Folks
Due to suffering from Cisco withdrawal symptoms recently (I am "between
jobs" right now and my lab is in storage awaiting a house move, so I
havent actually had my hands on cisco kit for 3 months) I decided to go
for the only cisco certs that dont strictly require hands-on practice,
the DCN and CID exams.
After spending a week or two studying Top Down Network Design (an
excellent book by the way Priscilla), I signed up for DCN on Tuesday and
CID on Thursday. Over the weekend I read the Cisco press DCN course book
and cert guide and took the DCN exam on Tuesday morning. Then spent the
rest of the day and wednesday reading the CID course book and cert guide
and took the CID exam on Thursday morning.
OK, now I am going to get to the point of this email. What really
suprised me was the difficulty level of the two exams.
Although I basically did well in the DCN exam overall, I am convinced
that were it not for what I know from my previous CCNP/CCIP studies, I
would have failed this exam. ie I scored 100% on all the technology
areas (Lan protocols, wan technologies, bridging/switching, routing
protocols and Network management), but scored poorly on the core CCDA
areas.
Then when I came to the CID exam, I went in expecting a really tough
exam (based on what I have heard here and other places) and ended up
completing the exam in less than 30 minutes and passing.
So, the crux of the issue is ... was my experience unusual or has the
difficulty of these exams changed recently. Admitedly I do feel that I
actually learnt a lot in my study for the exams, but somehow I almost
feel cheated. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from pushing
yourself, learning a load of new stuff and then passing a difficult exam
(ie validating your knowledge), and this time I dont seem to feel that
sense of accomplishment.
OK, time for me to stop rambling on. Any thoughts anyone?
Peter Walker
Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=56319&t=56319
--------------------------------------------------
FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
