From: Howard C. Berkowitz (hcb@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Mon May 06 2002 - 20:15:03 GMT-3
Congratulations, Guy. Couldn't happen to someone who gives as much as he gets.
At 3:35 PM -0400 5/6/02, Lupi, Guy wrote:
>Well, here it is, I have been waiting to send this email for a long time. I
>got my number in RTP this past Friday, CCIE # 9275. It has been a long road
>for me, I started in telecommunications when I was in the Navy, this was
>about 8.5 years ago. I got a little exposure to networking gear then but it
>mostly involved communications systems. After the Navy I worked for Lucent
>for about 6 months where I got more exposure to networking equipment with
>different vendors, I found routing so interesting I decided that I was going
>to go find a job where I could get exposure. In February 2000 I got a job
>at a small ISP in NYC working the helpdesk, and every free second I got I
>was on the routers poking around. I was hooked, and from that moment on I
>have read every book I could get my hands on. I was promoted to junior
>engineer (upgrading IOS, turning up simple customer routers etc.) and then
>to full engineer within 6 months, and I started to learn BGP, OSPF, and
>other protocols in depth. After getting my CCNP, I met a couple of CCIE's
>that were working on a project, and they so impressed me with their
>knowledge and comfort level with the equipment that I decided that I was
>going to be one. I started studying in August of 2001, 9 months non stop,
>every weekend practicing on my newly purchased routers, and every day
>reading on the commute to work. When I sat the lab, I found it to be
>extremely challenging, I could not believe that I was finding it this hard
>after almost 3 years of non stop studying Cisco equipment. I am glad I
>waited that 9 months before scheduling the exam, because if I had gone any
>earlier I would not have passed. It truly did require you to know how the
>protocols interoperate and function, if I hadn't then I definitely would
>have failed the routing section.
>I would like to say thank you to Paul for creating this list, it was
>fundamental in building the kind of skills and knowledge I needed to pass.
>To John Neiberger for helping me with my first dive into the old IGRP/OSPF
>redistribution, Manny Gonzalez, Mas Kato, Dan Dorton, Howard Berkowitz and
>Priscilla Oppenheimer for their long and detailed explanations that expose
>the real world operation of a protocol, not just the "here is what you need
>to pass the lab" version. Brian McGahan who explained extended access list
>filtering, and Dave Madland. There are so many others that have helped me
>to get to this point. If there is anything I learned from this experience,
>it is that you never stop learning, and that the CCIE's value is in the
>understanding that you gain while studying to pass the lab. I have so much
>more I want to learn, and I look forward to having an opportunity to do that
>with the exceptional people on this list. Good luck to everyone, I hope you
>get the satisfaction of achieving your goals.
>
>Guy H. Lupi
>NOC Engineer
>Eureka GGN
>39 Broadway, 19th Floor
>NY, NY 10006
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