From: Tim (ccie2be@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Jan 27 2007 - 13:29:53 ART
Welcome to the world of the ccie lab. I've heard rumors that around 94% of
all first time lab takers fail the lab. I have no way to verify that and
Cisco doesn't provide official stats.
But, based on everything I've heard over the past 5 years, that 94% sounds
about right.
So, you failed your first attempt. Really, in the big scheme of things, so
what? The vast majority of ccie candidates failed their first attempt. And,
I personally failed multiple times but, guess what. Again, Cisco doesn't
release stats on this but I suspect that on average it took most current
ccie's today 5 attempts to pass.
The last time I took the lab, I passed. And, the reason I passed is because
I refused to give up. And, since passing, life has been good. Very good.
Based on what you described, it sounds like you're almost completely
prepared. The first time I took the lab was when Cisco used the 2 day
format and I didn't even make it to day 2.
That was very humiliating. But, I kept at it. It was hard. For a while my
wife and I were living on just her salary which wasn't much. I had gone
into debt to pay the lab fee - multiple times, to pay for practice
equipment, to pay for ie bootcamps. And, many of my wife's friends told her
she married a loser and should dump me.
Now, my wife works for me running my Consulting business. Our debts are
long paid off. And, I can afford to take lots of classes to enhance my
skills and knowledge. Since passing the ccie lab a year ago August, I've
already earned my CISSP, passed the ccie security written, and will soon add
the CEH.
So, right now, stop/don't feel sorry for yourself. You now know what it's
like to take the lab. It's hard and that's good because if it were easy
anyone could do it and that would make the cert far less valuable.
The ccie is ONLY for those who are really smart or really dedicated. So,
while I don't, by any means, consider myself really smart when it comes to
learning all this technology, I do consider myself smart for being so
dedicated. It's paid off in spades.
So, either you recommit yourself to achieving this goal and do what it takes
to get there or you accept that you're not cut out to be a ccie and you find
something else to do with your life.
Having come this far, I hope you choose the former.
Tim
-----Original Message-----
From: nobody@groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody@groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
deji500@hotmail.com
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2007 6:58 PM
To: ccielab@groupstudy.com
Subject: Failed my first attempt in Brussels today
Hi GS,
I attempted my first lab today and I did not pass. I know for a fact that I
could have passed it because I was well prepared and I could have configured
all the requirements. So why did i fail. I got confused with the BGP AS
numbers until the proctor corrected me. I had finished the BGP section when
i was corrected. I had to re-configure my BGP all over again. I not only
lost time but I lost my composure. I panicked because i realised that I
couldn't finish all the tasks. I almost got up to walk out but I stayed to
finish. I was able complete about 75% of my tasks but I made a lot of
mistakes and I couldn't verify my configs.
While I did very well in my switching and IGP, i did poorly in the remaining
sections because of time pressure and lack of composure(understandably).
Now I am so dejected, i can't even think about doing it again. I am writing
about my experience because my wife suggested it might make me feel lighter.
Has anyone else experienced the same before. How do i pick myself up? Is
multicast dependent on something else because I am almost certain i
configured it correctly but i still got 0%. That was one section that i did
under pressure but still felt that i did ok until i got my score.
Before i forget, the confusion in BGP was down to my rack number. The
proctor was nice and helpful.
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