CCNA course and exams ??Where and how much ???

dubdvd

I'm thinking of doing the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) , I was looking at the course which is held in IT TALLAGHT and its a one year part-time course . its two evenings a week and its 6 till 10 each evening and it costs €3250 to do the whole lot .
Anyhow i was googling today and i came across a place in fitzwilliam square called BCT and they said they are doing it for 1300 euro and it only takes 7 weeks with two classes a week form 6.45 to 9pm , It sounds to good to be true and ive lreaned most things that sound to good to be true normally are . has anyone ever heard of this place or has anyone done any of the courses in it , when i rang they said that they happen to have one place left for a course that starts monday coming ...
Or does anyone out there know of any where that does these kind of course in a full time block running over the likes of a two week period as i work in a hospital and i work long days , nights , and weekends but if i knew somewhere that ran them over a couple of weeks block i could go on A/L or just go sick for the two weeks
What to you think ??????

Gator

I took the course in BCT and found it good....if you have no experience in networking I would advise compTia network+ as a starter coz it can be quite fasttrack at sometimes but if you know a little bit go ahead in BCT...the lecturer knows everything and has qualifications coming out his ears...I think he is a systems admin in UCD...

WizZard

Well worth doing it dub! I've not got it yet but I'm planning on it.

peterk19

Definitely wrth doing im planning on doing the exams before the of the year ive tonnes of ebook and study material if you want ill butn it onto a dvd for you
Pete

dubdvd

the reason im thinking of doing it this way is because ive tons of books and sample tests here in the house , but it finding the time to sit down and go through it all . i'd rather have someone sit in front of me and if i dont understand it at least i can ask about it ..
where as with the FAS courses online they can be a good bit hard to get into .even if they only cost 120 euro .
my networking isnt great ive an idea of the basics's thats it . so you think this place is alright and your right about the tutor is from UCD and is meant to be the dogs Ball0z , it starts monday and there was two spots left so im going to give it ago ."GATOR" thanks for that .and shane i see your website building is coming on "ruggers" and peter sorry i never got back to you about the DAT but the guy backed out " i hate when people ask you to get something for them and then back out BTW i still have the case for you and im off over the weekend ill try get all the bit together and meet up with you ..ill text or ring you .

peterk19

No worries about the DAT drive i wasnt looking forward to carrying it home tbh :rolleyes:

shaym

dubdvd wrote:

I'm thinking of doing the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) , I was looking at the course which is held in IT TALLAGHT and its a one year part-time course . its two evenings a week and its 6 till 10 each evening and it costs €3250 to do the whole lot .
Anyhow i was googling today and i came across a place in fitzwilliam square called BCT and they said they are doing it for 1300 euro and it only takes 7 weeks with two classes a week form 6.45 to 9pm , It sounds to good to be true and ive lreaned most things that sound to good to be true normally are . has anyone ever heard of this place or has anyone done any of the courses in it , when i rang they said that they happen to have one place left for a course that starts monday coming ...
Or does anyone out there know of any where that does these kind of course in a full time block running over the likes of a two week period as i work in a hospital and i work long days , nights , and weekends but if i knew somewhere that ran them over a couple of weeks block i could go on A/L or just go sick for the two weeks
What to you think ??????

I did the course in BCT myself two years ago, and would definitely recommend it , the tutor(Brian Turner) as was mentioned is indeed extremely good , the only problem I had was that the course was a bit too short and a lot of vital topic werent covered properly , I dont think this was the tutors fault as he did the best with what time he had. One other thing though...has the price gone up to €1300?? Thats outrageous, I did the course in 04 and paid only €600!!

dubdvd

shaym wrote:

I did the course in BCT myself two years ago, and would definitely recommend it , the tutor(Brian Turner) as was mentioned is indeed extremely good , the only problem I had was that the course was a bit too short and a lot of vital topic werent covered properly , I dont think this was the tutors fault as he did the best with what time he had. One other thing though...has the price gone up to €1300?? Thats outrageous, I did the course in 04 and paid only €600!!

Im thinking that 1300 is a lot cheaper than 3250 that tallaght IT was charging ,BTW Shaym befor you done the course what experence had you got in networking as im a bit green in this area dont get me wrong i have the main gest to it ,but as a newbie going in would i make it through if i done a sh1t load of work at home with the evening classes ive gone alot of pc's at home and a 24 port hub and routers and so on .?????? what do you think ?

shaym

dubdvd wrote:

Im thinking that 1300 is a lot cheaper than 3250 that tallaght IT was charging ,BTW Shaym befor you done the course what experence had you got in networking as im a bit green in this area dont get me wrong i have the main gest to it ,but as a newbie going in would i make it through if i done a sh1t load of work at home with the evening classes ive gone alot of pc's at home and a 24 port hub and routers and so on .?????? what do you think ?

Absolutely 1300 is cheap compared to 3,250, thats taking the piss really ...also i dunno how they can drag it out for almost the year..theres a lot to know but not a years worth!!

My own experience was limited to what I knew from my job in tech support and some books I had read on networking, I cant vouch for your experience but I would highly recommend you know the basics(IP addressing and subnetting, OSI Model , Cabling, WAN and LAN basics and some rudimentary hardware and OS knowledge). I lacked some of this before I started the course and to be honest found it tough going at first, but if you work at it at home and have a good technical aptitude (which I'd imagine you have or else you wouldnt be looking to do the course in the first place!!) you'll get through it in the end .You say you have some equipment at home like routers etc...I'd go further and buy yourself some proper Cisco gear..brand new they are ridiculous expensive but id highly recommend a site called networkhardware.com ..they sell Cisco routers, firewalls and switches second hands for about 200 a pop with P&P.This will help immensely as the exam is mainly about being comfortable with the Cisco IOS, no matter how much theory you know.
My advice is to learn the above subjects well (especially IP addressing) buy yourself at least a 2500 router and a 2950 switch (I recommend 2 routers so you can practice WAN stuff and Link state protocols ,it might be pricey but It'll worth it, especially if you decide to progress to the CCNP and others) and you'll be fine. The main problem that I see is that people can understand the subject material, but that because they dont have any hands on experience of Cisco products they get frustrated and in the end dont bother doing the exam.

