Intro
I recently passed my CCNA this month. It was a huge achievement for me, and I am thrilled to have passed first time. The difficulty of the CCNA shocked me as a university student already studying computer science. CCNA content is wide, and occasionally deep in certain places (not relatively speaking though - CCNP is crazy apparently). You need to know a little bit about everything (although some topics certainly go more in depth). I’d like to go through some of the things I did when revising, and my experience on the day. I hope this blog post helps fellow test takers.
My Personal Circumstances
Computer Science Student
As previously mentioned, I’m already a computer science student at Uni. This gave me an advantage in having more recent experience studying, a well as with a few overlapping concepts. For instance, I had already dealt with binary and hexadecimal numerous times in my A Levels’ and CS degree. As I got further into the course, I realised that it also saved me time understanding concepts such as APIs and automation. However, certain unfamiliar concepts that are more in depth were still challenging, such as OSPF and STP.
I kind of work as a ‘Network Engineer’
Another advantage I had going into the CCNA is my current placement year/job role. Although I’m enrolled in the University of East Anglia, I’m on an 11 month placement for the 3rd year of my course. To those who aren’t familiar with this, it basically means working for a company for a given period, like an extended internship! I was lucky enough to become an associate at TJX, and I’ve received a lot of support and guidance around networking and the CCNA in particular. This meant that I had day to day experience whilst revising, so I could explore real enterprise configurations as I developed my knowledge.
Preparing for the exam
I Spent 9 months revising!
I began my placement year in September of 2025, and I passed in June 2026. This meant I spent about 9 months preparing.
In hindsight, this seems like a long time. I would honestly say that the first few months weren’t as productive as the final ones. In the beginning, I was following a course I found on one of the training platforms provided to me by my employer. These videos seemed good at the time, and I thought I was learning enough. However they were nowhere near the level of detail needed for the exam, and harder to follow and compare to the CCNA syllabus. After I finished this course, I switched to using only Jeremy’s IT lab videos going forward.
Jeremy’s IT Lab
I found Jeremy’s videos much more detailed, and more similar to material I have used to study for exams in uni for A levels. Plus it’s on YouTube, which I found made me more willing to revise in my free time (I can more easily access on any device). I used Jeremys’ flashcards for a few topics, such as OSPF and STP. However I ultimately gave up using them, because they were too detailed and overwhelming. I realised how long I had spent just working on 10 flashcard sets. Jeremy provided so many that I decided I didn’t have the time for this level of commitment and detail (especially with how thoroughly Anki makes you remember them). I would say I went through the course at least twice, with 3-4 watches of the more complicated videos. I have no shame in studying for longer than others need to, as long as I ultimately achieve the same result.
Labbing
I also used the labs provided by Jeremy. The first time through, I used the corresponding videos as guidance. The second time around, I attempted them alone. I still didn’t get all of them right, so I went through a third time for the more complicated labs. The labs were very crucial, and after a while became the most enjoyable form of revision. They were also the most easy to procrastinate on, as my brain perceived the effort as higher than watching a video. Just download them all at once, and follow the course in order. Don’t let yourself skip the labs!
Boson Exsim
I wanted to go without Boson originally, especially after spending more than 300 GBP to book the test. However I bought it out of fear!
The night before my exam, I got worried about not having any practise with questions. I moved the exam to the following week and purchased Boson Exsim for around 55 GBP.
I only utilised 4 exams on the boson Exsim website. I did each test a single time only, as I didn’t want to accidentally memorise the questions and gain false confidence. Exam A was completed with live scoring and answer revealing enabled. I must have cheated a little on this exam, as it was my highest score across all my Exsim exams (81% - which is still a fail!). My other exams were completed in exam conditions, and I scored an average of 75%. I completed these over the week leading up to my exam.
The labs in boson are certainly the least accurate thing about the simulator. They are much more realistic, detailed, and time consuming than the actual CCNA sims. I kept using a LOT of my time on them in the boson exsim exams. The real thing was a BREEZE compared!
I am on the side of people that say Boson exams are too hard. I didn’t pass a single boson paper, but passed the CCNA first time. I knew this could end up being the case though, so I didn’t let the FAIL screen on Boson scare me… I was happy to get some practise with time management and the multiple choice format. I consider it a worth it purchase if you want to increase your chances of passing.
Personal preferences
Handwritten > Typed notes
For a long time, I was taking notes on a computer using a keyboard. I’m a fairly quick typist (120wpm), so typing is typically my preferred method of notetaking. However, I realised I wasn’t quite taking it all in. Switching to handwritten notes seemed to make me retain more information. It made it easier to quickly flick back, cover concepts with my hand to get my brain to fill in the blanks etc… I started carrying my notebook with me around the house, reading them whilst waiting for the kettle to boil etc… I ended up using an entire pen and notebook!
This change was extremely impactful for me, but I understand if some still find typed notes to be better for them. My handwriting is still somewhat readable, but my less than perfect pen technique means I spend longer writing and processing what I’m writing. On a keyboard, the word just appears on the screen and my fingers are onto the next word already :)
Subnetting
I found my subnetting skills to be concerning after going through Boson Exsim. I realised that even though I understood subnetting well, my terrible mental maths ability greatly hindered my speed to complete exam questions. Jeremy teaches you to subnet using binary in his course, and doesn’t provide any other methods. Whilst this might work for those who can add in their head, I am absolutely atrocious at mental maths for some reason. It became clear to me a week before the exam that I needed an alternative method.
So I traded ability for memory. I found a method online that just required memorising a subnetting table, which you can write down in the exam. This makes all subnetting questions take a matter of seconds. You can even memorise it in your head eventually for interviews and general day-to-day subnetting.
Here’s the website I used, the table can be found here if anybody is interested:
https://www.subnetting.net/Tutorial.aspx
The day of the exam
I took my exam in person (definitely the right choice). I drove down a few hours early to the test centre with my notes, in order to cram extra info such as wifi standards etc.. This was one of the moments I was glad to have handwritten notes (really got me in the zone). After some time, it was time to take the test.
You have to put your stuff in lockers, and then they scan you down like at an airport. I brought a passport, driver license, and credit card as my forms of ID. I only needed the driving license and the credit card, as they both have my matching signature. So please don’t make the mistake of not bringing the second form of signed ID.
Test centre provisions
My test centre provided earplugs which was amazing. I sometimes wear headphones with nothing playing when trying to focus at my desk at home, so this made me feel very comfortable. I was also relieved to see that they do indeed provide you with many pages of laminated paper, along with a fine felt tip pen. This was something I couldn’t get a clear answer on online. I completed the tutorial and wrote down my subnetting table.
The test experience
After much self-induced delay, I began the exam. The test didn’t feel any easier than the Boson exams, but obviously in reality it was. As it was the only time I passed any test, including the practise tests. I took my time on questions that troubled me, and made sure to write my changes to the start-up config on the lab questions. I finished with plenty of time to spare.
After I finished, the screen went black. I was asked to complete a short survey, which really rubbed me the wrong way as I was dying to find out if I passed. Then an invigilator took me to a separate room, where my result was printed. It showed a gloomy black and white image of me, and some text accompanied by the word PASS!
Closing statement
The CCNA is the gold standard foundational networking qualification for a reason. It is tough, and you can only get it if you are serious about it. Fortunately, the resources available are more than enough to prepare you. Spend as much time as you need to get an intuitive understanding of the concepts, memorise key values, and practise labbing! Following the JIT course was all I needed in the end. Thanks for reading :)