How long to study for popular certifications
by Ross Heintzkill | Published on August 31, 2023
Designing, deploying, configuring and managing a software-defined wide area network in a large-scale live network is not simple. So much so that Cisco dedicated one of the CCNP exams to all the skills and knowledge it takes. If you want an advanced IT career focused on working with Cisco WANs and software-defined networks, plan on taking the CCNP concentration exam Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions.
To find out how long it takes to prepare for the exam, CBT Nuggets surveyed over 300 IT professionals who have taken the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions exam. Through Twitter, LinkedIn and with a Google survey, we asked how long it took people to prepare for the Cisco SD-WAN exam and we explored that data to find out how to shorten the time it takes to prepare.
How long did most people need to study for the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions exam?
In our survey of 316 IT professionals, the most people (32%) needed more than 5 months to prepare for 300-415 ENSDWI. The majority (55%) of people who took Cisco's Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions exam needed between 3 months and 5 months. Only 19% of people were able to take the CCNP exam with less than 6 weeks of study time.
When the plurality of IT professionals need more than 5 months and the majority needed more than 3 months, it's obvious that the content of the exam is challenging – blog posts on LinkedIn and elsewhere confirm that. And since the number of people who were able to prepare for the 300-415 in less than 6 weeks was so small, it's likely that those people came to the exam with a lot of specific experience and preexisting knowledge. The best estimate for how long it takes to prepare for the Cisco SD-WAN exam comes from the majority of people who needed more than 3 months.
But the survey results also prove that it's not a universal law that it takes more than 5 months to prepare for the 300-415. Instead, with the right online course, a person with a good study plan and the right resources could prepare for the Cisco Implementing SD-WAN Solutions exam in 3-5 months, or even less than 6 weeks.
How should you prepare ahead of taking the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions exam?
The highly technical 300-415 ENSDWI will challenge your ability to manage many advanced features of SD-WANs in a large-scale network. To prepare for the exam, you'll need to know how to work with transport-independent WANs, meet SLAs for real-time applications, and secure end-to-end segmentation. The CBT Nuggets 300-415 ENSDWI Online Training prepares you for all of that and more by breaking the exam into distinct skills that you hone and practice separately.
You can't just read about implementing SD-WAN solutions, you'll need to be able to describe Cisco's SD-WAN architecture and have enough familiarity with it to build an SD-WAN practice lab for yourself. It's a lot of work, but when it's broken down and ready for you to take on at your own pace, you can be one of the ones who finish in under 3 months, and not take more than 5 months.
Tips to make sure you’re test-ready before the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions exam day:
The key to preparing for the Cisco Implementing SD-WAN Solutions exam is first-hand, real-world experience. The people who needed less than 6 weeks to prepare for 300-415 ENSDWI must have had extensive knowledge about extending and managing SD-WANs, but also tons of practice and experience already having done so.
If you want to take and pass the exam quickly, you need to have a way to practice your familiarity with controller and edge router deployments, managing policies and security and ensuring quality of service and multicast operations. The bottom line is that you'll need an online course that explains each element and provides practice opportunities.
Use virtual labs
Most people don't have access to live large-scale networks, and the people who do can't just experiment. All it would take is for one new configuration or SD-WAN implementation to go wrong, and you're looking for a new job.
Virtual labs let you experiment in settings and environments that are essentially real. And you don't have to worry about breaking anything. Having access to virtual labs is one of the most important factors in reducing how long it takes to prepare for the 300-415 ENSDWI.
Test yourself using practice exams
No one wants to fail the CCNP specialty exam on their first go around – and not just because there are no refunds. Finding and taking practice exams for the 300-415 ENSDWI means you can find out just how ready you are for the exam. Use practice exams and you can accelerate the time it takes you to prepare for the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN exam by skipping over the course material you know you're ready for.
Learn from the experts
Cisco's SD-WAN architecture is excellent but also complex. You don't want to learn about it from someone with light experience or knowledge. Learn how to implement and manage SD-WANs from experienced experts who have taken the CCNP exams several times and know exactly what you need to know to pass.
Shorten the time it takes you to prepare for the 300-415 ENSDWI with expert CBT Nuggets trainers. If you want to see if they're a good match for you, go watch the first video in the series for free at the the 300-415 ENSDWI Online Training page.
On top of vetted experts, you also get accountability coaches and a Discord community full of peers and future friends. A CBT Nuggets membership gets you access to all of it – and not just for the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN course. One membership and you can take any course in the entire course catalog, meaning you can accelerate your IT career and be ready for any IT certifying exam.
The Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions exam is hard, but the certification is well worth it. If you want a career working with software-defined elements of large-scale Cisco networks, you should plan on earning the CCNP and taking the 300-415. Most people need more than 3 months to prepare for it, but with a CBT Nuggets membership, you could easily be one of the people who finishes in under 3 months – and maybe even under 6 weeks.
