Can I Pass CCNA in 3 Months?
The short answer is yes!
It all boils down to how much study time and money you are willing to invest. It is not an impossible task to achieve. Whether you are starting from a complete beginner or you already have some level of hands-on experience in the networking field, passing the CCNA exam is doable. However, having the right mindset to approach this will go a long way in your career. Now what do I mean by that? For people who are focusing on only passing the exam, they will manage to find many shortcut methods to do just that. The right mindset to have is to focus on grasping a solid foundational knowledge of networking so that after passing the exam, you have better chances of demonstrating that knowledge in your work tasks and job interview sessions. This is how you enhance your career. This is how you get that job or that promotion or the salary that you always dreamed of. Now after knowing the right mindset and knowing that it is 100% possible to pass your CCNA exam in 3 months, how do you go about this? First things first, be prepared to allocate 2-3 hours a day for study time.
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Online Video Resources
If you are the type of person who can learn virtually, then look out for some videos on CCNA content on YouTube. I would recommend Jeremy’s IT Lab and he has a really good CCNA course on his channel for absolutely free of charge. There is also CCNA Prep On Demand directly from Cisco that provides resources to help you work your way through the exam blueprint.
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CCNA Official Cert Guide (Get the Latest Edition)
This book comes in 2 volumes. These are the best reading materials from Cisco to prepare for the exam. Use the practice questions and lab exercises in the books from all chapters to evaluate which areas you are weak. Then go back to the chapters and work on improvising that. Combine this with practice tests by doing online mock questions to familiarize yourself with the real exam questions and assess your readiness for the exam. Go back and forth with these mock questions and the books.
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Packet Tracer Labs (A MUST!)
A lot of the exam questions revolve around solving networking problems based on real-world scenarios. Therefore, do plenty of packet tracer labs on network configurations, setting up EIGRP network, subnetting, troubleshooting, etc. Look for free or paid sample lab questions and lists of commands and keep practicing on them. This will supply you with the necessary understanding of networking and enhance your problem-solving skills.
If you are the type of person who enjoys learning in a classroom environment because you prioritize interactive learning and do not have 3 months of time to pass CCNA, then a classroom instructor-led training is a great thing for you to opt for. There are a plethora of resources available online to prepare for the CCNA exam, which is a blessing by the way, but it could feel daunting to some of us to even think about where and how to begin and which resources are the right ones for you. Go for classroom instructor-led classes and they will nudge you in the right direction and provide you with step-by-step knowledge which is suitable for your level of understanding.