Step-by-step guide on "How to take the Cisco exam?"
In this article, we have prepared for you a detailed step-by-step instruction on “How to take the Cisco exam?” And share our experience of successful registration for the exam and the features of its passing procedure.
What are Pearson VUE testing centers? How long does a certification exam cost? How to register for the exam to get a significant discount? How is it going? These are questions that everyone who just wants to get a Cisco certificate has.
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The Cisco certification exam is a computer test that is taken at one of the certification centers. At first they were the centers of the organization Thomson Prometric . In 1994, Pearson VUE entered the market of computer testing organizations. She proposed an alternative delivery of electronic testing solutions to Thomson Prometric, which was more reliable and secure at that time. For some time, testing by Cisco certification programs could be done at Thomson Prometric centers and Pearson VUE centers. Since 2007, Cisco Systems has ceased to cooperate with Thomson Prometric, and now it is possible to get Cisco certification (to perform a written exam) only at Pearson VUE centers.
The organization Pearson VUE itself is the largest company for conducting electronic, computer testing in the widest areas, specialties and activities. Information technology (IT) is just one of the categories for which testing is being conducted. Pearson VUE is part of the Pearson Corporation, a company founded in England in the 19th century and engaged in completely non-educational services. In 2006, Pearson bought the National Computer System Corporation (NCS), one of whose projects was VUE - a shortcut from Virtual University Enterprises, and subsequently several other large companies that worked in the field of education and computer testing. Now the network of certification centers Pearson VUE is widely deployed around the world, is present in 165 countries. There are more than a hundred such centers in Russia, dozens of centers exist in Moscow.
All candidates for a Cisco industrial certificate must be registered with the Pearson VUE Certification Center. In general, there are many myths about certification, and often people just do not know how to successfully register on their own, do not make unnecessary expenses when paying at the testing center and save up to 58% of the exam cost. We have experience of free counseling on these issues, and it will be shown below how easy it is to go through the registration procedure yourself - without the help of an employee of a certification authority.
According to the rules of the Pearson VUE certification centers, the fee for a certification exam is strictly fixed and cannot be increased for commercial gain. Increase in payment is allowed only in case of deduction of mandatory taxes. It is this tax - 18% VAT - that any entrepreneur engaged in the provision of services, including the owner of the certification center, must pay. Some certification centers in Russia do not comply with the requirements of Pearson VUE on the inadmissibility of extracting commercial benefits from the testing procedure, increasing the cost of the certification procedure under various pretexts. For example, they offer to pay for a 1-day course of study, complete with certification. Therefore, if you contact the certification center for registration for the exam, the payment for it will be higher. If you register for the exam yourself through the Pearson VUE website, you can pay for it immediately with a plastic card. In this case, the cost of the exam is the same as installed vendor, that is, Cisco. According to the rules of its functioning, the certification center does not have the right to refuse a candidate who is independently registered for the exam to be granted an opportunity to pass the exam.
The Pearson VUE company applies a system of discounts on the cost of the certification exam for the "wholesale" purchase of exam packages. But in the case of Cisco certification such discounts are not possible. There is only one way to reduce the cost of a Cisco certification exam - a discount is given to graduates of Cisco Network Academies. This discount in the form of an individual promo code for each graduate of the Network Academy (in the Network Academy system, this alphanumeric code is called a “voucher”) is entered when ordering an exam. Therefore, a graduate of the Cisco Networking Academy, when registering on the Pearson VUE website, must specify, in addition to its general details, its identification data in the Cisco Networking Academy system. If this is not done, then using the voucher, even if it is available, will not succeed.
The cost of the exam is periodically reviewed and increased. Now it is:
The two values indicated for the Entry and Associate levels are explained by different costs for different exams. At the Entry level there is a CCENT exam - 640-822 ICND1, the initial level in the certification hierarchy, its cost is $ 150. In addition, there are exams in the Cisco Certification Team - CCT - Cisco Certified Technician - a Cisco certified technician. There are now three such exams: in the areas of "Routing and Switching", "Data Storage Centers" and "TelePresence". The cost of these exams is $ 125.
At the Associate level, CCNA certification can be obtained by passing two CCENT exams - 640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2 (each cost $ 150) or one composite exam 640-802 CCNA, worth $ 295. Associate exams for specific areas cost $ 250.
For the Professional level, the cost of one exam is shown, and you need to bear in mind that in order to pass a certification, you must pass several.
