Overly Positive

The few faithful of you folks who read me may have noticed a skip in the posting for yesterday – as in, I didn’t put anything up at all. Hey, as much as it’s great to be positive every single day of the year, sometimes you need to take a break to take care of something significant that could lead to even more optimism. Tough to believe, huh?

Well, in my case, I was busy adding to my geek cred by doing final preparations for the first of a couple Cisco certification exams. For those of you who don’t know Cisco – well, they’re only the biggest player in the market as far as network equipment goes. That internet connection you’re using to read this right now? It probably leads back at some point to a piece of Cisco equipment. They’re that pervasive in the market.

The Cisco Certifications follow several different branches, but they all start with something called Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices, or ICND for short. The test used to be more comprehensive, but to provide an easier entry level in recent years they’ve added the CCENT, or Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician, level. This was what I was studying for.

Today, I passed, and with a pretty decent score. So now I have some fancy letters after my name in my resume, which I’ll be making into more impressive sounding letters later on.

Obviously there are things which I’m restricted from telling you, so if you need to know more, look at the topics highlighted on the Cisco 640-822 exam information page.

Suffice it to say, I can recommend a few materials for study:

-Classes – Take an ICND 1 class, whether you pay for it yourself or finagle your place of work into paying for it. Global Knowledge has a great ICND series – and without my teacher, I probably would not have passed.

-CCENT Study Guide by Todd Lammle - I love this book. Todd doesn’t just give you comprehensive information, he explains it in plain English and in a casual tone that won’t bore you. You get diagrams, you get conceptual explanations, and you get challenging written labs and questions that will give you a taste of the kinds of questions that might be on the exam.

-Kaplan’s Self Test Software - I’ve heard good and bad things about Kaplan’s software. I used it as it came with my training material, and it’s good for simulating the testing environment. Remember though – it’s simulated. As with everything else, use it as a supplemental for preparation.

-Good study habits -This seems terribly obvious, but if you don’t have a good study methodology that works for you, you’ll probably have trouble retaining information. No one method is the right method, whether that is flash cards, memorization, writing, or anything else. Pick a way to study that works for you and you’ll be better prepared for sure.

So for all of you aspiring geeks looking to get certified, good luck!