Standard Toaster

I did the course in BCT myself about 2years ago I guess. Paid €700 back then.
Well worth it. Agreed will all comments said so far.

I would advise to do your own bit of study at home to truely cover all topics.
I managed to get a lend of a 2600 so that helped a great deal.

Tell Brian I said hello!!:)

gnashrr

I'm halfway through the CCNA and with 3 months off college until next term I'm going to invest in something like this item on ebay to keep my skills sharp and up to date. Yes it's a few hundred euro but I believe it to be a worthwhile investment and like shaym said you can progress onto to more advanced Cisco courses.

shaym

gnashrr wrote:

I'm halfway through the CCNA and with 3 months off college until next term I'm going to invest in something like this item on ebay to keep my skills sharp and up to date. Yes it's a few hundred euro but I believe it to be a worthwhile investment and like shaym said you can progress onto to more advanced Cisco courses.

Jesus i like the look of that lab..!!Definitely a good investment and if your serious about not only the CCNA but going further then you would want to have a similiar set up at home .Id through in a PIX as well and you'd be laughin..

dubdvd

Thanks alot lads for your comments so far , im working in one of the larger hospitals in the city , I normally work on the wards with the patients , but for the past four months i went over on loan to our IT Dept where i was working as helpdesk tech support ,which i found i did very well at and for the past number of years ive being building customised PC's and doing repairs and upgrades and so on , so my only real weak piont was networking , but after working around the hospital and doing some patching here and there and getting a look at a very large network with all the bells and whisles "all the new IBM blade servers and seeing first hand how it all comes together and works , since seeing it all upfront now ive a taste for it .
so im going to start the CCNA monday but i plan to study like hell at home while the 7 weeks goes on so please god it doesnt go over my head ...Thanks again lads for your input

Gator

Just one final piece of advice....book the exam as soon as you have finished the course....even if it is 4 weeks down the line....you need a date to aim to or you wont do a tap.....good luck.....and dont even think of missing a day....you will be lost!!

shaym

Gator wrote:

Just one final piece of advice....book the exam as soon as you have finished the course....even if it is 4 weeks down the line....you need a date to aim to or you wont do a tap.....good luck.....and dont even think of missing a day....you will be lost!!

Defo would agree with that..seeing as its quite not like a normal college course and you can do the exam anytime you want people(including myself ) tend to put it off until a time when your ready to do it...but that day never comes unless you actually just go ahead and set a date for it..knowing you could lose €150 if you dont pass is quite a good motivating factor IMO.

shaym

dubdvd wrote:

Thanks alot lads for your comments so far , im working in one of the larger hospitals in the city , I normally work on the wards with the patients , but for the past four months i went over on loan to our IT Dept where i was working as helpdesk tech support ,which i found i did very well at and for the past number of years ive being building customised PC's and doing repairs and upgrades and so on , so my only real weak piont was networking , but after working around the hospital and doing some patching here and there and getting a look at a very large network with all the bells and whisles "all the new IBM blade servers and seeing first hand how it all comes together and works , since seeing it all upfront now ive a taste for it .
so im going to start the CCNA monday but i plan to study like hell at home while the 7 weeks goes on so please god it doesnt go over my head ...Thanks again lads for your input

May i be the first to wish you the best of luck in your new career path , stick with it mate and you'll go far...best of luck in the CCNA ..Brian Turner is a legend and you'll learn a lot from him.Dont stop with the CCNA though..go on to the likes of the Linux , MCSE and the other Cisco exams ..Id particularly recommend the CCVP(Voice IP) exams as something that will make you stick out from the crowd .Keep going on the path your on and before you know it you'll be in a great job earning serious money.

gnashrr

dubdvd wrote:

Thanks again lads for your input

Best of luck and keep us informed. I hope to watch your career prosper with interest through each new success! I'm here if you need any help

gnashrr

shaym wrote:

Jesus i like the look of that lab..!!Definitely a good investment and if your serious about not only the CCNA but going further then you would want to have a similiar set up at home .Id through in a PIX as well and you'd be laughin..

Being a student I don't have much cash flow but If I apply myself and I really want it I can swing it in about 5 weeks I think. Nothing worth having is ever gotten easily.

dubdvd

shaym wrote:

May i be the first to wish you the best of luck in your new career path , stick with it mate and you'll go far...best of luck in the CCNA ..Brian Turner is a legend and you'll learn a lot from him.Dont stop with the CCNA though..go on to the likes of the Linux , MCSE and the other Cisco exams ..Id particularly recommend the CCVP(Voice IP) exams as something that will make you stick out from the crowd .Keep going on the path your on and before you know it you'll be in a great job earning serious money.

Its funny you said that about the CCVP because this is the way i want to go i was having a chat with the manager of the IT Dept and he told me the moment you get the CCNA get in and get the CCVP becuase its about to explode in the likes of the hospitals aswell as the private sector and that there is a nice "niche" there at the moment for anyone who has come to grips with this while its still only growing in the country , so funny you said that ..??? and thanks for the PM ill follow that up tonight ..thanks lads