For the Expert level, the cost of the written exam is shown. The performance of laboratory work costs $ 1500, excluding the cost of the road and accommodation. The fact is that CCIE laboratory work can only be performed in 9 stationary certification centers and one mobile. There is no fixed center in Russia, the mobile center periodically happens in Moscow, but it cannot be certified in all areas, only R & S and Security. The closest certification authority to Russia where a CCIE lab is located is located in Brussels.
The location of the points of passage of laboratory work CCIE
It makes sense to consider the registration procedure in more detail, since some actions in its course are not obvious. The name and password entry field on vue.com does not open immediately. First you need to go to the "Test Taker Services" section. This can be done by pressing the “Sign In” virtual key or by selecting the second tab at the top of the window.
Creating a new account on the Pearson VUE site starts with Sign In.
In the window that opens, you need to select the category in which you decided to pass certification, and the appropriate vendor. For Cisco certification, this should be the Information Technology category and Cisco Systems.
Choosing a category and test program - Cisco Systems
In the next window, there are two options - go to the management of scheduled exams or start passing certain certification online exams.
Only after that a window opens with a field for entering a login and password. Here is a link to create a new user.
Create a new account
After clicking on this link, a window opens that requires confirmation of agreement with the rules for conducting certification. Refusing this confirmation, you lose the opportunity to create an account.
You must agree to the rules and procedures for certification in Pearson VUE centers.
In the first step of registering a new user, there is a field to specify your personal identifier for Cisco. Such an identifier is available to all holders of at least one Cisco industrial certificate. It is assigned upon successful completion of the first exam and does not change in the future.
Only those who have successfully passed the certification have a personal Cisco ID. Beginners should mark the bottom margin.
On the same page the name and surname of the candidate are indicated. In the field of entering personal data there is a warning highlighted in red: the name and surname of the candidate must be indicated exactly as they are written in the documents confirming the person. If there is no match, they will not be allowed to take the exam and the money for it will not be returned. This information is not so critical for the territory of Russia, since the name and surname are indicated in English transcription, and they are written in Russian in documents. There will be no coincidence in this case, but you need to be careful in this matter. That is why the certification center will ask you for two identity documents, not one, and both must be with photos.
Registration begins with the introduction of personal data.
On the second registration page, you specify your mailing address. It is needed to deliver the original certificate if the exam is passed successfully.
Introduction of contact information
The cost of delivery is included in the fee for certification, so the letter with the certificate will come to the address specified during registration free of charge. You will have to pay only for additional paper copies of the certificate, if you need them.
On the third registration page, additional information about the candidate is entered. It is here that there are fields for the personal ID and login of the Cisco Networking Academy listener. The data of these fields are required to apply discounts for the Network Academies program. Let me remind you that if during registration you do not specify the relevant information in these fields, it will be impossible to get a discount.
Fields to enter personal ID and login of Cisco Network Academy graduate
The last, fourth page of registration confirms the completion of the procedure, however, the login and password to enter the system arrive at the email specified during registration only after 24 hours. You can order an exam at a certification center only if you have this data.
When ordering an exam, please note that the money to the Pearson VUE account must be received no later than 48 hours before the exam, that is, you cannot order and pay for the exam today, but tomorrow you must pass it, you need to plan it in advance.
How is the certification exam? This issue is of concern to everyone who encounters the Cisco certification system for the first time.
It all starts with a "hike" in the certification center, in which you have planned to pass the exam. Through the online Person VUE system, you specify the day and time of the exam. It is necessary to appear in the certification center in advance, at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Because before the exam a number of procedures are performed: you are photographed, you leave your signature on a special tablet that automatically digitizes it, you are explained the procedure and so on. If you arrive in 5 minutes, then you simply will not have time to complete all the preliminary activities - in this case, the center administrator will not even talk to you, simply will not allow until the exam. Nobody will return the paid money: violating the conditions for passing the exam (to arrive in advance), you yourself are guilty and lose money.
During the exam, no one should prevent you from focusing on the exam questions. Therefore, in the test room, it is quiet and there are no extraneous noises. If several people can be tested at the same time, the computer screens should be positioned so that the screen of another computer is not visible from your workplace - no one will “breathe in the back”. No extraneous materials during testing can not be used: cell phones, electronic gadgets, notepads and the like are excluded without reservation. Before you allow you to sit at the computer with an examination program, an employee of a certification authority will ask you to “empty your pockets” by passing all your personal belongings. For storing these things during the examination procedure in the certification center there is a special safe.
