From: Li Chaoyong (Company) (hughcyli@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Fri May 19 2000 - 05:47:33 GMT-3
Someone said that CCIE should have his CCIE relict.
----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin Young <kvyoung@sina.com>
To: Ben Rife <brife@bignet.net>
Cc: ccielab <ccielab@groupstudy.com>
Sent: Friday, May 19, 2000 4:07 PM
Subject: Re: CCIE #5886
> Ben,
> congratulations!!! thanks for your experience, maybe i'd better look for
a good girl friend like lisa. :)
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ben Rife <brife@bignet.net>
> To: <ccielab@groupstudy.com>
> Sent: Friday, May 19, 2000 9:12 AM
> Subject: CCIE #5886
>
>
> > I first of all want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement
> > along the way. It was a very long and difficult journey for me.
> >
> > In response to many requests, here's my story.
> >
> > I started the certification about 3 years ago when working with my buddy
> > Greg. We worked on a project to install and configure a 20-router
> > internetwork of Cisco routers for the City of Troy, MI.
> >
> > Greg told me how hot the market was for a CCIE. That began my pursuit.
> >
> > I began the journey by taking a couple of Cisco classes from ARG: ICRC,
> > ACRC, CIT, and CIM. These proved to be a waste of time and money, so I
> > decided to dive in and take the written qualification exam to begin the lon
g
> > journey to CCIE.
> >
> > I took a flyer at the test and failed, but it gave me an idea of what to
> > study for. I used The CCIE Study Guide, by Roosevelt Giles, to prepare for
> > the test. A couple of weeks later, on February 9th, 1999, I passed the
> > written qualification exam with a 66%, on my third try.
> >
> > At this point, I made Cisco my primary product of business. I pursued
> > customers with the hopes of implementing some type of routing or switching
> > to gain experience. It proved to be very profitable for the company and for
> > me, however, this was not enough experience. I needed experience with legac
y
> > protocols and obscure technologies. This could only come from having my own
> > equipment.
> >
> > After trying to buy routers on ebay.com and other various sites, I grew
> > tired of loosing the auction at the last minute, so I called around until I
> > found a used Cisco hardware dealer. I bought 5 routers, a catalyst switch,
> > and many V.35 cables from him. I also bought a Teltone ISDN Demonstrator, a
> > new PC, and many books.
> >
> > In all, I have invested about $12,000 on the equipment, $4500 on the test,
> > $3000 on books and various Internet subscriptions, and $1000 on rented rack
> > time and purchased labs, for a grand total of about $20,500 out of my
> > pocket. Note that I said "Invested".
> >
> > My inventory consists of the following:
> >
> > Cisco 2501
> > Cisco 2502
> > Cisco 2503
> > Cisco 2504
> > Cisco 2509
> > Cisco 2520
> > CAT2902
> > Teltone ISDN Demonstrator
> > 2 Token Ring MAU's
> >
> >
> >
> > Bridges Routers and Switches, (Referred to as the CCIE Bible), Andrew Bruce
> > Caslow
> > The CCIE Study Guide, Roosevelt Giles
> > Advanced IP Routing, William Parkhurst
> > Cisco Routers for Bridging, DLSW+, and Desktop Protocols, Tan Nam-Kee
> > Internet Routing Architectures, Bassam Halabi
> > IP Multicast Routing, William Parkhurst
> > Cisco Router OSPF, William Parkhurst
> > Cisco TCP/IP Routing, Chris Lewis
> > Cisco Switched Internetworks, Chris Lewis
> > OSPF Network Design Solutions, Tom Thomas II
> > CLSC Exam Certification Guide, Kevin Downes and Tim Boyles
> > Routing TCP/IP, Jeff Doyle
> > CCIE Prep.com Study Guide, Rossi
> > Voice and Data Internetworking, Reld
> > Network Design and Case Studies, Cisco Press
> > CCIE Lab Study Guide, Satterlee and Hutnik
> >
> > Now that I have passed the qualification exam, it was off to Raleigh, NC
> > (RTP).
> >
> > I first took the lab in July; I was one point away from making it to day
> > two. Disappointed, I went home and rescheduled. I couldn't get enough
> > motivation to even look at my routers for a month after coming back from
> > Raleigh.
> >
> > My second attempt was in September. Yet again, I was a couple of points shy
> > from making it past day 1.
> >
> > My third attempt was December 5th-6th. For the third time, I was told that
> > I could not go on to day 2. I was beginning to wonder if this was worth it.
