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CCNA Certification Library 182
Self-Study Certification Library | |
author | Wendell Odom |
pages | 1232 (combined) |
publisher | Cisco Press |
rating | 6 |
reviewer | Michael Bennett Cohn |
ISBN | 1587200953 |
summary | Useful but annoying; Decent study materials for Cisco tests 640-811 and 641-821. |
Although it is possible to enroll in official ICND and INTRO courses created by Cisco, the books that make up this "library," apparently, are not the books used in those courses. Within the ICND book, Odom refers to "the ICND course, on which the exam is partly based," suggesting that what you have in your hands is a reverse-engineered study guide: a study guide for an exam that is based on a course that does not use said book. Odom occasionally presents tables that he claims come from the ICND course. Clearly, some parts of the course are not fair game for the study guide.
In other words, don't think that just because you are reading the official Cisco press CCNA study guides, you are dealing with a set of information that is as close as possible to the set of information from which the test was drawn.
Studying these books will prepare you for the CCNA in the same way that reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z will prepare you to identify the capital of Nairobi. It goes without saying that a CCNA candidate should not be studying just to pass a test, she should be studying to qualify herself for a job. But in this case, the difference between the material presented and the material actually making up the test is excessive.
Odom goes to a lot of effort to make the reader feel like he is being spoken to by a friend. "Fun, isn't it?" he writes, after presenting an illustration of function groups and access points that I had to re-draw for myself several times in order to understand. Later, he describes Inverse ARP as "another case of learning by listening, a great lesson for real life!" Gee, thanks. The subtle condescension in the non-humorous asides, the gleeful overuse of exclamation points, and the fable in which Pebbles Flintstone invents networking is compounded by the persistent contextual encapsulation of every single topic in the book. Odom tells you what he's going to tell you, then he tells you, then he tells you what he's told you, much more than necessary.
A better way to put the flustered reader at ease might have been to proofread the books. The ICND guide, especially, is so full of typos that it is often embarrassing to read. In some cases, these are nothing more than obvious misspellings that can be passed over without much more than a little annoyance (e.g. ICND p. 472, "status enquiry messages"). In other cases, the meaning of the sentence is muddled. Worse, the configuration examples have obviously not been proofread either, resulting in, for example, the prompt "R1(config)#" when the appropriate prompt is "R1(config-if)." The difference may seem trivial, but understanding its significance is the kind of stuff the CCNA is all about.
Each book comes with a CD containing a practice test engine and a router simulator (both from Boson). The mistakes in the ICND book pale in comparison to those in the CD test engines. In fact, an argument could be made that studying with those practice tests will hinder more than help the CCNA candidate who has not read the books thoroughly enough to recognize the mistakes. Many multiple-choice questions count correct answers wrong and vice versa (and some of these are taken directly from the books, which usually give the correct answer). A configuration entered into the CLI on a simulator question will be graded as wrong, and the user will then be presented with an identical configuration as an example of the correct way to solve the problem.
None of these problems change the fact that these books will, if used correctly, absolutely help you pass the CCNA. But do it this way: Read the INTRO book. Take the exam right away. If you don't pass, flip through the ICND book and find the areas that you actually need to work on. You'll save months of study time that could be better spent working on your CCNP.
I give the library as a whole 3 out of 5 stars.
You can purchase the CCNA Certification Library from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
yeah great.. (Score:1, Funny)
Updated, unabridged. (Score:2, Informative)
Then again, why are they reading Slashdot?
CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:5, Insightful)
I mean, come on now. If this networking novice can pass a test for a networking cert then the value of that cert is substantially reduced. The CCNA is almost as worthless as the MCSE and A+. Any schmuck can get their MCSE.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Brain Dumping (Score:5, Insightful)
Bingo - that's it, the problem, the head of the nail that we're hitting (as it were).
The reason that certifications have lost so much ground in the last five to ten and the reason that nobody respects MCSEs any longer is because of the nature of the testing. When certification exams are a matter of cramming your mind full of administrivia and memorizing cheat-sheets that teach the quick powers-of-two needed to compute a subnet mask, it's no wonder that the average level of the passing applicant falls. Facts and Figures can be memorized with some ease.
