From: Mike L. Chase (mchase@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Tue Apr 17 2001 - 19:38:50 GMT-3
On my 4th attempt, and after 2 years of all consuming, unrelenting study, I hav
e passed
the CCIE exam in RTP about 1 hr ago. :-) My previous lab attempts were Feb 200
0 (SJC),
June 2000(SJC), September 2000 (RTP).
Truly insane experience. I hold MCSE, MCNE, and other certifications but nothi
ng even
begins to compare to the CCIE program, which I am extremely proud to now be a m
ember of.
Alan is by far THE superior proctor and I've had my share; RTP is a great site
in general
to take the test.
So .. the usual question..what did I study to get my CCIE ?
Ok, some advice (in this order)
1. Find a study partner. If you can find someone who already knows the ropes,
then find
someone who is as rabid as you are about getting certified. Once you start thi
s process,
you can't stop until you are done or you stand little chance of catching back u
p with the
new wave of technology; the lab is very up to the minute.
2. It's not how much you read, it's what you read. Learn to sort the wheat fro
m the chaff
quickly. Only 1 in 10 books out there is even worth reading. As for me, for n
early a
year I carried a backpack around with the latest book I was reading in it. I
read 14,000
pages cover to cover in 9 months; every spare moment was reading.
3. Not everything on CCO is correct. Use disparate sources of information to f
igure out
the truth. Nothing beats trying it out in your home/work lab first; seeing IS
believing.
4. The ECP1 class was very good; I took it 2 weeks ago and Fred Ingham was our
instructor
(he's awesome!). I FINALLY got answers to gnawing questions I had that previou
sly went
unresolved. ECP1 was the glue that put the vast array of knowledge together so
that it
made sense. (FYI go with your study partner, I did, and it's a HUGE benefit)
5. The CCBootCamp Labs are good although sometimes I wonder what the point of t
he scenario
is. Of course, I wondered that very question to myself several times in the re
al lab over
the last 2 days at some points in the test haha.
6. Obviously without equipment you won't get far. The important thing is that
your
equipment is accessible so that even if it's at work you can dial or vpn into i
t when at
2am you get that bug in your brain and wanna try a scenario or command out.
7. Learn to be humorous. It will help pass the boring moments waiting to find
out if you
passed each section in the lab, and it's the only way to live when under stress
. Don't
get cocky, just kick back and plow onward with the attitude that if I pass I pa
ss but if I
don't pass I am going to learn a whole damn lot. Fool you once? Shame on them.
Fool you
twice? Shame on you! Know what I mean?! Learn from your mistakes.
8. All proctors are not evil. Most are .. but not all ;-) ALL however ha
ve been
trained exceedingly well in the art of mental torture. Most do a great job of
"echo
talking" which means you go up to ask what the heck a given section is asking f
or, and
they "echo" or repeat the whole paragraph back to you, changing little or none
of the
verbage and then stare at you like you're the idiot. Expect it, embrace it,
get over
it. View the opportunity to walk up to the proctors desk as nothing more tha
n a chance
to stretch your legs, because essentially that is all it will be. :-) Asking
intelligent questions however might buy you some mercy with the proctor since t
hey will
perhaps grasp that you do, have at least, a decent idea about the technologies
at hand.
9. Learn to draw. Draw networks for fun, and quickly! Getting your spacing
right every
time on paper PLUS being able to fit a million details into it is a GOOD habit.
Document
EVERYTHING down to the Nth degree.
10. Get a life. You haven't had one since you started the CCIE path, so the bi
ggest part
of passing the CCIE exam is that you finally get back in touch with yourself an
d reality.
Whew huh ?!
Thanks to all the friends, family, and to Broadcom Corporation who fully and
enthusiastically supported me. And good luck to everyone on here; don't give
up! If you
are moving ahead with your knowledge level, then you are already achieving.
FYI If you are a CCIE written candidate and want a job in San Jose, let me know
. We have
a huge facility up there and need a good network guy.
Rgds/
Mike L. Chase, CCIE #7226
Sr. Network Architect
ISG: Information Services Group
Broadcom Corporation World Headquarters
MailDrop E1159-A
47 Discovery Street, Irvine, California USA 92618
OFC=949-585-6057;CELL=949-290-7065; FAX=949-585-6590
email : mchase@broadcom.com AIM:MikeLChase
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