Drew Bell
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Drew Bell

Studying for the CCNA

My notes on looking for the best study materials for the CCNA exam.
Studying for the CCNA
Photo by Jordan Harrison / Unsplash

Circumstances dictate that I am having to think about more than just Layer 7 these days and I realise I am somewhat rusty when it comes to networking matters. As such, I am looking to study for the CCNA exam to learn the basics again. It's not the only networking exam out there, with the Network+ exam also very popular but asking the question online, most people advise to go for the CCNA.

Normally, at this point I would purchase the exam book and start reading. However, with the exam containing practical elements, again I did some research and reviewed what people recommended online. Unsurprisingly, this question gets asked a lot and just filtering results to the CCNA subreddit, the answers quickly correlated to the following options.

I quickly discounted the Official Study books because I don't work with networking devices on a day to day so I needed something with guided practice.

CBTNuggets looked ok but I didn't fancy paying $60 per month for 1000s of courses when I just want to focus on the CCNA. Additionally, whilst I saw this option be recommended, it wasn't as popular as the last two choices.

Looking over multiple threads across the last 2 years, 2 options really stand out as out as always being recommended.

Neil Anderson's Udemy course & Jeremy's IT Lab site both stood out as being what I needed. Not only did they have the most recommendations across all the threads I read, they both include Packet Tracer labs as well as Anki flashcards for all the lessons. If you don't know, Anki is a software based flashcard system which uses spaced repetition to really help cement knowledge.

I chose Jeremy's IT Lab and paid for the course from his website to get the Anki cards and not have to watch YouTube ads through his videos. I don't think you will go wrong with either this or Neil Andersons course. In fact on the Jeremy's IT Lab website, you can find a discount link to Neils course. Jeremy mentions he used this course when he studied.

The reason I chose Jeremy's IT Lab over Neil's course comes down to the fact that in Jeremy's course, it is split into days, not sections and I find that really helps me split up my learning and not to cram too much into a day.

So, if you stumble across this page whilst you are looking the best study materials for CCNA, I hope this helps you find the best study prep for the CCNA.