No, you need to be able to write it down almost word for word, from memory, cold. If there is some technology with 5 key features, you can expect a question on one of these features, and that question will basically restate the exact same thing in 5 different ways and you will need to be able to pick out not only the correct one, but the MOST correct one. Ex. "Technology "pooposocking" has features: grinding, neckbearding, hot pockets, furries, and weaboos. A weaboo can name almost any anime, has a pillow he makes love to, own a rice mobile, and is attracted to children." What is a Weaboo? (Pick 1) A) Guy who likes DragonBall Z and Microwave dinners B) Guy who lives in the basement alone, unshaven, unloved, and is able to name any anime series C) Guy who eat Hot Pockets, has met Cris Hansen, and loves to watch Initial D D) The predecesoor to the 3750x switch E) The agreggation model in the Cisco Nexus Line F) Guy who owns a Honda Civic, enjoys hot pockets, and enjoys dressing as a lion 4 of these answers are strictly wrong, 2 are correct, 1 is most correct. This is almost exactly what hard Cisco questions look like when its testing you on theory/knowledge and not application. I honestly think some of these are just unfair, but thats the way it is. I don't have a problem with the concept of picking an answer from a series written this way, but the question should say "Which is of these is closest to a Weaboo" or something similar. My 2c.
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May 17, 2013 00:23
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Work needs me to get BCNE so they can get a bigger discount on purchases. How much do I need to study for this exam as an NP? I've never taken a Brocade test before.
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May 17, 2013 03:32
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hitachi posted:Just passed Network+, wasn't too bad. The simulations messed me up a bit just because I hadn't seen them in any of my study material but they were pretty basic stuff. What kind of job are you trying to get? Not much overlap with Server2012 and Cisco stuff, except in a couple shops.
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May 18, 2013 08:30
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hitachi posted:I want a entry level networking job, but at this point I just need a job. I am seeing a lot more entry level Sys admin jobs than network admin ones, and they list stuff like Net+, Security+, Novell CNA/CNE, Microsoft MSP/MCSE or equivalent. I have Net+ and Security+ as well as a BS in IT security and I figured if I get an interview, Server 2012 stuff might help me out, I don't really know. You really need CCNA for entry level if you want a pure networking job. Even with a year experience in help desk, you have enough right now to get some sort of Sys Admin. Its rough as poo poo getting your foot in the door, and I know many people who gave up. You are close don't quit now. I think your plan of Server 2012 into sys admin, then doing CCNA into Networking is good.
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May 18, 2013 11:40
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Why is everyone such a fan of video learning from CBT/INE? I agree that its the least boring method, but the videos just never go deep enough to pass any test. I feel like they are a complete waste of time, because I will still have to read the book in depth to actually pass the test. If I have to read the book in depth.... why bother watching 20 hours of video? I feel like video is great if you want to learn new subjects to understand them, or learn how to perform certain tasks, but its completely inadequate to get you up to the level to pass the harder tests. A very knowledgeable guy showing you how to set the hostname on a router is no help at all when you get questions like "Whats the maximum number of characters for a hostname?".
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May 23, 2013 02:26
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Took the BCNE for free today. I studied like 20-30 hours total. I read the BCNE in a nutshell and took notes even though most was review. Watch the Cisco to Brocade web based training they had, as well as their lab demos and practice test. Reviewed my notes from CCNP. Complete loving overkill. This test was INSANELY easy. Not only that, you only need a 58% to pass. If other Cisco people are looking to take this while its free here is what I recommend to take it fast as possible. In the BCNE nutshell Study VRRP-E section Study MCT section Study Brocade product line (Yes you really need to do this) Refresh your understanding of STP/OSPF (FYI Brocade interface IP selection for router ID is different than CIsco) Study PoE/PoE+ and QoS if you have never done it before Go take the test. Less than 5 hours of study I would say. I'm considering taking the BCNP since this was so easy. Anyone here taken that? How much more challenging is it?
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Jul 6, 2013 05:43
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Island Nation posted:Just took a CCENT (640-822) exam and failed with 788 Techexams forum has some good non NDA breaking stuff. Besides that and maybe networkingforums everything else is people looking for dumps. I don't think there are any secrets to learning anything. You just need to keep doing reps and eventually it sinks in. I think the problem most people have is what is a pass in 99% of other tests or life situations will be a fail on a Cisco exam.
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Jul 8, 2013 06:43
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. Looks like I'll have to take it again while going thru my CCNA Academy course and if I can find another weekend date. I want to say my lack of lab know. doomed me but I really don't know.
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I think measuring how long in days is pointless, because thats not a real unit of measurement since you dont study all day. However, if you define a day as "If you spent all your waking hours studying and labbing" you can knockout the CCNA in one week with no cheating. For CCNP you could do switch in 1 week, route in 1 week, and tshoot in 3 hours (provided you do it after switch/route). Now, as to whether this would be the best way to have long term retention? No, but thats not really the question is it?
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Jul 9, 2013 04:42
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Took Solarwinds cert this week "cold", no study at all. Still managed to pass =D. I've used it a lot, and honestly the test is more on the network engineering / protocol side than it is on Solarwidns specific stuff. Studied for BCNP the rest of the week and took it this Friday, passed as well. Got the partner requirement met for our company. Found BCNP much harder than BCNE, but it still was easy in comparison to CCNP exams. Questions are less tricky, all question include 1 or 2 incredibly wrong answers which makes guessing possible if you have a good background. Never done 2 certs in the same week before, feels good man. Gonna take a break from all the studying lately to catch up with some sidetracked projects at work. Then going after the CCDA/CCDP.
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Jul 20, 2013 22:05
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ChubbyThePhat posted:Yeah I just have R&S. Haven't really thought the CCNP-Security as something I want just yet. Just retake Tshoot man, it has to be one of the easiest things to recertify.
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Oct 29, 2015 04:29
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