2021: How Hard is the CCNA Exam?


How Hard is the CCNA Exam?

The CCNA is one of the best certifications you might want to get if you want to land a good job without having to go through college, which is undoubtedly pretty expensive. Of course, getting a CCNA certification requires you to pass the CCNA exam. But how hard is the CCNA exam?

As long as you prepared for the exam the right way and you followed the syllabus and studied all the topics covered by the CCNA exam, you won’t find the exam too difficult. The passing rate might tell a different story but it is more of a factor of how well you prepared rather than how difficult the exam is.

You might have heard a lot of people failing the CCNA exam or saying that it is quite difficult considering that they did indeed fail it. But the truth is that preparation is all that you need regardless of what your IT experience is and how well-versed you are in the different topics covered by the exam.

For those interested in knowing how difficult the CCNA exam is, read on to find out.

What is your IT experience?

There are no special requirements as to IT experience when you want to take the CCNA exam. But as to whether or not you can pass it, it might be a different story because you might need to have a background in IT for you to be able to do well in the exam. 

Still, the fact that 13-year olds can take the CCNA means that previous IT experience isn’t required for you to pass but it might be an advantage for you if you were able to gain some sort of IT experience either as a student or as an employee.

It makes reviewing and preparing for the CCNA exam easier on your part since you already understand the basics.

Have you taken other IT certifications?

The CCNA is an entry-level exam that promises to be easier than most other IT certifications even though it isn’t generally easy.

So, if you have taken other IT certifications and you passed them, then you won’t have a lot of trouble passing the CCNA as well because the exam covers similar topics but is more geared towards Cisco’s network services.

Passing other IT certifications is already experience on its own, which will give you a good advantage when taking the CCNA exam.

How hard did you study?

How hard you studied is probably the most important factor when it comes to passing the CCNA exam and determining how difficult it is.

It really can just be a matter of how much dedication you exerted to preparing for the CCNA since the exam actually stays true to its word by including only the topics and subject matters that they say are included.

As such, if you were religious enough in your studies such as putting in at least a couple of hours a day reading through your different materials, you will realize that the CCNA won’t be too difficult of an exam. After all, preparation is always the key in almost any kind of exam you can take.

How did you do on your practice exams?

If you want to gauge yourself and have a quick idea of what it is like to answer CCNA exam-type questions, there are different resources that provide you with practice exams that you can try out for yourself.

Even Cisco itself offers its own practice exam that is quite similar to the actual CCNA exam minus the time crunch and the pressure.

Most CCNA practice exams are not only similar to the real thing but actually are as difficult or even more difficult depending on who published such exams.

Because of that, passing your practice exam can help improve your chances of passing the CCNA because practice exams are nearly as difficult and as challenging as the actual CCNA exam.

How difficult is the CCNA test?

Generally speaking, the difficulty of the CCNA test is more of a subject matter that will certainly depend on certain factors such as preparation time, dedication, and experience.

In short, it might be very difficult for others but it can be a bit easy for some people who made sure to review and prepare for the exam the right way.

However, the newer CCNA test might a bit more difficult because it generally covers all of the fundamental topics covered by the CCNA specialist exams but is more on a basic level.

That means that you need to be able to have a good grasp of all of the topics and that you need to prepare yourself on a much wider scope instead of focusing only on a few topics covered by the CCNA.

What is the pass rate for the CCNA exam?

One of the best ways for you to gauge how difficult an exam is is by looking at the passing rate. The problem with the CCNA exam is that Cisco doesn’t really publish the overall results, which can make it really hard for us to determine the passing rate and how difficult the exam is. 

How long does it take to prepare for the CCNA?

Preparation time depends on the person especially if he or she already has previous IT experience or if he or she has taken a CCNA prep course in the past.

For those who have already gone through CCNA training courses or are already experienced enough in IT, one month of dedicated preparation should already be enough as long as they are really putting in the time and effort on a daily basis. 

However, for those who really are beginners, it might take at least three months for them to prepare because they have to spend time going through training courses to truly have a grasp of the topics covered by the CCNA exam.

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