A realistic 12-week plan at roughly 8 to 10 hours per week. Build a lab (Packet Tracer is free) and practise subnetting a little every day.
| Weeks | Focus | Checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | OSI/TCP-IP, addressing, subnetting | You can subnet quickly and accurately |
| 3–4 | Switching, VLANs, trunking | You can configure VLANs and trunks |
| 5 | Spanning tree and EtherChannel | You can explain root bridge election |
| 6 | Wireless fundamentals | You can describe wireless components |
| 7–8 | Routing concepts and static routing | You can build and read a routing table |
| 9 | OSPF single-area | You can configure and verify OSPF |
| 10 | IP services (DHCP, DNS, NAT, NTP) | You can configure NAT and DHCP |
| 11 | Security and automation | You can write an ACL and explain APIs |
| 12 | Full-length timed reviews + simulations | You consistently pass timed reviews |
Final tips
Keep drilling subnetting and practise the simulations under time pressure. IP Connectivity and the two access/fundamentals areas dominate the exam. Avoid “exam dump” sites — they breach Cisco policy and copyright.