MCSE exams fell prey to an entire cottage industry that exists to help people pass them. Think of every radio ad you've ever heard promising that wealth, riches, and beautiful women can all be yours if you just step into the magical and happy world of Information Technology! The industry's job is to ram you through a bootcamp training session and then have you dump that information back out on a certification exam, automagically, while your brain is still raw and bleeding. How much you retain isn't important to them at all; they try to drill into you the erroneous concept that Certification == Job
The brain dump sites online, the exam cram book writers, and the people promising instant results can actually deliver: it is totally possible to ace a certification by studying old tests, reading old questions, and overloading for the purpose of passing your exam.
And, just like back in college, you will not remember most of this information after the fact.
The only way to really prove yourself is to start small, to learn what you can, and to etch it into your mind through repetition and hands-on experience.
Do what you have to to get your certification. Do not expect to land an 80k/yr job off of it alone -- it won't work. (God help you if it does, you'll learn what being fired feels like very shortly thereafter.) Expect to land a starter job, and use that to make an impression on your bosses; learn fast, learn often, be a good employee.
The recommendations of people you've worked for and with will serve you better in the long run than your certification will. It's time to rely on your qualities, rather than the qualities the paper says you have.
Re:Brain Dumping (Score:4, Interesting)
In my case I started this at home. Got the "addiction" and started buying and tinkering with computers as fast as my budget would allow. I used to be the guy who bought new games and secretly hoped something wouldn't work right out of the box so I could figure out why. One day I looked up and I knew enough that someone would actually pay me to fix PCs for a living.
Eventually that led me to better technician jobs and finally the desire to work on bigger problems. I got an entry level position here where I still work and started learning networks from my boss (And he started his "addiction" in the early 70's). At one point about four years ago management decided that we all needed to be MCSE certified and laid out a bunch of money to a training company for classes and vouchers. We were running Novell then and since we had been given the "We're switching to NT now" speech (again from management) they felt like we needed some training.
We were all like "Ok, whatever." I went to the first class and tried to get into it but I wasn't learning anything. Sure I was learning how much Microsoft thought of their product but everything relevant was stuff I learned on the job. I ended up passing on the rest of the classes and just picking up some "Dummies" books and finishing it on my own.
The vouchers my company paid for were of some use (because I wouldn't have bothered to pay for those tests on my own) and we ended up using the class time for another employee who needed some SQL training but the content was worthless. It amounted to me spending time learning enough "Administrivia" as you so nicely put it just to pass a stupid test I didn't really need and didn't want in the first place.
On the other hand my brother jumped into this field because you could make bank in it. He went to college, I didn't. He has a CIS (or one of those, I don't really know or care much) degree and as soon as he got out he went through the Certification feeding frenzy and jumped into a job from the get go that paid more than I was making. I tried to talk him into spending some time to learn a foundation but he wanted the money and he got it. The thing is though he's lost and in way over his head. I think it's only a matter of time before he's looking for work because he doesn't love this stuff and he doesn't know it well enough. His paper means not much in the long run.
It might sound like I'm looking forward to him hitting the wall but I'm not. I really just wish he'd listened to me (and had gone after something he enjoyed instead of what he thought was going to get him in a BMW faster). I've seen enough of the paper admins to know that no good comes of it.
Re:Brain Dumping (Score:1)
Re:Brain Dumping (Score:2)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
I know more than one person that I would consider networking incompotent that got their CCNA on their first try. They don't know jack about networking. The extent of their networking experience is plugging their cable modem into the Ethernet jack on the back of their Gateway-built computer. That's all they've ever done (or will ever do).
I have to wonder: what was the point of this person even taking the exam if they didn't know much about networking to begin with? I can't see the motivation for even tak
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:5, Interesting)
I had already passed their resume' screening and phone interview process and was now down to the face-to-face (also known as the `Eyes, Fingers and Toes` check) and an on-site technical interview. After a brief discussion of my qualifications and experiences, one of their lead engineers was called over.
Him: Okay, let's begin. Define `TCP/IP`.
Me:
Him: It's just a standard question.
Me:
Him: The MCSE is why I'm asking.
I kid you not. At the time I was sincerely insulted, but having spent a career surrounded by engineers who didn't know their asses from their elbows, I can see why he held that belief. The threat of the Paper MCSE is quite real -- and now, unfortunately, Cisco's certifications are being proven to have the same flaws.
