From: Joe Rinehart (jjrinehart@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Apr 06 2006 - 11:17:46 GMT-3
I live my life by a couple of important principles I never stray from one.
One is never go back on a decision unless there is a very compelling reason.
This ends up being very important because it's easy to lose direction and
become indecisive especially when the pressure is on. The most extreme
example is when I decided to divorce...it wasn't pretty or fun but at no
point did the issues ever have any hope of ever resolving and they were deal
breakers. Truth be told if I had relented again (I faced the decision with
my ex wife at least two times before that) I would have found myself in the
exact same place once more... If you bail now in some sense you are
starting over. Best finish what you started before embarking on another
adventure...
Be encouraged, I took the lab five times (everyone stop laughing ;) ) before
passing. As I look back, the first time I was REALLY ready was attempt #3.
Precious few people pass on the first try and I still was no up to the level
I needed to be until the third attempt. It's more than just knowing the
commands, it's a matter of knowing how things interact.
What made attempt #5 different for me was the work I put into it. Attempt
3 was in March, 4 was in August (before the IOS change in 2004) and 5 was in
December (before IPV6 was added). After #4 I spent time doing little more
than just doing practice labs, ones that challenged me and gave me
additional insight as to why things worked the way they did. Get a GOOD
comprehensive set of practice labs that supply detailed answers. I used the
Netmaster DoIT book personally and credit the grueling level of detail and
challenge as being the critical factor. In fact, I am studying for the
recertification exam and poking back through it to freshen up.
Hang in there, you will make it. Been there done that bought the t-shirt,
sold it on Ebay (hope that joke translates....)
Joe Rinehart
Consulting Systems Engineer
World Wide Technology, Inc.
CCIE #14256
-----Original Message-----
From: nobody@groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody@groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
David Vasek
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 5:40 AM
To: ccielab@groupstudy.com
Subject: change of heart
Hello all,
I just failed the R&S lab on my third attempt in San Jose. However, my
company is pushing me to get my CCIE, and at the same is developing a
security team. I am looking to switch gears from the R&S lab over to
Security, and I was curious what everyone's thoughts are on this. I came
close to passing the R&S lab this last time, missed it by a few points, but
I am very interested in the Security lab. Am I making a mistake switching
over now? I know that's a tough question to answer, but I'm trying to look
at it logically. I have spent the better part of 2 years pursuing the R&S
lab, and as everyone knows it's a significant commitment to studying. I know
if I take the security lab I will have to start over on a lot of things but
I have the backing of my company who will work with me to build a security
lab, and also another consultant I work with is going to take the security
lab as well. So I will have a study partner who is local that I can work
with too. We have both already passed the security written exam. I am very
interested to hear from others who have changed tracks when they were close
to being finished with one. I just don't want to abandon the R&S lab when
I'm so close to the end, but at the same time I could be chasing it for
another year.
TIA,
-DV
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