I recently passed my Cisco exam and it was a huge relief. I’ve heard so many unpleasant tales about this certification test and this put me on edge a little bit. Well, I went in for the exam and it is done and dusted, and trust me I didn’t experience all the funny tales I’ve heard about it. I decided to write about my experience to encourage and inspire someone planning to embark on this certification test especially if they really want to become a certified IT professional. By the way, I wrote and passed the Cisco 100-105 ICND1 exam, with little to no prior experience in the certification topics but I’ll give lots of the credit to Exam-Labs. I used this platform for my preparation and I must confess; it really helped be a great deal.
General Information about Cisco Exam
Before starting my exam prep, I choose to read up on the test to understand what it entails and what to expect. I learnt a lot at this stage and I guess it really helped me in channeling my energy into the right resources for preparing for the exam. Cisco 100-105 ICND1 is the code for the exam name, Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part One. It is an entry-level test and it is associated with basically other credentials under the Cisco certification program.
Cisco 100-105 is a prerequisite for some of the certifications offered by Cisco, including CCENT, CCNA Routing & Switching, CCNA Wireless, and CCNA Security. The ICND1 exam certifies that a candidate has the knowledge and skills covering network fundamentals, routing technologies, LAN switching technologies, infrastructure maintenance, and infrastructure services. The test comes with 45-55 questions and the time duration for its completion is 90 minutes.
My Experience with Cisco Exam
I came across 54 questions, with additional two simulations in my ICND1 exam. Each of the simulations comes with four questions. I was really excited that most of the questions I came across during the test were those that I’ve answered while working with resources from Exam Labs. Before I go ahead, I think it is important that I reiterate the importance of working with practice questions when preparing for my exam.
I would say I spent more time with practice questions and exam dumps during my preparation than I did with any other book resources. By the way, I didn’t watch a single video or took any training course while preparing for the exam. I only used the CCNA Portable Command Guide and Sybex CCNA 6th edition, and backed these up with lots of practice questions from Exam Labs.
I finished the Cisco exam under the allotted time and it was a seamless experience. Before ending my test, I still had enough time to go over some questions that I needed to double check and I took my time to work through some of them. Note that you would have used the option of ‘flag for later review’ to be able to come back to any question. So at the end of the certification exam, I confirmed my submission and all was done, under the time duration for the test.
So, I don’t sound too cocky, I must confess that I had some challenges at the initial stage of preparing for my exam. Like I said earlier, I took this certification test with little to no experience in the industry. I was barely one year in the industry when I took the exam. At the beginning, I was pretty nervous because I’ve not had any certification experience. I’ve read a lot of tales of woes about this test and I was a bit scared about the process. At some point, I stopped reading about people’s experience with the exam and decided to close my mind to all the negative stories I’ve read. Since I started working, I’ve had some experience in server virtualization and network security. I also have basic understanding of Layer 2 and 3 networking. To help me achieve more in my preparation I focused on the book guides I got and took copious practice questions from Exam Labs. This was a great help for me as I covered more in terms of likely questions and answers in the exam.
My Preparation Methods in Summary
I’m sure you would want to know the specifics of my preparation methods and what I did right. Well, I’ll say it’s a combination of things. Let me quickly highlight what I did during my preparation.
- I read the examobjectives thoroughly
Going through the certification page, I went through the exam objectives in detail. I left no stone unturned as I studied each of the objectives and made notes on the areas I am conversant with and those that I am not. I grouped the unfamiliar topics together and decided to tackle those first and get them out of the way.
- I developed my study plan
I didn’t just study haphazardly. I made a plan and stuck to it. Like I said, I put the unfamiliar topics first in my plan and using my CCNA Portable Command Guide and Sybex CCNA 6th edition, I studied those parts first. I didn’t take any training course and neither did I attend any boot camp for the exam. All I used were these two book resources and practice questions.
- I used Exam Labs
About half of my study time was dedicated to taking exam dumps from Exam Labs. I used the exam simulator engine to evaluate my test taking skills and I was able to answer full length questions within the exam duration. It is important to mention that taking practice test must be done strategically. Don’t answer questions halfway and after going through the questions, take time to go through the evaluation to know areas where you need to focus on. I worked through several questions and ensured that I scored at least 95% of each question package before I moved on.
Conclusion
I registered for the Cisco certification test four weeks after I started my exam preparation and scheduled it for the next three weeks. So in total, I would say I prepared for the exam over a period of seven weeks. I’ve started preparing for my ICND2 and I hope to take it within the next couple of weeks. My goal is obtaining the CCNA Routing and Switching certificate!