From: EA Louie (elouie@xxxxxxxxx)
Date: Fri Nov 30 2001 - 20:19:32 GMT-3
Joseph - thanks for your candid summary of your exam experience. I'm
scheduled for 1/11/02 and am already shaking in my boots. Also, thanks for
the 'heads up' on the checking the connectivity and for the "it's doable"
message.
-e-
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Ezerski" <jezerski@broadcom.com>
To: <ccielab@groupstudy.com>
Cc: <ecp1@external.cisco.com>
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 9:10 AM
Subject: One Lab- Failed....My experience
> Well, my friends, I took the one day lab on Nov. 28th, in San Jose. I
> failed, but not by much. I want to share the general experience and maybe
> pass on some hope to all of you who are taking it in the future.
>
> First off, my biggest fear was the fear of the unknown. I was
intimidating
> myself as this was my first attempt. After taking the test, I can
honestly
> say that it was a very fair exam and not that difficult. I am surprised
> that I failed, but thinking back I know where I went wrong. It wasn't
that
> I did not know how to do something, it was just that I made a boneheaded
> mistake with my ISDN config that cascaded into other sections and cost me
> critical points. But, I am no longer afraid of this exam. It is very
> doable! VERY!
>
> So, basically, here is how I approached the test.
>
> The lab at San Jose is very neat and tidy. It is actually a comfortable
> place for geeks like us. I had two proctors present and they were both
very
> fair and very helpful. I must have asked a million questions! As you all
> know from the Lorne webcast, the lab is pre-cabled and much of the
> addressing is done. I read through the whole manual in the beginning.
And
> I was shocked! There was nothing on this test that I did not know how to
> do! There was a fair smattering of a lot of different topics and a few
> little Tier 3 things that I knew a quick Doc CD lookup would help me
> configure. I was feeling pretty good. As I went through my tasks, I did
get
> stuck a few times as the "issues" crept into the scenario. My strategy
was
> to give it a try and if I could not get it right, I moved on. I managed
to
> get more than half way through the lab by lunch time. Lunch was 30
minutes.
> I do recommend writing your configs and rebooting before you go to lunch.
> It lets your routers reboot and reconverge while you are eating. After
> lunch, I went back and fixed all the "issues" that I had bypassed. Having
a
> 30 minute break lets you calmly review where the problems might lie. I
> mananged to finish with about 1.5 hours left. However, as I went through
> the tasks, I wrote down areas that I felt might still need work. I spent
> the final 1.5 hours trying to fix those things and checking my work. I
did
> use a simple ping script and it does save time. I am kicking myself
because
> I did not check well enough. That one boneheaded mistake cost me, and the
> "no partial credit" rule is a killer!
>
> At the end of the lab, the proctor was nice enough to give us all one
extra
> minute to write our configs. I thought that was very nice of him.
> Sometimes you get so focused that you lose track of time. Walking out of
> the lab, I felt pretty confident that I had a good shot at passing.
> However, the worst part is that night, you absolutely cannot sleep a wink
> and your mind is spinning as it suddenly hits you where you may have
messed
> up. You start realizing, "Oh my God! Did I type that subnet mask right?
> Did I forget to apply that ACL?" etc.... It is excruciating as you wait
> for your score.
>
> When I found out the next day that I had failed, initially, I was
crushed.
> Afterwards, I realized....this exam is decidely within my grasp. I
> practiced and studied and did labs for many months before. I am ready. I
> have a good understanding of all the core topics and a pretty fair
knowledge
> of a lot of the little things. I really wanted to go take the test again
> the next day. There is not much more I can study. Now, at least I know
> what to expect, how the test is structured and where I came up a little
> weak. I will review those areas and keep myself sharp, but I fully intend
> to take this exam in 30 days. Next time, I will try to avoid the easy
> mistakes that I made.
>
> Although I am disappointed I did not pass, I am very upbeat about my
future
> chances. If I stay sharp and keep practicing, I will conquer this beast.
I
> do have the benefit of working for a company that fully supports me in my
> quest. Go Broadcom!
>
> I hope my experience can help you focus yourself for your own test. Don't
> be intimidated! Practice a lot, and I will see you in San Jose in 30
days!
>
> Oh, and BTW, typing speed was a non-factor in my lab.
>
> **********************
> Joseph Ezerski
> Network Engineer
> Broadcom Corporation
> jezerski@broadcom.com
> +1 (949)926-7037
> **********************
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