Failed my CCNP Route by 1 question 780/790

LynK · January 30, 2017, 11:34:25 AM

Yup. I failed, and it sucks.... By one question!!!!!

This is what I got:
Network Principles - 83%
Layer 2 Technologies - 50%
Layer 3 Technologies - 87%
VPN Technologies - 50%
Infrastructure Security - 57%
Infrastructure Services - 77%

I really struggled on the DMVPN/IPsec/PPPoE questions.

Guys I really took these topics for granted. STUDY THE NON ROUTING STUFF (this is actually quite funny for me to say).

I am ticked off, not that i failed (maybe a little), but that I failed by 1 question.

This is what I used to study:
OCG
Chris Bryant's CCNP Route
INE CCNPv2 ROUTE videos

INE does not cover PPPoE or the infrastructure services NEARLY ENOUGH.

What should I focus on moving forward? How far out should I re-take my exam? My CCNA expires on the 14th.

EOS · January 30, 2017, 12:04:36 PM

OUCH!! Missing it by 1 question would really p*ss me off to!

I would vote for a retake sooner, rather than later. Start studying up on the topics you struggled in, then go ace it!

icecream-guy · January 30, 2017, 12:14:39 PM

no closer than 7 business data to the cert expiration, you will want to pad in another attempt before the cert expires, I'd say sooner than later.

That happened to me a while ago failed my CCNA re-cert just shy, and pissed me off to no end, so much so that I had an F-Cisco cert attitude for about 3 years before I realized that I needed the cert to get a decent job in IT. Just roll with it, study your weak spots and get back up on that horse and ride.

LynK · January 30, 2017, 12:41:12 PM

uh-oh... There are no exam hours available for the next 14 days on the nearest testing center....

SofaKing · January 30, 2017, 12:53:13 PM

Get in as soon as you can! Don't be like me... I failed SWITCH by 22 points about 4 months ago and have not rescheduled yet. Pissed at myself.

deanwebb · January 30, 2017, 09:03:15 PM

You may have to travel to a less-than-optimal test center, but, yeah, GET BACK IN THERE!!!

becomes

ggnfs000 · January 31, 2017, 12:54:43 AM

Looking at another angle, does missing by one question makes you really worse than someone else who answered one more question correctly thus made with certificate? Or are you equal to someone who can had 100% failure on ccna? There should be some kind of flexibility. Or perhaps tiered grade like GPA so that you can put in your resume, I passed with this many score and employers can make a judge. I know this lowers the bar but still just looking at these two question the scoring system appears unnecessarily rough and inadequate.

ggnfs000 · January 31, 2017, 12:57:36 AM

To overcome the pissing factor, perhaps, will making the learning the passion rather than the obligation help?

that1guy15 · January 31, 2017, 08:19:48 AM

You are very close. Given another set of questions you could have passed.

Stay in final prep mode and focus on the weak areas you mentioned. Take the test as soon as possible even if its a different test center a ways away. Ive driven 4 hours for a couple CCIE written attempts.

Good luck dude!

LynK · January 31, 2017, 09:28:39 AM

Rescheduled for the 10th.

How should I go about re-studying?

I think I should re-read the entire OCG, then also do each topic one by one.

deanwebb · January 31, 2017, 09:36:55 AM

Quote from: ggnfs000 on January 31, 2017, 12:57:36 AM
To overcome the pissing factor, perhaps, will making the learning the passion rather than the obligation help?

I'm not sitting for cert exams because I have a passion to learn. I sit for them because I have a passion to be employed.

I'm actually glad that the exams are pass/fail. But, because of that, they have to draw a line that, should you be below it even by a teensy bit, you do not pass. That's just the way it is. But if we had numbers, employers would say things like, "must have at least 960 average on CCNP tests" and then we'd be overrun by dumpers with straight 1000s that couldn't tell their Area 0 from their Gi0/0. Dumpers are still a problem in the market today, but at least an honest guy that makes a few mistakes has a chance on the exam.

What burns my biscuits are when exams wander away from the cert guides. My feeling is that if there is an additional piece of material to master outside the cert guide, either identify it as an independent study topic, indicate which training course should be completed to receive that information, or just put it in the cert guide. As an educator, I believe that it is unfair to include information on an exam that was not covered in the course material.

If experience should count for something, then it should be noted which experience counts. Experience with STP doesn't get you anywhere if the test expects experience with port-security commands.

In this case, DMVPN, Ipsec, and PPPoE were areas our man Lynk felt let down by the prep materials. When I took SECURE, I felt let down by the prep materials in regards to a wide range of areas. When I took CCDA, I felt let down because the practice questions were almost all technical, and the test itself was maybe 40% soft-skill questions about consulting models. I don't want to even start with how my son got burned going into the 105 CCNA with stuff that came out of left field.

