From: john matijevic (matijevi@bellsouth.net)
Date: Thu Jul 29 2004 - 16:31:32 GMT-3
Congratulations Kenneth,
I know this was a difficult and expensive journey for you. I had a
similar experience, in that I had to use multiple resources to attain
the CCIE. To the people that are studying, I am offering virtual classes
that can cut down the cost tremendously, and the psychological pain of
multiple failures. There are so many bootcamps and resources, its hard
to even know if you are doing the right thing, or studying the right
material, fortunately, I have used just about all the material out
there, and I have taken the lab multiple times and have learned
techniques that are successful and not so successful, I encourage all of
you to call me to find out more. Nobody knows, how bad the feelings are
when you fail multiple times, and you have spent so much money. Again,
I am very happy for you Kenneth, I did give you a few words of advice. I
hope that was of some value to you. My first computer was a Commodore
64. Remember Jumpman and Zork I, II, III, and Bards Tale?
Congratulations again, on your hard earned victory Kenneth!!!!!! Keep in
Touch!!!!!
John Matijevic, CCIE #13254, MCSE, CNE, CCEA
Network Consultant
Hablo Espanol
305-321-6232
-----Original Message-----
From: nobody@groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody@groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
Kenneth Wygand
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 2:51 PM
To: ccielab@groupstudy.com
Subject: CCIE #13720 - What a Journey!
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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