Certifications in the tech world are just like degrees, people -- they're paper. They're that foot in the door. They're a proof that you can read a book and pass a standardized test. They don't guarantee employment. They may get you the interview, just don't expect more from them.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:4, Interesting)
How is it that Microsoft gets away with using this phrase when the certification is not recognized by the association of professional engineers?
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:3, Funny)
I have had the same problem at my work. I got very annoyed with every trumped up MCSE or CCNA declaring themselves either an "engineer" or an "architect". So I now have a rotating set of sigs to poke fun at their made up qualifications. For example,
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
I agree that the title means nothing. I also know of engineers who aren't worth the paper their degrees are printed upon. Similarly I know several high-school dropouts who have incredible skill and intelligence. IMO a degree is next to worthless; it simply proves you could afford to waste several years in academia.
But that said, I still have an issue who claim to ha
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
I don't get upset. As I said, I just think it's funny. I agree it's equally stupid when RedHat does it, and when Novell does it for that matter.
Yes... I know that CCNA means associate, it says so on my little card here that I got when I passed the CCNA exam, but the dolts around here still put "architect" in their sig.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2, Interesting)
Quite frankly, "engineer" without qualifiers such as "P.E." means very little. It's a generic term with no licensed or legally binding meanings.
For another example, I do have a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University, but I elected not to take the P.E. exam. (for reference Computer Engineering is an offshoot of Electrical Engineering, specializing in a mixture of digital hardware design and software)
Does this make me an
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
They had it first, so we EE's cut them slack. If it helps you, think of it this way: they are "Engine-ers (injun-ers)", as in, "one who controls an engine". Not "Engineers (injun-eers)". BTW, you could be that too, if you could drive a train.
Computer Engineering is an offshoot of Electrical Engineering
I think you misspelled undershoot. Or perhaps failure.
Does this make me an engineer or not?
Not.
I've certainly taken
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
No offense was intended -- but at the schools I'm familiar with (UF, MIT) CS is distinct from CE, and CE is a subset of EE, but it's not in the degree title. That is, you can get an EE "specializing" in Computer Engineering. It's still called a "BSEE". So, the "Computer Engineers" I know all have BSEE's. They're EE's who specialized in digital and skipped some analog/fields stuff. Sounds like that's what you did.
Remember: Suspend logic during interview process (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2, Interesting)
I used to work for the largest web hosting provider in the world (no lie, I'm just not saying they're name here as they will probably see it) and th
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
I personally like job experience, what projects did you work on, etc. And I believe that each and every one of us are capable of being a Sr. Tech in any field if we're put in the right environment with a patient group of people who want to teach and learn.
Some people just take a little more encouragement and incentive to become interested in this techno
You need a CCIE, not CCNA... (Score:3, Informative)
You need at least a CCIE to get a networking job in the us now.
Re:You need a CCIE, not CCNA... (Score:2)
Bullshit. I talked to the guys from the company who set up our school district's Cisco VoIP phone system, and they told me the minimum requirement to get hired there is a CCNA. I teach IT classes at our high school, and a lot of my kids get CompTIA certs (A+, Network+, etc.). I completely agree with everyone who has said that a paper certification like A+ or MCSE is just that - a piece of paper. However, the knowledge gained while prepari
Check your premise... (Score:2)
I'm not trying to bust your nuts or anything, but you're out of touch... (I don't know if you've always been a teacher, or if it's just been a long time since you worked in the private sector.)
First and fo
Re:You need a CCIE, not CCNA... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:You need a CCIE, not CCNA... (Score:2)
The real question is, would the people with no certification that are currently employeed as network engineers get hired in today's job market for their current position if they had to interview for it?
Re:You need a CCIE, not CCNA... (Score:2)
The job market for network people is so bad over her e in the Research Triangle Park, NC area that I got out of it all together. That may just be the RTP area, I don't know. What I do know is that there have been such massive layoffs at Nortel, Ericsson, Cisco, MCI, BTI, you name it, that there is a hell of a glut of experienced, highly trained out of work network folks that a CCNA isn't going to do jack to help you
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:4, Informative)
I've done *nix systems administration and programming for upwards of 6 years now, and I failed the CCNA cert the first time because I underestimated it. It required me to study, which is more than I can say for any other cert.
