Not another CCNA course. A mentor who answers your questions.
Private 1:1 Cisco CCNA 200-301 mentorship for US-based candidates. 24 live classes over 12 weeks with a senior US network engineer, your lab reviewed between sessions, pass-or-keep-going commitment. Free 20-minute planning call to start. No card.
$699 flat fee. Installment plans available. Pacific to Eastern time zone coverage.
Who hires a CCNA mentor
Help desk to NetEng
You are closing 30 tickets a day on Tier 1 or 2 and ready to move up. A mentor keeps you on the three CCNA topics that will show up in your next interview, not every topic.
Non-IT to networking
Teaching, retail, hospitality, or military-adjacent background. You can learn IOS as fast as anyone, but you need a human to answer "is this what the exam means by X" without the ego.
Failed attempt, want to pass
Your score report tells you WHICH domain hurt. A mentor spots the WHY in your first lab review and builds targeted retake prep so the next $300 is the last one.
US pay context, year of 2026
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $99,130 (May 2025) for network and computer systems administrators, across all US experience levels (BLS). BLS does not publish pay by certification, and entry-level pay is lower and varies by city and employer.
Typical pay bands we see with mentees who move through CCNA into their first network role, from public salary data and from mentee reports in 2026:
- CCNA, year 1 at a US MSP: around $62K to $78K
- CCNA plus 1 year experience at a mid-market enterprise: around $85K to $105K
- CCNP ENCOR plus CCNA: around $110K to $140K
- AWS Advanced Networking Specialty plus 2 years NetEng: around $140K to $180K
Ranges vary by metro area. Austin, Seattle, Boston, NYC, SF Bay Area pay above the band. Smaller metros pay at or below the band. GI Bill and DoD 8140 pathways are discussed on the veterans page.
What a 12-week engagement includes
24 live 1:1 classes
Two per week, video, scheduled around your shift. All content tailored to your current level, not a template deck.
Lab review between sessions
You lab the topic, send the config, the mentor annotates it line by line before the next session. The $699 vs free difference is here.
US interview prep
Live mock interview from the US network engineer side of the table. Resume tune-up. LinkedIn fix. The last two weeks of the program.
Pass or keep going
If you do not pass the first attempt, mentoring continues at no extra fee. You keep access until you clear it.
CCNA v2.0 coverage
Over 90 percent of v1.1 carries into v2.0 (Feb 2027). We include the five new v2.0-only topics at no extra cost (OSPFv3, IPv6 RA Guard, AAA with cloud identity, Ansible basics, AI prompts for net ops).
Portfolio projects
Three hands-on projects you can put on your resume: VLAN+trunk topology with troubleshooting notes, OSPF multi-area with a failure writeup, and a Packet Tracer handoff doc US employers actually read.
Why 1:1 beats a YouTube course for most adults
Free CCNA content on the Internet is excellent. Jeremy's IT Lab, David Bombal, Keith Barker, Chris Bryant. All real. All free.
Here is the issue. A YouTube course answers questions that have already been asked. A mentor answers YOUR question, with your topology, when you are stuck at 10 PM and nobody on Reddit replies.
Working US adults studying for CCNA while holding a full-time job hit three predictable walls:
- The subnet math is fine until the real IOS output does not match the practice question. A mentor spots the two-line gap in 30 seconds that a forum thread takes three days to clear.
- OSPF, DHCP, NAT look clean on video. On your lab they do not. The video cannot see your config. We can.
- The last 30 days before the exam, you need a human telling you what to STOP studying. Nobody delivers that on YouTube.
1:1 CCNA mentorship is the fix for those three walls. Nothing else is.
Start with a free 20-minute call.
You tell us your target exam date, your current level, and the one topic that is beating you. We walk a realistic plan. No card. No sales pitch. If 1:1 is not the right fit we will say so.
- 20 minutes, 1:1 with a senior US network engineer
- No card, no obligation, no sales pitch
- You pick the slot that fits your week
Common questions from US candidates
What makes a CCNA mentor different from a YouTube course?
A YouTube course answers questions that have already been asked. A mentor answers YOUR question, with your topology, on your schedule. Our 1:1 program is 24 live classes over 12 weeks with homework reviewed line by line between sessions.
How much does CCNA 1:1 mentorship cost in the US in 2026?
PacketMentor charges $699 for the 12-week 1:1 CCNA 200-301 program. The first 20-minute planning session is free with no card. Comparable private tutors in the US charge $45 to $80 per hour, so a 12-week engagement runs $1,000 to $2,500 at hourly rates.
Can I pass CCNA on my own without a mentor?
Many people do. The CCNA 200-301 pass rate for self-studiers who complete a reputable video course is around 40 to 60 percent on the first attempt. 1:1 mentorship raises first-attempt pass rate for our enrolled students by catching gaps a video course cannot see.
Is this live or recorded?
All 24 classes are LIVE 1:1 video sessions. Nothing is pre-recorded. You bring your questions and your lab, we work through them in real time. US time zones Pacific to Eastern.
What if I fail the exam after mentoring?
Our pass-or-keep-going commitment: mentoring continues at no extra fee while you prepare for your next attempt. The 5-day Cisco retake wait applies either way, but you keep access to the program.
Will CCNA v2.0 (February 2027) break anything I learn now?
No. Over 90 percent of CCNA v1.1 content carries into v2.0. If you pass v1.1 before February 2, 2027 you earn the full CCNA cert and it is valid for three years, unaffected by the v2.0 cutover. We include v2.0-only topics at no extra cost.
Can I pay in monthly installments?
Yes. 3-month and 4-month installment plans are available via secure invoice after the free first session. We do not collect a card upfront.
Related reading on this site
- CCNA v1.1 ends February 2, 2027: take it now or wait?
- CCNA vs Network+: which to take first
- CCNA 200-301 exam day walkthrough
- Packet Tracer vs CML vs EVE-NG for CCNA labs
- Top 20 Cisco IOS show commands every CCNA student should know
- Free 12-week CCNA study plan
- Free CCNA fix-the-network labs (browser-based)