You will be given a piece of paper and a pencil or a plastic plate and a felt-tip pen so that you can make some notes, make calculations. You cannot use your own leaflets and pens. It is impossible to take out from the certification center that piece of paper on which you took notes during the exam - you will have to pass it in exchange for personal items at the exit. Of course, no one will search your pockets, but it is not recommended to break the rules. The center administrator has the right to terminate the exam at any time if he has a suspicion that the candidate is cheating. All the time while testing is going on, the administrator will be watching you, the video can be taken indoors. Punishment for someone who is seen cheating, peeping, and the like can be tough: for example, a lifetime ban on admission to any certification exams.
Exam duration depends on its type. For example, the CCNA 640-802 exam has a duration of 90 minutes. If you pass the exam in English and this language is not native to you, then another 30 minutes is added, it turns out two hours. Now this exam can be taken in Russian.
There are approximately 50 questions in the CCNA exam. There may be a little less or a little more; the exact number of questions is never known in advance. The professional track examinations usually last two hours and contain the same number of questions, about 50. For example, the exam 642-902 ROUTE lasts 120 minutes and contains from 45 to 55 questions, and the exam 642-813 SWITCH with the same duration from 35 to 45 questions but in spite of this is considered more difficult.
You can get acquainted with the interface of the certification exam and even try to answer demo questions by following this link .
Animation on Cisco website illustrating exam questions format
Approximately the same video will be shown to you before the exam itself. After reviewing it, you will see the types of questions that may be encountered in the exam. An important point of the exam procedure is that you cannot see several questions at once, they follow one by one. You also can not go back to the previous question, you answer and go on to the next, the movement is only forward. If, having answered, you understood that you were mistaken, then nothing can be fixed. Therefore, you need to be very careful and do not rush.
All those who successfully passed the certification receive an individual number - Cisco ID of the form CSCOXXXXXXXXX. You can always track the status of your certification through the online Certification Tracking System, the entrance to which is located on this link .
Passed the exam and got an ID? Congratulations, you are now a Cisco Certified Specialist!
It's not as difficult as it seems, is it?
What are Pearson VUE testing centers? How long does a certification exam cost? How to register for the exam to get a significant discount? How is it going? These are questions that everyone who just wants to get a Cisco certificate has.
')
About the Pearson VUE Certification Exam
The Cisco certification exam is a computer test that is taken at one of the certification centers. At first they were the centers of the organization Thomson Prometric . In 1994, Pearson VUE entered the market of computer testing organizations. She proposed an alternative delivery of electronic testing solutions to Thomson Prometric, which was more reliable and secure at that time. For some time, testing by Cisco certification programs could be done at Thomson Prometric centers and Pearson VUE centers. Since 2007, Cisco Systems has ceased to cooperate with Thomson Prometric, and now it is possible to get Cisco certification (to perform a written exam) only at Pearson VUE centers.
The organization Pearson VUE itself is the largest company for conducting electronic, computer testing in the widest areas, specialties and activities. Information technology (IT) is just one of the categories for which testing is being conducted. Pearson VUE is part of the Pearson Corporation, a company founded in England in the 19th century and engaged in completely non-educational services. In 2006, Pearson bought the National Computer System Corporation (NCS), one of whose projects was VUE - a shortcut from Virtual University Enterprises, and subsequently several other large companies that worked in the field of education and computer testing. Now the network of certification centers Pearson VUE is widely deployed around the world, is present in 165 countries. There are more than a hundred such centers in Russia, dozens of centers exist in Moscow.
All candidates for a Cisco industrial certificate must be registered with the Pearson VUE Certification Center. In general, there are many myths about certification, and often people just do not know how to successfully register on their own, do not make unnecessary expenses when paying at the testing center and save up to 58% of the exam cost. We have experience of free counseling on these issues, and it will be shown below how easy it is to go through the registration procedure yourself - without the help of an employee of a certification authority.
