From: Larry Letterman (lletterm@cisco.com)
Date: Sun Feb 23 2003 - 23:33:04 GMT-3
Congrats, Kym... Well deserved..
I'll be doing in the same fashion as you..
(3 installments)
Larry Letterman
Network Engineer
Cisco Systems
----- Original Message -----
From: "kym blair" <kymblair@hotmail.com>
To: <ccielab@groupstudy.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2003 5:42 AM
Subject: CCIE #11115 (longish)
> GroupStudy Friends,
>
> It was a longer road for me than for most ... two years
since passing the
> written. I work long hours and drive 1-1/2 hours each
way, so only have
> time and energy to read a little on weeknights. Those who
can study during
> the week can probably do it more quickly.
>
> I always told my wife that the exam costs $3,750 and they
let you pay it in
> three installments. My first attempt was April 2002 in
Singapore. The exam
> was much easier than the IPExpert and CCBootcamp
scenarios, but I just
> wasn't ready. However, it was a lot of fun and it gave me
confidence.
>
> The big push that made me sure I was ready came in
December when I spent two
> weeks at NMC-1 and NMC-2. I can't say enough about Fred,
Bruce, and Val.
> They drive you from sunup to long past sundown with
impossible tasks, then
> drop hints so you can succeed. What a confidence builder,
not to mention
> skill builder. They'd repeatedly remind us to get
something to eat, but
> noone would want to leave their seat, so Bruce would
sometimes order pizza
> for us (I think so he wouldn't be responsible for his
students passing out).
> Then I spent the following two weeks repeating the
drills at home.
>
> Test day was to be December 26th, but I had lost my
passport and couldn't
> leave Korea. Cisco Tokyo was very understanding and
rescheduled me for
> January for free. Well, my January exam was the
killer-test-from-hell. I
> did worse than I had done last April. I figured the price
for me just went
> up from $3,750 to about $12,500. I was so depressed.
(Remember my email
> last month about trying to decide which building was
taller?) I knew I was
> ready and didn't want to lose the edge, so rescheduled
immediately; Beijing
> had an opening for exactly 30 days later ... Feb 21st.
>
> My weak area was 3550 QOS issues. Someone from GroupStudy
offered to loan
> me a 3550 for free, and he express mailed it
internationally to me which
> cost him $100! Unbelievable! His email address is (well,
better not go
> there). That was such a big help; I tested everything I
had had doubts
> about on the 3550. A couple people from GroupStudy
started working with me
> on tough topics; what a help.
>
> My third attempt was wonderful. The topics better fit my
strong areas. I
> finished in four hours, but knew I had a small problem
that needed a better
> solution. It took an hour to hit on just the right
combination and I knew I
> had that piece nailed. I spent the next two hours reading
every word slowly
> and carefully and rechecking my work. Good thing ... I
found two items that
> I had programmed inbound instead of outbound, and a third
that I had
> programmed on the wrong router. Carelessness. Had
another hour left, so
> triple checked everything and found no errors. The only
points I could lose
> would be from an ambiguous requirement here or there. I
checked my email
> three hours later and found the good news. I was hoping
for a number close
> to 11111.
>
> RECOMMENDATIONS:
>
> (1) Don't try to get around buying equipment. Max out
your credit card,
> take out a second mortgage, and hit your mother-in-law up
for some money.
> Sooner or later you're going to have to buy enough
routers; make it sooner
> than later. Get about a dozen routers, one 3550 and one
2924, an ISDN
> Simulator, and a pair of FXS modules. If your spouse
gives you a hard time,
> tell them it was Kym's idea. Skip ATM ... too expensive,
and easily learned
> with a couple weekends of rack time (let your spouse know
of this
> sacrifice).
>
> (2) At first, study one topic at a time ... frame relay,
vtp/vlans, rip,
> eigrp, ospf, redistribution, isdn, bgp, multicast, voip,
qos. Once you have
> each topic mastered individually, buy some quality
(translation: expensive)
> scenarios and do them for time. Don't get cheap here
(remind your spouse
> you've already made a significant investment). There are
three or four good
> vendors, each with $500-600 workbooks. Invest in a
couple. Keep yourself
> challenged. This is where you'll master the smaller but
no less important
> topics like ipsec, nat, hsrp, dhcp, various qos,
access-lists, prefix-lists,
> route-maps, vlan filters, etc. etc.
>
> (3) Don't waste time during your early studies sifting
through GroupStudy.
> Your time would be better spent on the rack your
mother-in-law invested so
> wisely in. Near the end, you should pay attention to
GroupStudy and
> contribute as you are able. Thankfully (I can say that
now that I've
> passed), the lab keeps changing to keep up with emerging
technology.
> Whatever scenarios you purchase will be a little dated.
They'll give you
> solid skills in all the core and many of the peripheral
topics, but you'll
> be on your own for the newest topics. Voice, 3550, and
QOS are changing
> rapidly (not to mention the fact that the lab had some
brand new 6509's
> sitting there ... what were they for???). The tough
questions are presented
> to GroupStudy by frustrated candidates and are debated
heavily, sometimes
> without resolution.
>
> (4) Don't rush your first attempt. You'll know when
you're ready.
> Everything on GroupStudy will seem easy, and you'll be
knocking out 8-hour
> IPExpert scenarios in six. If you have any doubts, save
your
> mother-in-law's $1250 plus travel money, and spend it on a
3550.
>
> (5) If she can afford it, spend a week or two during the
last 60 days at
> NetMasterClass or CyscoExpert. Don't go before you think
you're ready to
> sit the lab or you won't get the full benefit from the
class. Being away
> from home in a pure study mode is fantastic. Hey, you
might even be able to
> get your company to pay for it (my wife wasn't listening
to me any more and
> my mother-in-law was just laughing, but the boss was still
open to
> suggestions).
>
> (6) Use the CD as much as possible (IOS 12.2):
>
> http://www.cisco.com/univercd/home/home.htm
>
>
>
> Enjoy your studies. It should be a fun road. This is
just the beginning;
> there is much more to learn (e.g., MPLS, deeper QOS,
security, IP Phones,
> etc.).
>
> I really want to thank a couple of you who cheered me up
last month after my
> second attempt, and who helped me focus on the latest
topics to finish my
> preparation. You know who you are.
>
> Paul, you've served the community by maintaining and
improving GroupStudy
> for so many years. May God reward you some day! Thank
you very very much!
>
> Best regards,
>
> Kym
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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