Hi there! I am Nick from Bulgaria

General New Member Introductions
1

Who are you?
Hello, my name is Nick

Where are you?
I am living in Sofia, Bulgaria

What stage are you in? Are you a beginner in networking? A veteran studying for a CCIE exam?
Well, I am neither to be fair, but closer to beginner. Have been in IT for 12 years, in networking for just over 9. I started out as helpdesk, was promoted to Network Support 3 years after and for a few years was doing network related support (routers, switches etc.) without actually having taken any courses, just practical experience on the job from day to day.

What’s your background? Why did you join NetworkLessons.com? Any cool stories to share?
I found about NetworkLessons last year in March, while I was preparing for a job interview and was searching for info on OSPF - found Rene’s videos on youtube, which helped out a lot. Although I didn’t get the job, I didn’t forget about the site. At the time I had the first 2 semesters of CCNA complete (so ICND1 covered, but not taken the exam). In November I decided I couldn’t let the study time go to waste, so end of November I signed up for 3rd semester, finished it by Christmas, signed up for the 4th and finished that by mid-January. After that I started preparing for the ICND1 & ICND2 exams. I knew that simply with the Cisco provided material, I wasn’t going to make it, so I signed up here, started a very hard and strenuous everyday study program. Took my ICND1 on 31st of January and passed with a score of 913. Today, I took my ICND2 and passed with 908, so for all intents and purposes, I think I can say I am now CCNA certified.

I don’t think this would have been possible without this site and Rene’s lessons - extremely easy to understand and reading them at most 1-2 times is enough. Some of the things on the ICND2 exam weren’t even on the official Cisco learning materials, but were in the lessons here, which helped immensely!

I am extremely grateful to Rene and the whole team! Now, I will get a little rest (week maybe?) before I start something new. Even though the CCNP certification is changing, as my passion is networking, I think I will go over the CCNP ROUTE/SWITCH/TSHOOT topics on the site and am sure that I will learn a lot of new things.

Greetings from Bulgaria and again - huge thanks!

2

Hello Nick

Great to have you officially on the site! Congratulations on your CCNA certification, it’s an impressive achievement. Thank you for sharing such details of your experience, it really helps others on heir journey as well, as it gives them an idea of the experiences that they can expect.

It’s great to have someone like you on the site, with a lot of practical experience under your belt. We hope that we can be part of your next step in your certification path with your CCNP exams and beyond!

Looking forward to seeing you on the forum!

Laz

3

Добър ден! Nick,

First of all, welcome!

And congratulations getting your CCNA certification. It must be nice to have the certificate next to your job experience. Having the work experience is great. I’m sure you learned a bit more about the theory of protocols you already knew from work.

Many beginners who have their certificate(s) have trouble finding their first job.

I’m sure you will also enjoy the CCNP track. You’ll learn more about the things you have seen in CCNA. Take a well deserved break, don’t wait too long and then hit the road again :sunglasses:

Good luck! If you need any help, you know where to find us.

Rene