Guilherme Almeida

Final year MSc student in Computer Science and Engineering, tech enthusiast

6 minute read

As of yesterday, I am officially Cisco Certified, as you can check from this cool badge!!

Since this was my first certification I thought it could be helpful to give some advice on things I learned while at it.

Background

I was decided to do a certification for a long time already. Still, since I was interested in a wide range of areas, I didn’t know which one to choose (Networking, Cybersecurity, Development, etc.). However, during the last year, I’ve decided to take a Networks and Systems Management courses during the 2nd semester, which ended up being the decisive factor for me to get my CCNA. In this Course Unit I had the opportunity to learn about OSPF, SDNs, NFVs, NetDevOps, and various other interesting topics (you can check out more here). This, along with the fact that I had already taken a Networking introductory course in my Bachelor’s made me think that the timing was perfect and there was no point in delaying it.

Working as a Sysadmin at FEUP

Before all this, I spent the last bit of the semester and a part of the summer working as a DevSecOps Engineer at FEUP. That job was pretty cool and gave me the chance to tweak with CTFD’s codebase, write an anti-cheat mechanism, and various plugins, and get way better expertise with Github CI/CD pipelines. Even though it didn’t directly give me an edge with the CCNA, it was a valuable experience. I found myself writing various features and automating many things, which are currently in production.

The Erasmus Juggle

While I was knee-deep in studying for the CCNA and working at FEUP, I was also getting ready for my Erasmus in Sweden (more specifically, Gothenburg), from where I am right now writing this post. For anyone who’s done an exchange program, you know the struggle and bureaucracies that are necessary; not even to mention having to find a house and various other “problems” that come associated. Let’s just say that combining that with the CCNA study grind wasn’t the easiest decision.

The whole month felt like a blur of late-night study sessions, taking notes in coffee shops between exploring new cities, and balancing coursework for Erasmus. There were times when I thought, why did I think this was a good idea? But I kept going. Some days were dedicated purely to studying, while others were just spent walking around the Swedish countryside to clear my mind (apart from the daily (!UNSKIPABLE!) flashcards, from which I still have a love-hate relationship).

It was a hard month, but, other than networks, it taught me a lot about time management and decision making. I’ve got plenty more stories from that Erasmus month, but I want to save those for another post.

This wasn’t just about getting certified; it was about pushing myself, staying consistent, and managing a balancing act between my Erasmus time in Sweden and my personal goals. One of the things that kept me motivated throughout these rough times was the feeling that this wasn’t just about getting a piece of paper, but it was about learning new things and pushing myself beyond what I thought I could handle.

My Study Resources

While preparing for CCNA, I read a lot of posts about study resources and I’ve noticed that each person has a different study method and you should try to see what works for yourself. However, one advice I must give is to not stick to only one. Read various guides; and if guides don’t work for you, watch video courses and practice with labs (your own or not). Having this said, here are the resources I used:

  • Cisco Official Cert Guide: The Official Guide was my first study resource. I got it directly from Cisco, along with the Exam Voucher, and before I read it all. I switched to Jeremy’s videos in the meantime, but eventually, I got back at it and finished it.

  • Jeremy’s IT Lab Videos and Labs: Honestly, Jeremy’s IT Lab was a game changer for me. His free videos and labs were probably the best resource I found out there (and they are for free). Jeremy simply has the superpower of turning foreign concepts graspable even for people who don’t have an IT background.

  • Boson ExSim & NetSim: These were essential in the last 2 to 3 weeks of study. By that time I had already practiced on Jeremy’s IT Labs and some custom ones I made for myself, so it worked like a reminder. Even though I managed to go through all the exams (until I got around ~85/90% scores) and also through all the labs in those weeks, if I had to do it again, I would probably reserve a bit more time, just to do things more calmly.

  • My Notes & GitHub Resumes: Throughout the process, I took a lot of notes which I used to review the content as I went along. You can check out my CCNA study notes here. They’re not perfect, but they were invaluable for my revision, especially when I needed a quick refresh before practice exams.

  • Anki Flashcards: Last but not least, I started by using Jeremy’s Anki deck and I would religiously do the flashcards every single day. Whenever I thought that something was missing or I wouldn’t remember it, I would add a flashcard to the deck. This was crucial for me to remember a lot of concepts and to memorize various things.

The Exam Itself

I arrived at the exam center almost 2 hours earlier, because I didn’t want to risk any unexpected situation, so I spent 1 hour waiting in pure stress before I was able to do the check-in. When I got to the actual exam, I started focusing, and the time flew by. Some questions made me second-guess myself, but I guess that’s normal in any exam. Overall, I found the exam to be exactly what I expected since I had been doing practice exams for the previous three weeks and using flashcards daily for at least three or four months.

When I finally clicked that “End the Exam” button, I felt a wave of relief—because it was over—but at the same time, I was panicking. Waiting for the result felt like an eternity. Then, when I finally got the preliminary results, there it was: PASS. Seeing that felt incredible after the previous months. It was a huge relief!

Final Thoughts

The CCNA was just the beginning. Looking back, it wasn’t only about earning the certification; it was about all the little lessons I learned along the way, such as time management, focus, and sticking to my goals no matter how tough things got. From working as a sysadmin to my Erasmus in Sweden, all these experiences came together to shape this journey and, I don’t want to spoil it, but this is definitively one of the happiest parts of my life.

For anyone out there going through their CCNA or another certification journey, I’d say: be patient with yourself. Don’t rush it. It’s a grind, but the feeling of receiving that “PASS” result is worth it.

I plan on writing more on here since I find it a great way to reflect on what I’ve done and hopefully help other people who are struggling to get started. If you have some questions about this or just want to chat, feel free to contact me!

Study Resources I Used:

Until next time!

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