Its *not* on the same level as an MCSE (which I agree with you on).
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
I passed the CCNA exam in 2000, after narrowly failing it on my first try. At the time, I was a *nix admin and also lead network engineer at medium-sized regional ISP. Certainly, I knew how to configure Cisco routers, switches, and RASes, since I was doing that work every day. This included configuring authenticated OSPF and maintaining a whole bunch of access lists.
However, I had, with the help of others, taught myself my craft over several years and had never ta
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:4, Insightful)
And you have yours, right? On Windows 2000? Or, is your only experience with Windows an old desktop running Windows 98? I have to say, the Windows 2000 MCSE is difficult enough that "any schmuck" would have problems getting one.
P.S. - Yes, I have mine, in NT4, Windows 2000, and a Red Hat Linux RHCE (and about six years working in both Microsoft server and Linux OSs). Repeat after me: The Proper Tool for the Job...
Just pay the money and you'll be certified. (Score:3, Informative)
Check google for
"boot camp" MCSE 2000
and you'll probably find one in your area.
Not "any schmuck" will be able to get certified
-but-
"any schmuck" with the cash will be able to get certified.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Repeat after me: Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.
If using the tool involves giving up my freedom then I'll manage to do without.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Repeat after me: Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. If using the tool involves giving up my freedom then I'll manage to do without.
A good enough point, and I support and use free (as in speech) software wherever possible, but I don't make purchasing decisions for all of my clients. I think that it'd be kind of unprofessional of me to say "D00d, you're running Windows? You're screwed. I refuse to work on that." I don't know if that's what
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
In my experience, not yet. Is there any technical reason why free software couldn't always be the best tool for the job? Nope. The reasons why non-free tools are sometimes better are economical, political and historical. Given enough time, I think those reasons will cease to be relevant.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Left my parent's home after finishing high school. Held two jobs while putting myself through university. Now own my own home.
Have absolutely no tolerance for people like you who think idealism is only held by people who have not experienced life.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2, Insightful)
Getting your CCNA is about the equivalent fo getting your MCP, they're both entry level, one or two test, certs. You don't expect someone with a CCNA to be able to configure BGP anymore than you would expect an MCP to set-up your Active Directory. The next step up is a whole other issue, the CCNP/CCDP is significantly harder to obtain than an MCSE, and there's really no MS equivalent of a CCIE.
It s
Re: (Score:2)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Being able to configure BGP (Border Gateway Protocol version 4) is NOT part of the CCNA cirriculum.
And because BGP stands for "Border Gateway Protocol," you wouldn't "configure *a* BGP". You would configure BGP.
Pay more attention during your class. I suspect you've confused "a BGP" with "an IGP," where IGP means "Interior Gateway Protocol."
Would you like me to list them?
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
I've never taken a standardized test for IT related stuff, but I thought a lot of the CCNA's running around out there.
I've been using BIND for a while, BGP seems relatively easy when compared to a lot of other things. (Perl and IPSEC are just a couple that come to mind.) I would have expected a CCNA to thoroughly understand BGP.
Sure, I've thought about getting a cert or two, but I like doing my own learning for the most part. This discussion tells me I sho
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
"This discussion tells me I should care less about getting certs as long as I can still get a comfortable job in the industry. "
I very much agree with this statement, I got a bunch of certs in my first couple of years in IT. When your boss says "I'll give anyone who get's th
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
As for certifications, my own personal experience:
I had no technical certifications until 2 years ago, and at that point, I'd been doing high-end Cisco consulting for over 7 years.
My experience carried me a long way, and I always made signifigantly higher salaries than the industry norms.
Then, the company I had been working
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
I'm sorry an education of BGP is honestly an education of the internet it self. anyone who has studied or taken the CCNP can easily
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
CCNA is like a degree. It's paper. You can have it and
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
In my experience, customers do appreciate the fact that you are certified. For some reason, that makes you God. "He is certified, so he knows". Funny, but true.
People who are in the networking business know that CCNA is worth nothing. They also know that someones knowledge does not depend on certifications, but ones ability to use google and understand the answers.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:5, Insightful)
He is on Slashdot, after all.
