motivation
i wanted to learn more about security and networking. so i decide to pursue foundational certifications such as the comptia security+ and the cisco CCNA.
why not the network+? i feel that the network+ is a bit too basic, and i think going for the ccna would set better foundations (more hands on with actual commands) plus it kinda stands out more than the network+.
looking back now, for my internship job interviews, the interviewers were always quite impressed that i had the CCNA, and it was a good talking point.
security+
resources used
the resources that i used are the following:
- jason dion security+ course on udemy
- jason dion security+ practice exams on udemy
while going through the videos, i would take notes on key concepts, and place them inside anki flashcards. this took around 3 weeks to complete, and i would usually spend around 5-6 hours a day on the videos and note taking. then i did all the practice exams. for the first one I scored around 70%, then the second one I scored around 80%. i would say the questions are not quite close to the actual exam, but they are good for testing your knowledge and understanding of the concepts.
tips for the exam
schedule your exam BEFORE you start studying. this is important because it gives you a deadline to work towards, and it also helps you to stay motivated. i scheduled my exam in the middle of june, and i was able to complete all the videos and practice exams before that.
skip the performance-based questions at the start. i would recommend skipping them and going back to them at the end. this is because they are usually quite time consuming and you want to make sure you have enough time to answer all the multiple choice questions first.
do not be discouraged if you are unable to solve some questions. some questions are meant to be “beta” questions, and they are not scored. if you are unable to solve some questions, do not worry too much about it. just select the best answer you can and move on. for me i had honestly quite a few of time, and one of it was a pbq i am pretty sure.
final thoughts on the security+
i found the security+ to be a good certification to start with. it covers a wide range of topics, and it is a good foundation for further certifications. i would recommend it to anyone who is interested in security. for my score, i managed to score a 810/900, which is a pretty decent score. i found the key to passing is to make sure to do a lot of practice exams, and to make sure you understand the concepts, rather than just memorizing the answers.
CCNA
resources used
- jeremy’s IT Lab on youtube
- boson exsim practice exams
- boson netsim (CCNA)
- cisco official cert guide
after going through security+, i decided to go for the ccna. if the security+ was a 6/10 in terms of difficulty then the CCNA is a 9.1/10. it was very brutal especially for my goal of getting the ccna before summer break ends (spoiler i did not managed to finish studying before summer break ends). it took me 5 weeks and long study hours to complete all the videos. jeremy’s IT Lab is amazing at explaining the concepts and his labs were very helpful. i did the same strategy of writing notes and making anki flashcards from those notes. i must admit i was definitely super close to burning out but i managed to push through. after that i did the boson exsim practice exams. i would say the questions are much harder and thorough than the actual exam, which is really good for testing your understanding. i also got netsim, but honestly i did not find it necessary. jeremy’s IT lab packet tracer labs are definitely more than enough to get you familiar with the commands. in the end, i needed to move my exam date back to the end of august, and i managed to complete all the videos and practice exams before that.
tips for the exam
unlike comptia exams, you cannot skip any questions. you need to keep this in mind so that you do not spend too much time on the labs. they can appear anywhere during the exam and some are simple and takes around 5 minutes to complete, some are way more complex and might take around 20 minutes to complete. so make sure to manage your time wisely.
make sure you can subnet without a calculator. this is important as you do not have a calculator during the exam, and you need to be able to subnet quickly and accurately. this was the resource i used to learn how to subnet very quickly.
leave no stone unturned. when i was doing the exam, there was one topic that i was not prepared for at all, and it was wlan security. i did not practice that at all and i definitely fumbled on that question hard looking at my results. so make sure to go through all the topics and make sure you are prepared for all of them (even the dreaded spanning tree…)
make sure you are able to do the labs without any guidance at all. this is super super important. after going through the packet tracer labs, i recommend doing it again without looking at the instructions. this will help you get familiar with the commands and the flow of the labs. i know that you can use ? to see commands but trust me, you will blank out on the commands if you use it too much (i sure did). also remember to save the running config to startup config.
final thoughts on the CCNA
man this exam was brutal. when i was in the middle of the exam i was definitely thinking about how to do better for the second attempt. so imagine my surprise when i got “pass” message. unlike comptia exams, cisco doesn’t really show you the final score, only a percentage for categories. I managed to score above 80% for all categories except for…security fundamentals which i got a measly 20%. imagine completing the security+ and scoring well on that then fumbling the bag on security fundamentals for the CCNA. (its probably that wlan security question). but it really does feel great to be able to obtain the CCNA after many weeks of grueling studying. being able to actually configure routers and switches in the real world will definitely set you apart. I highly recommend the CCNA to anyone who is very interested in networking. Perhaps maybe you can use network+ as a stepping stone to the CCNA, but if you are up for it you can definitely go straight for the CCNA.
next steps
after doing these certifications, it definitely gave me a good foundation to build upon. i am currently doing the HTB CPTS and after that the OSCP so maybe look out for a post on that sometime in the future…