Cost and discounts
According to the rules of the Pearson VUE certification centers, the fee for a certification exam is strictly fixed and cannot be increased for commercial gain. Increase in payment is allowed only in case of deduction of mandatory taxes. It is this tax - 18% VAT - that any entrepreneur engaged in the provision of services, including the owner of the certification center, must pay. Some certification centers in Russia do not comply with the requirements of Pearson VUE on the inadmissibility of extracting commercial benefits from the testing procedure, increasing the cost of the certification procedure under various pretexts. For example, they offer to pay for a 1-day course of study, complete with certification. Therefore, if you contact the certification center for registration for the exam, the payment for it will be higher. If you register for the exam yourself through the Pearson VUE website, you can pay for it immediately with a plastic card. In this case, the cost of the exam is the same as installed vendor, that is, Cisco. According to the rules of its functioning, the certification center does not have the right to refuse a candidate who is independently registered for the exam to be granted an opportunity to pass the exam.
The Pearson VUE company applies a system of discounts on the cost of the certification exam for the "wholesale" purchase of exam packages. But in the case of Cisco certification such discounts are not possible. There is only one way to reduce the cost of a Cisco certification exam - a discount is given to graduates of Cisco Network Academies. This discount in the form of an individual promo code for each graduate of the Network Academy (in the Network Academy system, this alphanumeric code is called a “voucher”) is entered when ordering an exam. Therefore, a graduate of the Cisco Networking Academy, when registering on the Pearson VUE website, must specify, in addition to its general details, its identification data in the Cisco Networking Academy system. If this is not done, then using the voucher, even if it is available, will not succeed.
The cost of the exam is periodically reviewed and increased. Now it is:
| Entry | Associate | Professional | Expert | Specialist |
| $ 125- $ 150 | $ 150- $ 295 | $ 200 | $ 350 | $ 200 |
The two values indicated for the Entry and Associate levels are explained by different costs for different exams. At the Entry level there is a CCENT exam - 640-822 ICND1, the initial level in the certification hierarchy, its cost is $ 150. In addition, there are exams in the Cisco Certification Team - CCT - Cisco Certified Technician - a Cisco certified technician. There are now three such exams: in the areas of "Routing and Switching", "Data Storage Centers" and "TelePresence". The cost of these exams is $ 125.
At the Associate level, CCNA certification can be obtained by passing two CCENT exams - 640-822 ICND1 and 640-816 ICND2 (each cost $ 150) or one composite exam 640-802 CCNA, worth $ 295. Associate exams for specific areas cost $ 250.
For the Professional level, the cost of one exam is shown, and you need to bear in mind that in order to pass a certification, you must pass several.
For the Expert level, the cost of the written exam is shown. The performance of laboratory work costs $ 1500, excluding the cost of the road and accommodation. The fact is that CCIE laboratory work can only be performed in 9 stationary certification centers and one mobile. There is no fixed center in Russia, the mobile center periodically happens in Moscow, but it cannot be certified in all areas, only R & S and Security. The closest certification authority to Russia where a CCIE lab is located is located in Brussels.
The location of the points of passage of laboratory work CCIE
Registration procedure on the Pearson VUE website
It makes sense to consider the registration procedure in more detail, since some actions in its course are not obvious. The name and password entry field on vue.com does not open immediately. First you need to go to the "Test Taker Services" section. This can be done by pressing the “Sign In” virtual key or by selecting the second tab at the top of the window.
Creating a new account on the Pearson VUE site starts with Sign In.
In the window that opens, you need to select the category in which you decided to pass certification, and the appropriate vendor. For Cisco certification, this should be the Information Technology category and Cisco Systems.
Choosing a category and test program - Cisco Systems
In the next window, there are two options - go to the management of scheduled exams or start passing certain certification online exams.
Only after that a window opens with a field for entering a login and password. Here is a link to create a new user.
Create a new account
After clicking on this link, a window opens that requires confirmation of agreement with the rules for conducting certification. Refusing this confirmation, you lose the opportunity to create an account.
You must agree to the rules and procedures for certification in Pearson VUE centers.
In the first step of registering a new user, there is a field to specify your personal identifier for Cisco. Such an identifier is available to all holders of at least one Cisco industrial certificate. It is assigned upon successful completion of the first exam and does not change in the future.
Only those who have successfully passed the certification have a personal Cisco ID. Beginners should mark the bottom margin.
On the same page the name and surname of the candidate are indicated. In the field of entering personal data there is a warning highlighted in red: the name and surname of the candidate must be indicated exactly as they are written in the documents confirming the person. If there is no match, they will not be allowed to take the exam and the money for it will not be returned. This information is not so critical for the territory of Russia, since the name and surname are indicated in English transcription, and they are written in Russian in documents. There will be no coincidence in this case, but you need to be careful in this matter. That is why the certification center will ask you for two identity documents, not one, and both must be with photos.
