Having the Right Attitude

Before we get started, I want to address the #1 factor that leads to success in this program: Motivation.

If you don’t believe you can pass the test and get a good job, you will not.

You have to trust the process and believe in yourself that even if you don’t understand the topics right now, you will do everything it takes to improve and succeed.

Everyone struggles through this course, and rightly so! There are two massive volumes of content that take roughly 4 months of constant study to get through. Don’t feel bad if something is confusing; ask questions and figure it out.

Another aspect is being able to accept constructive criticism. If someone corrects you, treat it as an opportunity for growth, not criticism. You’ll find that this is an effective way of learning.

For more information on what makes a successful mindset, see this article:

With the right mindset, you’ll have the solid foundation needed to begin study. Now let’s move into some of the materials available to you throughout your CCNA/Network+ studies.

Materials

Provided by C-TEC

In the C-TEC Cybersecurity Program you are provided the following materials:

  • The Official Cert Guide Library for CCNA
    • Contains some of the best practice tests available, more than enough to study for and pass the CCNA
    • Create an account and register both volumes of the Official Cert Guide (OCG) Library on Cisco Press and Pearson Test Prep in order to access the supplemental resources (such as the practice tests)
  • CCNA Portable Command Guide
  • Your teacher
  • Your classmates
  • Alumni accessible through Discord
  • Google Classroom
    • In the classroom, there will be many linked external resources, labs, and practice tests, which also double as your homework

Finally, one of the most valuable resources that C-TEC provides for the CCNA (and any of the certifications they offer) is accountability. You are given a teacher and a whole class of students who all want you to succeed.

Free Resources

If you are not enrolled at C-TEC, no worries! There are many free resources online to assist in studying both the CCNA and Network+. You can of course purchase resources, like the Official Cert Guide mentioned above, but it is not required.

Here are a few free resources you can use to get the most out of self study:

Wendel Odom’s Network Upskill vs Jeremy’s IT Lab

Jeremy’s IT Lab: Excellent lectures with in-depth explanations on every single CCNA topic, often going above and beyond the official exam objectives. Contains 40+ labs with explanations that solidify each of the exam objectives. Has practice questions after every video. One downfall is that it is not directly mapped with the OCG, however I have manually mapped his videos to each section for your convenience.

Wendell Odom’s Network Upskill: A variety of different style lectures with a focus on active recall and differing perspectives from the OCG to complement the book set. Matches the order of the OCG for convenience. As of writing this blog, it is still incomplete, but offers a unique take on a CCNA course. A very cool feature are the “Interview Prep” videos, which get you thinking about how to professionally talk about what you’ve learned.

If I had to choose one, I would lean towards Jeremy’s IT Lab. However, I feel it is best to utilize both at different times. I recommend watching Wendell Odom’s Free CCNA Course along with reading the book throughout the 4 months of networking class you have at C-TEC, then during the last month, review by watching all of Jeremy’s IT Lab.

Why? By immersing yourself in CCNA study through multiple different sources, it helps you to gain a deeper understanding of the subjects. While Jeremy might not make a topic click, maybe the OCG or Wendell Odom will.

Making the Most of Your Resources

I cannot stress this enough: ask as many questions as possible, even if they seem silly. For every question you ask, there are likely other students who were thinking the same thing, but did not ask. When you ask the question and engage with the class, it helps you remember things better and helps others who may have had the same questions.

One of the best ways to learn is by teaching others, so by helping someone on their lab or to explain a difficult concept to them can help you to better understand what you’re talking about when it comes to passing the certifications, and more importantly, the interview.

As for Discord, many students share resources they find online or create, like flashcards. Make sure you join to gain access to these resources and potentially connect with C-TEC alumni as well. You may even want to look at setting up study groups to hang out with your class and improve the chances of everyone’s success.

You will need to install Packet Tracer in order to do most CCNA level labs (including those created by Wendell Odom, Jeremy’s IT Lab, and those provided by C-TEC). If you aren’t doing labs, it is extremely difficult to succeed at the CCNA and Network+. Do yourself a favor and become fluent in solving networking labs. After a while, you start to enjoy them.

In order to use the flashcards provided by Jeremy’s IT Lab and Josh Madakor, you’ll need to install Anki, a flashcard tool.

For a deep dive on specific topics, you can visit Practical Networking’s Playlists for a deep dive on topics such as ACLs, subnetting, NAT, OSPF, and cryptography. His website SubnetIPv4.com even contains some practice problems to assist you in getting better.

Each Week in Class

Here, I’ve provided a checklist you can use to make sure you’re using class time as efficiently as possible.

When I took the class, the pace was about 1 book part per week, or 1 chapter per day.

  1. When you’re in class, make sure you are regularly doing all of the following:
    • Pay attention,
    • take notes,
    • do labs to the best of your ability,
    • ask questions
    • Do quick Google searches or ask AI about topics that you might be curious about or have not learned before. It’s good to get a brief introduction to assist in understanding the teacher.
  2. Choose 1 of the following series to review during break/in-between class. Keep in mind that 2x speed is recommended as this is review, but pause and take notes as needed:
  3. Optionally, do the labs that go along with Jeremy’s CCNA Course, these are good for the topics that were only briefly mentioned in class
  4. Speed read through the OCG, slowing down if there is anything you need to focus on, have the OCG open to help you with labs
  5. Do all DIKTA (Do I know the Answer) & Part Review Questions on Pearson Test Prep for the section you are studying
  6. Take the quiz assigned in class slowly, think about each question, do not review the quiz before submitting, afterwards, look at what you got wrong and study it, or even throw it into AI and ask to describe why you got it wrong

Before the CCNA Exam

Complete all or almost all of the Pearson Test Prep CCNA Exam Content. The per volume exams and the full exams share the same content, so I recommend doing the CCNA Volume 1 Exam 1, Volume 2 Exam 1, CCNA Full Exam 3, and CCNA Full Exam 4. Do the per volume exams using Study mode and the full exam ones using Practice Exam mode. Look at your scores from the CCNA practice exams and focus your study on areas you struggle with.