> > At this point, I felt like giving up for good, but I had invested so much
> > time, effort, and money to turn back now. The sacrifice was starting to
> > weigh on me.
> >
> > I scheduled a fourth attempt for February 6th-7th. This time, I had enough
> > points to see what was waiting for me on day 2. It was exactly as I had
> > expected, but I hadn't prepared well enough for the legacy stuff! I was a
> > few points shy of making it to troubleshooting.
> >
> > This time, I was determined to give it 110% or resign to never having those
> > 4 numbers after my name. I couldn't handle it any more. There was a
> > tremendous sacrifice involved in obtaining CCIE, and I had put my life on h
o
> > ld for the past two years. I couldn't endure another failure.
> >
> > I decided that I needed some incentive, so I prepared a 30+ page "Proposal
> > for Promotion" for my boss and his. It was a document to justify my asking
> > salary, benefits, and other perks, upon obtaining the CCIE. I presented it
> > to them over dinner. It was well received and encouraged me to pursue the
> > CCIE once again.
> >
> > Now, the preparation for my final attempt began.
> >
> > I purchased time on racks of equipment from cciebootcamp.com for ATM and
> > VoIP experience, and purchased many sample labs. I worked on my weak points
> > heavily, after making sure I was solid on the basics. I studied for about
> > two months for 6 hours a day. Two weeks before the test, I studied every da
y
> > for about 16 hours. I stopped studying 2 days before taking the test to giv
e
> > myself a break and time to relax.
> >
> > I flew out Friday afternoon and made my way to hotel Marriott. By the way,
> > the other times, I stayed at Holiday Inn. The place is so run down, I
> > thought I was in the inner city. The food/service is despicable; my rental
> > car was starting to look attractive after staying there. My point is that i
t
> > 's important to stay somewhere where you can be comfortable. For me,
> > Marriott was very accommodating.
> >
> > Friday night, I called my girlfriend before going to bed. She spoke a few
> > words of encouragement "This is your time", "You go in there and take names
> > and numbers, cause you're going to be one of the few", "You can do it, I'm
> > so proud of you!"
> >
> > After tossing and turning all night, I awoke in the morning and called my
> > girlfriend before leaving for the test. She prayed with me on the phone and
> > spoke sweet words of affirmation. Her prayer was simply that "the test woul
d
> > be easy and that I would be confident".
> >
> > Lisa's prayer worked. The test was unbelievably easy for me. In fact, I
> > finished in 3 ½ hours. I sat around for the next 4 hours and contemplated
> > how I would look in that CCIE leather jacket that was hanging in front of
> > me.
> >
> > I went back to the hotel feeling pretty good. I had a nice dinner and
> > reviewed some legacy stuff that I thought I might see on day 2.
> >
> > The next morning, I called my girlfriend, who prayed with me again and
> > encouraged me. Once again, her prayer worked. I walked into the lab and the
> > proctor told me "Yours was easy to grade, you got a perfect score". That's
> > right, I smoked day 1. That meant that I was definitely going onto day 2 an
d
> > that I had a nice cushion.
> >
> > The day 2 exam was handed to me and the clock began to spin faster and
> > faster. The heat was turned up for sure. I knew I wouldn't have it quite as
> > easy as day 1. I ran across some interesting land mines in the test. There
> > were things that I had never seen before and just skipped over. At this
> > point, I was just hoping, my cushion from day 1 would help me get to
> > troubleshooting. In the last few minutes, I did a quick search on the Doc C
D
> > to find an answer and what do you know? I found it. I found the answer to a
> > problem I didn't know. Something, I've never seen before. Thank God. That
> > secured my position.
> >
> > After a 15-minute lunch break, the proctor graded our labs and told us if w
e
> > were going to troubleshooting. The proctor told me that I had lost 7 points
> > in the day 2 stuff. That meant that I had a total of 68 out of 75 total
> > points. Needing 80 total points to pass, I needed to get 12 points in
> > troubleshooting to pass. It was so near.yet so far away. While waiting for
> > the proctor to "break" my equipment, I contemplated all the time that I had
> > spent preparing for the lab and all that was riding on those last 12 points
.
> >
> > The proctor had introduced some major faults into my network. Some of the
> > problems were so complex that I just had to laugh. After working for 3 hour
s
> > and documenting and fixing 27 problems, I was finished. The proctor sent me
> > out of the lab while he checked everything. I was hoping and praying that i
t
> > was enough. After being this close, if I had failed, I would have to give u
p
> > for good.