Still, your point about the value of the CCNA certification is valid... I know a lot of people that have gotten their CCNA having never logged into a Cisco router or switch.
It is, at it's crux, an entry level certification. The material that is presented at this level is theoretical, not practicle.
I'm teaching an informal CCNA class internally here at work this week. We're covering the core topics:
This is all foundational knowledge... The CCNA isn't about learning to configure Cisco routers, switches, or firewalls.
It's more about building a vocabulary, and a basic understanding of networking topics.
Once you've got that, then you can start learning the real stuff.
Re:SCNG? (Score:2)
Lookee there! It's apparently a Slashdot-Certified Networking Guy!
Nice... (Score:2)
My experience as a CCNA (Score:1)
In 2002 I engaged in the networking academy and I must say I was impressed. We had 6 months of classes with plenty of hands on activities and laboratories. We learned a lot with the practical classes. I got in touch with different routers and switches and in the labs we built full networks passing through carefully thought design to mounting the cables and configuring the routers, switches and PCs. To
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
I understand that CCNA v3.0 is going to change that, which can only be a good thing. I'd like to think that a CCNA was an actual "router guy," but to date, it hasn't meant that.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:1)
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:2)
Certifications are not going to impress your IT contemporaries, or your manager, or your buddies here on Slashdot.
They're going to impress those pinheads in Human Resources that act as the gatekeepers for the people that conduct the actual IT interviews, and make the hiring decisions.
Once you get the interview, knowledge and experience are king.
Prior to that, you need to get past a drone with some acronyms scrawled on a note
alleviating the outsourcing blues? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:alleviating the outsourcing blues? (Score:5, Informative)
That said, if you want your resume to actually be looked at for a networking position, having the CCNA is not a mark against you. That foot in the door can be a huge, huge benefit - it's your primary means of self-marketing until you either..
1) Learn to write a really effective resume, or
2) Have sufficient experience to get hired on that basis instead.
The CCNA is the key that opens the door to certain kinds of networking interviews. If you're thinking about going for it, consider what kinds of jobs it'll open you up for: Networking Jobs. An awful lot of kids I went to school with years back swore up and down they wanted to be network engineers when what they really wanted to be were sysadmins; the fields are different, the credentials and criteria are different, and the certs you need to support them are different.
The CCNA is what you'll want if you enjoy swimming in Cisco equipment, love configuring VPNs, enjoy troubleshooting RADIUS logging on your AAA box, and suchlike. If those aren't your hobbies, re-evaluate what it is you're really going for.
Re:alleviating the outsourcing blues? (Score:1)
Re:alleviating the outsourcing blues? (Score:2)
Not much... (Score:1)
The best thing to do is cross train, get a related job like systems administration and then try to help out or move into a position.
A lot of HR people will put CCNA on a job posting just to fluff the requirements. When people
What good timing (Score:3, Insightful)
Hopefully I can find those books somewhere on the internet, because I am even more broke than a blonde joke.
What other certs would anyone recommend? I just want to add some credibility to my resume.
Thanks in advance.
Re:What good timing (Score:1)
Re:What good timing (Score:1)
Re:What good timing (Score:2)
Getting an entry level (some call a "crap") job that builds up experience should then lend itself well to becoming a certified professional that has actual hands-on experience.
What I think is that most introductory level vendor certifications shou
Worthless? (Score:4, Funny)
And we're worried about tech jobs being sent to India...
Limitations of product specific qualifications (Score:1, Interesting)
Not a whole lot of real value in them... (Score:1, Informative)
CCNA (Score:1, Informative)
But practice, experience puts the knowledge to test...either you can or can not.
Example: I've never taken a car engine apart...but I could buy a book and read how to
The CCNA is precisely what it claims to be (Score:5, Insightful)
network that someone else has designed. Some companies will undoubtedly misunderstand this, hire a CCNA, and feel misled when they get someone who knows how to type "interface ethernet0/0, ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0, no shut," but the failure is on their end -- they did not look into what the certification covers. It's all there on Cisco's webpage.
Re:The CCNA is precisely what it claims to be (Score:2)
(From http://www.cisco.com/en/US/learning/le3/le2/le23/
"Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) is the most rigorous of Cisco's Career Certifications..."
For that matter, I think you've got a letter to write to Merriam-Webster, too, because apparently they misspelled "genius" in their last dictionary!
