From: Scott Morris (swm@emanon.com)
Date: Mon Nov 27 2006 - 10:55:27 ART
Congratulations on your acomplishment!
_____
From: Rak Bharad [mailto:rbg_ccie@rediffmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 3:47 AM
To: ccielab@groupstudy.com; cisco@groupstudy.com
Cc: oletu@oletu.com; bdennis@internetworkexpert.com;
bmcgahan@internetworkexpert.com; swm@emanon.com;
abcaslow@netmasterclass.net; kumara.shunmugam@wipro.com;
seetharaman.ananthanarayanan@wipro.com; rakesh_g_b@rediffmail.com;
rakeshgb@gmail.com
Subject: Passed the CCIE R&S Lab on 24th Nov 2006 in Bangalore
Hello Friends,
This is Rakesh G Bharadwaj from Bangalore(India).
On 24th Nov 2006 I took my first lab attempt in Bangalore &
got my number. The CCIE number is 17242.
Its been hard to believe that I have made this in my first attempt,
but it surely feels good after all the hard work.
About my preparation:
I had to quit my job to pursue the certification.
This cert had been a dream for me for quite some years.
I was preparing even before I quit my job, but this was
not going in full swing.
I realised that I needed complete dedication & time to complete this
certification.
But my employers were enable to process my leave request due to some
internal problems & I had to make a decision.
After I quit, it took nearly four months of hard core preparation to take my
first lab attempt in Bangalore/India.
My only agenda for this four months & before was to stick to the my task,
think, dream about the cert & how to achieve the same ASAP.
I would come out with new plans & ideas as I progressed ....
I mainly used three work books to prepare [IE, IP Experts & NMC].
But my personal preference & my core was Internetwork Experts.
The other work books IP Experts & NMC were good too, they have got their own
difficulties & challenges.
I used them as additional resources & tried to extract info/knowledge as
much as possible.
Thanks to Scott Morris & Andrew Bruce Caslow, you both have done a good job
too.
Mr.Brian Dennis & Mr.Brian McGahan have done a wonderful job from my point
of view. Please keep the excellent work going.
Your knowledge has been & would be the lifeline of many students like me. I
would like to thank you personally & hope to meet you folks
at least once in my life to seek your blessings.
You both are undoubtedly my GURU's.
I have done this only by self studying & have not attended any
work shops, classes, others ....
So guys who are preparing can do it too & take my case as
a bench mark. If I can do it, why not others.
I had good friends like Oletu, Kumar Guru, Seetharaman, Others .....
Oletu also known as "Godswill Oletu "has always been encouraging me from the
initial days & he also let me use his home rack
which was very much vital for my preparation.
It has been my pleasure to have him as my good friend for now
& for the rest of my life.
Oletu, I really dont know how to "THANK U".
Without you this certification might have remained as a dream to me.
Thanks a ton, men.
Kumar Guru, Seetharaman, & others - Thank you very much for your
support & help.
You guys have been great.
About the exam:
In Bangalore we had the older version of the exam.
They had not introduced the two 3560 switches & other changes ....
The exam on the whole was not too tough, but I wasted lot
of time initially.
This was more than an hour, since this was my first attempt.
Later we got an extra time, due to some problem in the
backbone devices.
This was a major turning point, since additional time
is of great valuable in the exam.
During & after the exam I realised that Cisco is testing the candidates
only on hard core basics, basic troubleshooting & some twists/tweaks.
I personally feel that this is the right way to do, since giving only
high funda tasks does NO Good if the candidate has got gaps in
their basic knowledge.
If a person has a sound knowledge on the basics, he/she can build a
skyscraper with not much of difficulty. This has been my golden rule
& I always stick to the basics.
Cisco has been doing a wonderful job by testing heavily on the basics.
Hence their is no doubt that CCIE's are valued so much
in the industry/market.
Good job Cisco & team, keep it up.
We were really lucky to get the older version, extra time, a
very good proctor & others ....
This was really a blessing in disguise & I am really thankful
to the Almighty.
About the proctor:
We had Mr.Maurilio Gorito as our proctor from Brussels.
Since this was my first attempt, I had never had any experience
with the proctors & indeed this was my best experience.
Mr.Maurilio Gorito is a very very nice person.
