Hello,
This afternoon I passed the CCNP 650-509 foundation exam. Although this
is a long test I would recommend it to everyone seeking Cisco CCNP
certification. There were 155 questions spread over 2 hours and 15 minutes.
I had 55 questions on routing, 47 questions on switching, 49 questions on
remote access, and 4 bonus questions which covered every topic. I spent the
most time on the routing portion, not because I was not comfortable with the
questions but because the testing center started out pretty noisy. After I
opened the door and informed the lady at the front desk that it was loud the
rest of the test was smooth sailing. Bottom line I took to much time on the
routing section, and the time it took to quiet down the facility knocked
some valuable time off to. After the routing portion I moved onto the
switching portion which was starting to drag because my legs were cramping
up and as usual I had to use the bathroom, but the clock kept ticking so I
waited. When the test flipped over to the Remote Access section I was just
hoping to be done, but when I saw 49 questions left and only 30 or so
minutes on the clock I realized that I better get my act together and speed
it up, so I did, however this test made me type in a bunch of commands, as
such it seemed like it took forever. With 3 minutes left I finished the
remote acess section and then I was surprised to find 4 more questions
covering all of the topics. This would have been fine but I only had 3
minutes left and I wasn't expecting more questions. Plus, if your like me
your excited to get done and hope to see the Congratulations on the screen.
I finished with 1 minute left. For some reason when I take these tests I
get so damn excited to see the passing or failing screen that my heart
starts beating in my chest like its going to come out. So imagine this, I
finished the last four questions of the exam, my heart is pounding in
anticipation and excitement, my legs are killing me because I have been
sitting like a zomby for 2 hours and 15 minutes, and I had to use the
bathroom, plus I'm always thinking that I will bump some key and the exam
will disappear (Panic!) Then I get to the part I hate about Cisco tests, I
click the next button, some damn screen pops up with something that I can
never remember because I want my damn passing screen, then the hour glass
flutters for what seems like an eternity. I will give you a comparison, I
used to be a pretty good sprinter. Well when I went to the state track meet
in the 400 meter, I was at the starting line, and the time that I spent
waiting for the ref to say set always seemed like an eternity, this is the
same way I feel when I hit that last button waiting for that last score
screen.
Needless to say I passed. Even though this test was long and intense it
is no different then taking them individually. I really enjoy having these
communities online where you can find out what a test was like. I always
thought that the foundation exam would allow you to make up for areas that
you are weak in, by allowing you to leverage one topic with another. As a
result of reading an archive on this list I learned that each section is
graded seperately (routing, switching, remote access), if you fail one you
fail them all. This was good to know because I wanted to be prepared. The
point of my long boring story is that even though many people knock this
exam, and tell you to take each individually, I feel it was worth my time
and money (it costs only $200 instead of $300 to take all three seperately.)
The remote access exam was by far the most difficult probably because I felt
that some of the topics were a little more boring, but truthfully this exam
was tougher and it was because you had to type out a lot of commands and
that took time, and time is of the essence in a long test like this one.
Bottom line- Take this test its worth every penny plus you'll remember more
of it when you done with the exam. Taking all three at once allows you to
really try your brain to think back on commands you've used and scenarios
you have encountered in your job which can really help in answering a lot of
the questions. I truly believe that your experience with many of the topics
covered on these exams can make a big difference when your stuck on a
particular question.
Have a great day,
JC
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