From: Joseph D. Phillips (josephdphillips@fastmail.us)
Date: Thu Jul 29 2004 - 15:56:31 GMT-3
Wow, Kenneth. Good for you!
On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 14:50:38 -0400, "Kenneth Wygand"
<KWygand@customonline.com> said:
> I passed yesterday in RTP with #13720!
>
>
>
> Well, here is my story, and what a journey!
>
>
>
> My first computer was a Commodore 128, which I used to play games and
> program some applications in Basic. I started professionally working as
> a computer technician in 1993 and did so until 1998 having never touched
> a networked PC (other than installing network card drivers).
>
>
>
> In 1998 I started working on a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science I
> accepted a position in a local computer store focusing on small
> peer-to-peer LANs, usually running Windows 95 and Windows 98. Having
> worked as a computer technician for 6 years, I decided to take the
> CompTIA A+ exam. I passed both parts (Hardware and Software) on April 6,
> 2000.
>
>
>
> Wanting to break into Cisco (thinking that someday *I* might be able to
> attain the CCIE!) but having no experience, I figured CompTIA's Network+
> exam was the next logical progression. I took and passed this exam on
> June 30, 2000. I then took about 6 months to learn all networking basics
> and passed the CCNA on January 26, 2001. Starting in March, I took each
> of the CCNP exams within about 3 weeks of each other, completing the
> certification in May 2001. I also received my Bachelor's degree in
> Computer Science in May 2001.
>
>
>
> Not having the experience or time necessary to start working on the CCIE,
> I decided to follow the design track, passing both the CCDA and CCDP in
> June 2001, one 6 days after the other. I then decided to try something
> in the Microsoft arena, and passed one of the MCP exams (Windows 98 at
> the time) 18 days later. I also felt it would be a good idea to
> demonstrate some Novell experience as well, and passed the CNA two weeks
> after that.
>
>
>
> I then took a few months out of the books. February of 2002, I accepted
> a System Engineer position at Custom Computer Specialists which is where
> I am currently working. In early 2002, I purchased a full rack of
> 2500's, an ISDN simulator, a bunch of T/R Switches and Cat 5K. Of
> course, just after I purchased the equipment, Cisco retired all the T/R
> equipment from their testing base. After making some costly lab
> equipment changes, I started studying for the CCIE written at that time
> and passed the qualification exam on June 6, 2002. This is where I began
> training for the CCIE R&S Lab as follows:
>
>
>
> June 2002 - Started studying the CCBootCamp labs from Network Learning
> Inc.
>
>
>
> August 2002 - Decided to take three weeks off of CCIE studies to take
> (and pass) the ISC2's CISSP security certification (www.isc2.org).
>
>
>
> October 2002 - Took a 1-week bootcamp with Skyline Computer. I found out
> I completely wasn't ready for a bootcamp, so I learned a lot of the
> basics but not nearly all a bootcamp is intended to offer.
>
>
>
> January 2003 - Took a 1-week bootcamp with CyscoExpert with Bahram
> Chaboki and Brian McGahan (Brian is currently at InternetworkExpert). I
> learned an incredible amount of information through this bootcamp, but in
> retrospect I really wasn't ready to learn all of the things these two
> extremely knowledgeable guys had to offer.
>
>
>
> March 2003 - Passed exams required for IP Telephony Design certification.
>
>
>
> July 14, 2003 - Failed my first attempt. I felt confident but knew I
> missed a few things. I didn't realize each section was "all or nothing"
> so I lost a lot of points because I put emphasis in the wrong areas. My
> biggest mistake was not knowing the documentation CD well enough, so I
> didn't know where to go for support. After this failure, my second
> mistake was not sticking with the studies after failing. Frustration set
> in and I took a few months liaison from CCIE studies, starting up again
> in October 2003. This was a mistake, because from October 2003 until
> January or February 2004, I spent all my time having to re-learn all the
> stuff I already knew. This left me about two to three months left to
> fully prepare for my next attempt.
>
>
>
> April 26, 2004 - Failed my second attempt. I felt much better about this
> attempt but knew I still missed a few points here and there. In fact, as
> time went on I kept counting points I missed. Sure enough, I didn't get
> enough. It was at this time it seemed just so easy to give up to get my
> life back. I requested a re-grade which came back with no change in
> score. However, in the time off between the request for a re-grade and
> the time when the result came back, I had time to calm down and realize
> one thing:
>
> "Failure only occurs at the point when you stop trying." Failure was not
> an option. Since April 2004, every single free moment in the day or
> night was spent in the books and on the rack, probably a total of 500-700
> hours of studies in the 3 months since that attempt.
>
>
>
> May 2004 - Went a little crazy and overpurchased study materials
> (IPExpert's Lab Workbook, Solution's Guide, Proctor's Guide and Student
> Handbook, InternetworkExpert's Lab Workbook and Solution's Guide, and
> NetMasterClass's Lab Workbook and Solution's Guide). Needless to say, I
> had enough time to complete about two labs in each workbook!
>
>
>
> June 2004 - Decided I wanted to take a virtual (via the Internet)
> bootcamp as final preparation. I researched both IPExpert (Scott Morris
> as instructor) and InternetworkExpert (Brian Dennis and Brian McGahan as
> instructors). Before I could make any decisions between the two,
> IPExpert was selected because of the two remaining week-long offerings by
> InternetworkExpert, one was full and the other one conflicted with my
> work schedule. So while I cannot comment on InternetworkExpert's
> bootcamp, Scott's bootcamp was very good. It helped me pinpoint certain
> topics I was having trouble with and allowed me to ask Scott direct
> questions that confused me. Based on feedback I've received from other
> people, I think either bootcamp would've given me just what I was looking
> for.
>
>
>
> June - July 2004 - Studied studied studied studied studied... every
> single day...
>
>
>
> July 28, 2004 - Passed in RTP with #13720.
>
>
>
> Now that I have my number, I certainly won't be leaving the GroupStudy
> family. This is not a destination, rather another milestone in the
> journey. I'm always willing to help anyone else out in any way I can.
> I've met a lot of friends along the way and I can't wait to share in
> their success when their post hits the GroupStudy boards... :)
>
>
>
> It's all about the journey... make the most of it!
>
>
>
> Kenneth E. Wygand
>
> Systems Engineer, Project Services
>
> CCIE #13720, CISSP #37102, ACSP, Cisco IPT Design Specialist, MCP, CNA,
> A+
>
> Custom Computer Specialists, Inc.
>
>
>
> "Failure only occurs at the point when you stop trying."
>
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