He is very kind, co-operative, friendly, ..... .
This was his first chance to proctor in Bangalore & I felt that all the
candidates were blessed to have him as our proctor.
He is really a nice person & we should all wish that people like him come as
our proctors.
This I am saying not because I got through my lab, but because of a very
good attitude & kind hearted person Mr.Maurilio Gorito is.
I donot have enough words to praise this gentlemen.
If he ever gets a chance to see this Email, I would like to
say a big thanks to him & would request him to conduct more labs
& be a full time proctor in Bangalore.
I personally feel that having a good proctor is one of the key
to pass the lab & Mr.Maurilio Gorito is surely one among them.
Cisco should also make a note of this point.
Mr.Maurilio Gorito - Sir, I would like to thank you once more.
[If anyone has his Email id/contact, please pass it on to him.]
About Group Study People:
I have been a passive member of this group.
Have been through most of Email chains for the past few months,
this has indeed been a great learning resource.
Many people have shared their experience after the lab
even if they donot make it. This is some thing nice & a great help to
other candidates who are preparing.
The people in this group are always willing to help & go the extra mile.
This is one of the greats things which I have observed & the knowledge which
you guys hold is truely awesome.
I wonder where do you acquire this from.
But anyways its really great to have you folks.
I would like to personally thank one & all in the group.
I would like to wish "GOOD LUCK" for all the people who have yet to get
their numbers. You guys can do it & its very much possible.
Key to success:
1. Please be a master in your basic knowledge & basic troubleshooting
(Know how things work & fit in).
2. The core portion of the lab must be a piece of cake to you & the
rest will fall in line.
3. Know the Doc CD in & out.
4. Acquire knowledge as much as possible (Knowledge is priceless).
5. Dont try do LAB every thing & from different work books, rather
understand what is the requirement & you should know on the top of
your head how to solve the same.
6. I was slow in typing, hence when I started my preparation I had
been to a computer typing course to improve my speed & this has
come really handy.
7. You should have Patience, determination, confidence, good planning,
focus, ... to complete this course.
This is because at times its very frustation when you are preparing
& this is my personal experience.
8. One of the key challenges in the lab is the level of stress &
strain you are able to bear. Its really a mind game as people have
said earlier. So try to go with an open mind & remain calm as much
as possible.
9. Be humble & kind. You will get the same kind of response from
others.
10. Make wise decisions when needed.
For example - If you have got stuck in a problem for some time,
then you should think whether this will affect you
core routing or not. If it does affect
then you should attend to it immediately if not
make a note of it & have a look at it once you are
through with the others. This will save valuable
time.
11. Having good friends who will lead you in the right direction is
very important.
Oletu stands on top in the list.
12. Luck is another major factor, but hardwork & effort is needed.
Luck alone will not be sufficient.
13. Getting a good proctor is another
14. Most of the points which I have mentioned have already been told
by others in GS.
Kindly go through this as an refresher & please donot mind.
15. Blessings of Almighty & Elders are very much needed.
What Next:
I will have to start looking for a job & this is required for making
a living (just kidding).
If you guys come across any suitable opening kindly let me know
& I am willing to relocate.
I have around seven years of decent experience.
You can also reach me at rakesh_g_b@rediffmail.com
It would be really kind of you folks.
Thanks Again:
I would like to thank one & all for being part of my
journey to success.
Their is still a ton of things to achieve in life.
Achieving CCIE R&S is not the end of the journey to success,
its just the beginning. So lets move on.
I would like to thank my Grand Mother, Parents, Brother, Relatives, Friends
& Others ... who have always stood with me.
My special thanks to my Grand Mother, without her I wouldn't have come this
far. She was the person who infact motivated me when I failed my first MCSE
exam in 1999 & told me that I should always learn from my failures & move
on. She gave me money for my next attempt & from then on I have been flying.
I would like to dedicate this CCIE R&S Certification to her.
Have a great day & the coming years ahead.
Take care, bye.
Regards,
Rakesh G Bharadwaj
[CCIE R&S - 17242]
<http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigclick.cgi/www.rediff.com/signa
ture-home.htm/1507191490@Middle5?PARTNER=3>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Fri Dec 01 2006 - 08:05:48 ART