Before I took my CCNA the first time, I got much feedback from different practice exams, and that indicated that i was ready for the exam. I WAS WRONG. I did not take into account how heavily the exam hinged on lab setup and information seeking through "show" commands. End result: I got most, if not all of the multiple choice and subnetting questions right, and failed because I was not proficient enough with working on real or simulated equipment. Don't get me wrong her, I had put in lab time, but the problem was, I simply was taking too long. I was not ready. As expensive as that was ($250) it was good feedback.

I had already used this site as a free resource, and right after the test I came here to take advantage of the free 101 labs, and then I realized that I could not complete them without the answers and videos, that's when I enlisted, and took full advantage of the site. At first I was a bit overwhelmed by all of the information available, but that is what makes this great. Everything is here. I completed the 101 labs, went through some of the practice exams, and then re-took the tests (the two test route this time). Without the structure and incremental practical learning from those labs , and the feedback they gave me, (every time I had to look at an answer, I knew that I did not have it mastered yet... I continued on a lab until I could do it from memory) I would not have passed.

(By the way I did not get 95% on the practice exams, but like I said, I already had that part down pretty well, and every wrong answer I researched, and learned from. The deadline I gave myself did not leave enough time to do each exam more than once.)

I may never have ponied up the $30 per month before I realized how valuable of a resource this site could be, after failing a $250 test.

The moral here, if there is one, is that some people may not see how valuable the "cheap" feedback is, until they waste money on the test once or twice, and then take a good look at the other feedback they got along the way, and see for themselves that it could have saved them money, and time.

As I have got older, I have got more thicked skin and less pig headed.

Feedback is so important. When we do our jobs, we could be thinking we are doing excellent, but we could be on the wrong track totally, because we have not had any feedback. At annual review time it may be a shock.

Exam result is the utimate feedback, but using the Flash Cards, Chapter Quizes and the Hard Quizes, we can get feedback as we progress, without a costly shock at the end.

Peter