We get these prep materials in order to, well, PREP for the exams. If that's not enough, then we start to ask questions about whether or not to buy them in the first place. And, if a supporting course is too expensive, that just opens up the allure of the dumpsite. If it's a choice between $100 on books or $100 on a dump, it's much easier to make the ethical choice and go with the books. If it's between a $3000 course or a $100 dump, an unemployed guy, begging for a break, is going to take the dump because it's what he can afford.

I don't want that guy to have to go with the dump. I want him to be able to get study materials and prep for the exam and then PASS it because he had all the stuff to study and took the test when he felt ready to take it, not because he crammed a bunch of letters.

deanwebb · January 31, 2017, 09:38:42 AM

Quote from: LynK on January 31, 2017, 09:28:39 AM
Rescheduled for the 10th.

How should I go about re-studying?

I think I should re-read the entire OCG, then also do each topic one by one.

PPPoE, IpSec, DMVPN... skip the cert guide, start reading RFCs, Cisco tech notes, and Wiki articles. I'll see if I can come up with some questions to ask to help drill on those areas. This is bullfeathers, having to add to the OCG just to get a pass.

LynK · January 31, 2017, 10:11:30 AM

The whole idea of throwing in the tunnels in the CCNP is a bit ridiculous.

Looking back on the exam, I aced all of the labs with ease. I had no problems with any of the simlets, but the stupid gray areas I struggled with such as:

uRPF
DHCPv6
NAT-PT
NPTv6
DMVPN
IPsec
PPPoE

I also need to brush up on my OSPF network types in relation to Frame Relay. I drew a blank there even though I studied thoroughly. I also know I got some network principle questions wrong. I struggle with 3 answer questions.

icecream-guy · January 31, 2017, 10:43:19 AM

From what I understand it take Cisco 2-3 years for an exam to be developed, and only has a shelf life for about as long. so it's no wonder that the technology tested is old. for them it's difficult to have a somewhat legitimate outline to get the exam to book authors, them to review, and develop material, submit, edit, rewrites, etc, and have bot hit the street around the same time.

I just with the questions that they ask would be more straight forward. not 5 options of intricate detailed command variations.

I just thank God that Cisco is not Microsoft, I heard taking some of those exams were like reading books unto themselves.

ggnfs000 · January 31, 2017, 12:02:34 PM

Quote from: deanwebb on January 31, 2017, 09:36:55 AM
Quote from: ggnfs000 on January 31, 2017, 12:57:36 AM
To overcome the pissing factor, perhaps, will making the learning the passion rather than the obligation help?
I'm not sitting for cert exams because I have a passion to learn. I sit for them because I have a passion to be employed.

I'm actually glad that the exams are pass/fail. But, because of that, they have to draw a line that, should you be below it even by a teensy bit, you do not pass. That's just the way it is. But if we had numbers, employers would say things like, "must have at least 960 average on CCNP tests" and then we'd be overrun by dumpers with straight 1000s that couldn't tell their Area 0 from their Gi0/0. Dumpers are still a problem in the market today, but at least an honest guy that makes a few mistakes has a chance on the exam.

What burns my biscuits are when exams wander away from the cert guides. My feeling is that if there is an additional piece of material to master outside the cert guide, either identify it as an independent study topic, indicate which training course should be completed to receive that information, or just put it in the cert guide. As an educator, I believe that it is unfair to include information on an exam that was not covered in the course material.

If experience should count for something, then it should be noted which experience counts. Experience with STP doesn't get you anywhere if the test expects experience with port-security commands.

In this case, DMVPN, Ipsec, and PPPoE were areas our man Lynk felt let down by the prep materials. When I took SECURE, I felt let down by the prep materials in regards to a wide range of areas. When I took CCDA, I felt let down because the practice questions were almost all technical, and the test itself was maybe 40% soft-skill questions about consulting models. I don't want to even start with how my son got burned going into the 105 CCNA with stuff that came out of left field.

We get these prep materials in order to, well, PREP for the exams. If that's not enough, then we start to ask questions about whether or not to buy them in the first place. And, if a supporting course is too expensive, that just opens up the allure of the dumpsite. If it's a choice between $100 on books or $100 on a dump, it's much easier to make the ethical choice and go with the books. If it's between a $3000 course or a $100 dump, an unemployed guy, begging for a break, is going to take the dump because it's what he can afford.

I don't want that guy to have to go with the dump. I want him to be able to get study materials and prep for the exam and then PASS it because he had all the stuff to study and took the test when he felt ready to take it, not because he crammed a bunch of letters.

That is rough and unfair. I have a knack of generating some ideas, although most of the time, i end up not implementing. This time thinking, hey there should be poll website listing each certificates and test takers and (who got burned) go to site and fill up the poll which CCxx test included rogue materials not included in the training area. This will help people to study well using previous test takers data and also becomes crowdsourced datapoints proving test topics/questions are unfairly prepared.