Registration begins with the introduction of personal data.
On the second registration page, you specify your mailing address. It is needed to deliver the original certificate if the exam is passed successfully.
Introduction of contact information
The cost of delivery is included in the fee for certification, so the letter with the certificate will come to the address specified during registration free of charge. You will have to pay only for additional paper copies of the certificate, if you need them.
On the third registration page, additional information about the candidate is entered. It is here that there are fields for the personal ID and login of the Cisco Networking Academy listener. The data of these fields are required to apply discounts for the Network Academies program. Let me remind you that if during registration you do not specify the relevant information in these fields, it will be impossible to get a discount.
Fields to enter personal ID and login of Cisco Network Academy graduate
The last, fourth page of registration confirms the completion of the procedure, however, the login and password to enter the system arrive at the email specified during registration only after 24 hours. You can order an exam at a certification center only if you have this data.
When ordering an exam, please note that the money to the Pearson VUE account must be received no later than 48 hours before the exam, that is, you cannot order and pay for the exam today, but tomorrow you must pass it, you need to plan it in advance.
Procedure and conditions for certification
How is the certification exam? This issue is of concern to everyone who encounters the Cisco certification system for the first time.
It all starts with a "hike" in the certification center, in which you have planned to pass the exam. Through the online Person VUE system, you specify the day and time of the exam. It is necessary to appear in the certification center in advance, at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Because before the exam a number of procedures are performed: you are photographed, you leave your signature on a special tablet that automatically digitizes it, you are explained the procedure and so on. If you arrive in 5 minutes, then you simply will not have time to complete all the preliminary activities - in this case, the center administrator will not even talk to you, simply will not allow until the exam. Nobody will return the paid money: violating the conditions for passing the exam (to arrive in advance), you yourself are guilty and lose money.
During the exam, no one should prevent you from focusing on the exam questions. Therefore, in the test room, it is quiet and there are no extraneous noises. If several people can be tested at the same time, the computer screens should be positioned so that the screen of another computer is not visible from your workplace - no one will “breathe in the back”. No extraneous materials during testing can not be used: cell phones, electronic gadgets, notepads and the like are excluded without reservation. Before you allow you to sit at the computer with an examination program, an employee of a certification authority will ask you to “empty your pockets” by passing all your personal belongings. For storing these things during the examination procedure in the certification center there is a special safe.
You will be given a piece of paper and a pencil or a plastic plate and a felt-tip pen so that you can make some notes, make calculations. You cannot use your own leaflets and pens. It is impossible to take out from the certification center that piece of paper on which you took notes during the exam - you will have to pass it in exchange for personal items at the exit. Of course, no one will search your pockets, but it is not recommended to break the rules. The center administrator has the right to terminate the exam at any time if he has a suspicion that the candidate is cheating. All the time while testing is going on, the administrator will be watching you, the video can be taken indoors. Punishment for someone who is seen cheating, peeping, and the like can be tough: for example, a lifetime ban on admission to any certification exams.
Exam duration depends on its type. For example, the CCNA 640-802 exam has a duration of 90 minutes. If you pass the exam in English and this language is not native to you, then another 30 minutes is added, it turns out two hours. Now this exam can be taken in Russian.
There are approximately 50 questions in the CCNA exam. There may be a little less or a little more; the exact number of questions is never known in advance. The professional track examinations usually last two hours and contain the same number of questions, about 50. For example, the exam 642-902 ROUTE lasts 120 minutes and contains from 45 to 55 questions, and the exam 642-813 SWITCH with the same duration from 35 to 45 questions but in spite of this is considered more difficult.
You can get acquainted with the interface of the certification exam and even try to answer demo questions by following this link .
Animation on Cisco website illustrating exam questions format
Approximately the same video will be shown to you before the exam itself. After reviewing it, you will see the types of questions that may be encountered in the exam. An important point of the exam procedure is that you cannot see several questions at once, they follow one by one. You also can not go back to the previous question, you answer and go on to the next, the movement is only forward. If, having answered, you understood that you were mistaken, then nothing can be fixed. Therefore, you need to be very careful and do not rush.
All those who successfully passed the certification receive an individual number - Cisco ID of the form CSCOXXXXXXXXX. You can always track the status of your certification through the online Certification Tracking System, the entrance to which is located on this link .
Passed the exam and got an ID? Congratulations, you are now a Cisco Certified Specialist!
It's not as difficult as it seems, is it?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/168595/
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