> >
> > After 30 minutes, the lab door opened and the proctor handed me a CCIE
> > T-shirt and my CCIE number (5886) on a card. I had done it. It was finally
> > over. Now, I can move on with my life.
> >
> > I have found that the tests are not necessarily different at different
> > testing locations. The difference is the proctor. The proctor can make you
> > or break you. The proctor I had on day 1, Denise, bent over backwards to
> > help everyone and to calm nerves. The proctor I had on day 2, nameless, was
> > very rude and unorganized. I feared that he would lend to my demise. It
> > worked out though. Too bad you can't request a certain proctor!
> >
> > The thing that helped me the most was to take the lab and fail. That
> > experience disproved all the rumors I had heard and showed me my weaknesses
.
> > It allowed me to focus. It also showed me that it was obtainable. The other
> > thing that helped me was practice, practice, and more practice on my
> > routers. I implemented every possible lab scenario I could think of or buy.
> >
> > There were many people that didn't believe in me. One of which, was my boss
'
> > s boss. He demonstrated this, by refusing to pay for my repeated failures
> > and the associated travel. It was his expectation that I should have passed
> > on the first couple of tries. He thought that I was pursuing it too
> > aggressively and that I should take some time off. He even went so far as t
o
> > say that he would pay for it if I put it off for a month. To me, that was
> > ridiculous. I knew what the test required and I wasn't about to delay the
> > ultimate. I decided that once again, I would pay for it myself. That way, I
> > would have no one to answer to! Meanwhile, my boss, Rich, was backing me up
> > 110%. He went to bat for me and did everything he could to help me out.
> > There was only one thing I needed, time.time on the routers.
> >
> > As with any CCIE Candidate, their spouse/girlfriend are forced to live in
> > solitude until the CCIE status is obtained. Lisa (Lise), my girlfriend, has
> > sacrificed her time with me, weekends, birthdays, holidays, etc. She has
> > been my encouragement when I came back empty handed. She always encouraged
> > me to re-schedule the test and to never give up until I have reached my
> > goal. She believed in me and understood the level of dedication involved.
> > Thanks Babe!
> >
> > There is a great deal of sacrifice involved in obtaining CCIE. For me,
> > personally, which is very common among my peers is a complete dedication to
> > the pursuit.
> >
> > The first time I took the test, I spent probably 12 hours a day for two
> > months, studying, while working from home. This was an unusual work
> > situation, but my boss allowed it so I could dedicate the time required to
> > pass. Each time I took the exam, it was preceded by many more hours of
> > intense preparation, missing out on birthdays, holidays, and special get
> > togethers. I put off seeing family and friends and became a little less
> > involved in the things that really matter to me. One of those was my Church
,
> > Kensington. For the past two years, I have not been quite the regular
> > attender that I would like to have been. When I did get a chance to get awa
y
> > from the books and routers, I felt guilty and couldn't enjoy myself. I
> > struggled with that on a daily basis. The past two years are gone; I have
> > missed spending time with my father, brothers, and girlfriend. I couldn't
> > fish, golf, workout, ride my bike, etc. I even put off buying a house
> > because I didn't want to have to worry about maintaining the lawn or take
> > the time to look for a house. Luckily, I was in a position where I had to
> > sign a new lease on my apartment or move, so I quickly found a house. My
> > agent, the best agent in the world, Bob Harris, was very understanding of m
y
> > schedule. The beauty of it is that I close on the house the day after I get
> > back from RTP. I feel like I have won the lottery this week! Thanks Bob!
> >
> > If I had it to do over, knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn't do it.
> > The cost is great, not just financially. When I'm faced with the end of my
> > life. I certainly won't be thinking of how glad I am because I got my CCIE,
> > but I will think about how glad I am to be married the woman of my dreams,
> > or of how I lived my life to the fullest and pursued God with reckless
> > abandon. The moral of this saga is that you need to carefully count the cos
t
> > and make your decisions based on that. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I made
> > it, but I shouldn't have put so much emphasis on it. It can consume you, if
> > you let it. That type of dedication is required though. You better be ready
> > when you start.
> >
> > Now that I have passed, you might ask what's next? We shall see.
> >
> > One last thing, THANK YOU JESUS!
> >
> > Benjy T. Rife
> > MCSE, CNE, CCIE #5886 (That feels so good!)
> >
> >
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