The capital of Nairobi??? (Score:5, Funny)
Ahem. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. Perhaps the poster should read his Encyclopedia Britannica.
Or at least give the World Factbook [cia.gov] or WikiPedia [wikipedia.org] a quick look.
Re:The capital of Nairobi??? (Score:2)
Ahem. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. Perhaps the poster should read his Encyclopedia Britannica.
You should read your dictionary. From the definition of of [reference.com]:
Lammle all the way. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Lammle all the way. (Score:1)
I took a CCNA boot camp (I had never even seen a cisco device before) about 2 years ago and passed on the first try. I took it from Lammle's company Global Net Training. It was expensive but the class was very small and I gained a lot of confidence on a topic I had previously had almost no experience with.
I am starting a CCNP course thats based on the Cisco Academy courses next week. I am guessin
CCNA a foot in the door (Score:2, Interesting)
Not just the CCNA, all certs are worthless (Score:1)
All certs need a hands-on test like the CCIE. Or a person to person interview where the obvious numbnuts can be weeded out. Without this the cert is just another test of one's ability to memorize the answers that they received through some test trai
Re:Not just the CCNA, all certs are worthless (Score:1)
CCNA Study Guides (Score:2, Informative)
website (simple registration required) that has
tons of CCNA, CCDA, CCDP, CCNP and CCIE goodies.
The url is http://www.gdd.net [gdd.net]
CCNA exam will get harder, very soon (Score:1)
I found that the 'old' chapter test exams were just multiple choice questions, and I beleive the final CCNA exam was also a multiple choice exam. Everyone knows just how easy multiple choice exams are, and I was happily getting 90-100% throughout the semester.
This semester we've been put onto version 3.0 of the CCNA. It's now a multiple choice multiple answer sty
Re:CCNA exam will get harder, very soon (Score:1)
As most posters have already said, my rudimentary knowledge of networking (plus maybe a good book) would be enough for me/most people to pass an exam, but it wouldnt give me any hands on experience. The 4 semester course gives me the chance to play about with 'x' thousand dollars worth of cisco gear in the student lab. I value the learning experience much more than the certification that it will lead to.
A useful review for once (Score:2)
It's depressing that Michael's description of the book is basically negative, but still touts it as a complete preparation for the CCNA exam. Which suggests that the exam is basically pretty lame. I guess the comparison with the Capital of Nairobi (about $2 billion dollars, I think) is all too apt! In both cases, you're memori
CCNA v3.0 (Score:2)
Re:CCNA v3.0 (Score:1)
CCNA is a stepping stone (Score:1, Offtopic)
Once you've completed the CCNA and the companion Cisco Certified Design Associate you're ready to start on the Network and Design Professional (CCNP/CCDP) certifications.
Cisco Netacad (Score:1)
These books are ridiculous (Score:2, Informative)
If I hadn't been studying at the time I would have documented them and sent them to Cisco. Come on Cisco, con
My cert story (Score:1)
Thrilled as I was, the engineering department was taking some hits,
Networking student (Score:1)
It seems hands-on learning beats the book any day. I have a friend who graduated from the same class last year and was hired right out of high school into a job in the tech department of a massive company with a sta
Re:Just another SlashVert (Score:2)
I think its just another SlashWhine from someone trolling about how Slashdot sucks but spends their life on it anyways.
Re:Just another SlashVert (Score:2)
Thank you, I love you, let's have wild sex.
Re: (Not) Just another SlashVert (Score:2)
As for whether or not it's a SlashVert, let's consider the review itself...
Re: (Not) Just another SlashVert (Score:2)
Re:Another Objective Review (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:passed without classes... (Score:1)
Re:passed without classes... (Score:2)
Nuff said.
I agree that a degree isn't always everything. That's part of my point. So what, you have a MCSE thingy, or you finished two weeks of CS at a local devry...
What have you done with this?
If I were in a position to hire people I'd take people who have accomplished things [e.g. work on their own tangible projects] over people who just have a degree or diploma.
Tom
Re:passed without classes... (Score:2, Interesting)
You get someone that knows basic routing and subnetting.
Out of the 5 (experienced
Well thats my rant for the evening
ps
Re:Mod Me Down!! (Score:2)