Look at the CCNA Exam Topics and review anything that you are uncomfortable with. Keywords: Troubleshoot, Configure, Verify, & Interpret are all topics I would do more extensive lab study on. Recognize, Explain, Compare, etc mean that it’s more knowledge based. See pages 594-595 in the OCG Vol. 2 for a chart that goes over this stuff.

Try to Complete the CCNA Final Lab Exam before taking the test. It helps a ton during the lab sections in the real exam. If you get done early, try to complete Jeremy’s IT Lab CCNA MEGA LAB.

Ask the teachers lots of questions to fill as many knowledge gaps as possible before it’s too late.

Read the last chapter of Volume 2. It has more in depth test taking tips, a chart of everything you need to be able to configure, and more helpful stuff.

During the test

It helped me to use the earplugs that are provided in the testing center. In fact, I attribute the reason I had so much time left to the earplugs. They help you focus by blocking out background noise, which means your attention can be shifted towards the questions. Also, a good meal, hydration, and sleep helps too.

The CCNA is special amongst exams you take at C-TEC because unlike other exams, you cannot go back and review your answers. This can be frightening to many, however it is a blessing in disguise. You will not have time to go back to review your answers on most certification tests, and usually, your first instinct is correct when it comes to taking the test. When you go back to review your answers, you are more likely to switch a correct answer to an incorrect answer than the reverse.

Use it to your advantage by worrying only about the single question/lab that is on your screen at one time. Nothing else matters, focus on that one question until you are confident you picked the best answer you could possibly pick, then move on and forget about it. Sometimes, I even take the provided dry erase marker and use it to assist in reading the screen. Use whatever helps you focus on the question at hand, and you will succeed.

Using this strategy is also recommended on tests that you are allowed to review your answers on, however it is a bit more forgiving on those tests if you are 100% sure you got an earlier question wrong (this is the only case where you should change your answer).

In order to be successful in the labs, you will need to have a full understanding of every command covered in the OCG. Many students in previous years were not even able to start with the labs because if the question is asking you to do something in a specific way and you didn’t know that was possible, it’s really hard to guess. However, if you did have experience on a lab beforehand, but you just can’t remember the specifics, you can save yourself by using the autocomplete present in Cisco IOS along with the ? key to find the correct command(s).

If you fail a Certification Exam

Don’t give up hope. These exams are tough. However, failing an exam is one of the best ways to gain experience for the next attempt.

Immediately after failing, write down in a notebook everything you can remember from the test. You can use your notes about the exam for your own study, but it’s against the NDA to share those notes.

Then look at the exam topics list and think about which areas you could improve on.

From there, revisit practice tests, look at different lectures, reread the OCG, and use alternative resources to understand what stumped you during the test.

Afterward, you’ll have an advantage and can walk in confident that you did everything you needed to succeed.

How the Network+ Compares to the CCNA

You could also call this section “Before the Network+ Exam”. After studying for the CCNA, there are only a few topics remaining to master the Network+, and you should easily pass given that you completed all CCNA studies. In fact, I don’t recommend studying for the Network+ exclusively at all, with the few exceptions mentioned below.

Why? Because often, it is the most difficult CompTIA exam people face, and after taking it myself, I can confirm that the PBQs align heavily with knowledge best obtained from CCNA labs.

However, I would look at the Exam Objectives and review anything you need to touch up on.

Some of the things I used or wish I used before taking the Net+ are:

Also, be sure to fully complete CCNA studies before taking the Network+. There are some niche topics towards the end that are in both certifications and you don’t want to miss those questions. And read on, most of the tips that help pass the CCNA will help you with the Network+!

Continuing your Networking Education

Congratulations, you passed the CCNA! Go ahead and celebrate that you completed the most difficult and rewarding certification that the C-TEC Cybersecurity Program has to offer.

If you are looking for more, consider studying for one of the CCNP Enterprise tests, as it is the logical next step for prospective network engineers.

CCNA Lectures Mapped to the OCG Parts

For your convenience, I have ordered Jeremy’s IT Lab by the CCNA Official Cert Guide, as seen below:

  1. OCG Part 1-1: Introduction to Networking
  2. OCG Part 1-2: Implementing Ethernet LANs
  3. OCG Part 1-3: Implementing VLANs and STP
  4. OCG Part 1-4: IPv4 Addressing (Subnetting)
  5. OCG Part 1-5: IPv4 Routing
  6. OCG Part 1-6: OSPF
  7. OCG Part 1-7: IPv6
  8. OCG Part 2-1: Wireless LANs
  9. OCG Part 2-2: IP Access Control Lists (& TCP/IP)
  10. OCG Part 2-3: Security Services
  11. OCG Part 2-4: IP Services
  12. OCG Part 2-5: Network Architecture
  13. OCG Part 2-6: Network Automation

Last Updated: 2025.10.22