From: Paul Dardinski (pauld@marshallcomm.com)
Date: Tue Apr 10 2007 - 10:46:04 ART
82 hours billable....hrmm.
Anyway, I think the original poster was concerned about balancing home
life with studying/work. I'm not so sure that if you are
working/billing/studying all that time(82hrs + studying....wow) that
there could be a whole lot of balance indeed. The guy is having a child,
so that's going to be an overwhelmingly difficult thing to balance
out......
Just my $0.02
PD (#16842)
-----Original Message-----
From: nobody@groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody@groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
Darby Weaver
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 9:18 AM
To: Hoogen
Cc: Narbik Kocharians; James Russell; ccielab@groupstudy.com
Subject: Re: OT: Feeling overwhelmed
Hoogen,
I actually wrote James offline with what I really
thought about the matter.
This was more of a joke.
As much as some may think I spend or obsess on the
matter - the truth is I'm a workaholic and not quite
as much of a studyaholic as I may seem to some.
Work comes first and I do spend time with my wife when
I'm at home too.
I don't get as much time on my own racks actually.
I actually do use my training budget to get
concentrated study time and I try to maimize it.
I'm paid well and the companies I choose to work for
also pay for training. It allows me to get a little
ahead in my studies a few times a year.
As much as I'd like to pass the lab, I really enjoy
the work and that is actually what I spend my time
doing - literally 24/7.
I clocked 82 billable hours last week.
====================================
Here's what I spent my time on just over the past two
weeks alone. I'm copying from another email:
People are forgetting why they are taking the lab.
To actually do the work.
I just spent the last 2.5 weeks upgrading an entire
network that supports over 10,000 users.
PIX Firewall Analysis and Remediation to meet NIST
guidelines + FOS upgrade.
CatOS to IOS conversion.
ATM to (Metro Ethernet) SES Circuit Cutover complete
with BGP.
SSH for Secure Communications and SSH/RMON for NMS
Alerts.
KIWI for backup, alerting, and syslogging.
Centralized RADIUS Authentication.
SPT Enhancements.
Multicast Configuration and a bit of QoS.
Packeteer Pwd Recovery, Upgrade License, setting up
Partitions and Classes for improved traffic
management, etc.
And all the troubleshooting when things go bad. Yep
fat fingers and late sleepless nights don't work well
together. Never ever take shortcuts.
Had to make one call to TAC on the conversion about
the 0x2102 config-register and proper usage of -
timing is everything. There were other considerarions
and I had found about 4 different documents on CCO and
I scoured the web for caveats as well. Not well
enough - one problem costed me problems and took about
a 2-3 hour process and turned it into a 10-12 hour
process.
Had to use XMODEM for the first time.
Had a few typos that cost me some time - even when I
used copy and paste - no good if you copy/paste the
wrong things.
82 hours last week alone and one can make mistakes
sometimes.
Change Management, Disaster Recovery Scenarios, and
Lots of Contracts and even a bit of Purchasing.
===================================
So overall Hoogen, while I find the list entertaining
and it I do find the CCIE prestigious.
For me, the CCIE is simply another cert and I have an
entire hallway littered with my other certs - so not
as big a deal. As long as I can do the work, Im
content. That is my goal.
I know it is marketable an even its very pursuit has
helped me tremendously in the market and with
marketability. I'm not in denial one bit - I know my
marketability will increase a bit more after I get the
CCIE finally. So it is on the list.
But believe me, I love the work and whatever materials
I buy or classes I try to send myself to, it is really
just to learn more tips, tricks, and techniques.
The lab will come eventually for me - it is a given.
I'm actually not even in a rush on the matter - I
enjoy the chase more than the kill - it is my nature.
If I worried more about it as much as some may think I
am, trust me, I have the mental capacity, I would have
it by now.
I also have other priorities. And I have very
specific objectives. I am meeting them exactly as I
need to.
But not to say that I don't have the need for the CCIE
or specific plans for it in my long-term goals. It is
in there, too.
Sorry for long response...
Oh yes, and I still take the time on week nights and
weekends to enjoy my time with my wife and our doggies
(the children) - not as much of a one-minded machine
as I may have lead you to believe.
I assure you if I were that one-minded, then I'd be
finished this quest and have forgotten most of it by
now in pursuit of other things - like tracking Hackers
and doing Forensics, Recovering Data and Hard Drives,
and Incident Response - other tasks I wholeheartedly
enjoy that I have put to the side while I "pursue" the
CCIE tracks and other Cisco Certs.
Some want to pass the lab, I merely want to know the
technology better. Not so much to ask for really.
I actually enjoy other Cisco Consultants coming along
with me or after me and asking weird things about a
given config and actually being able to answer the
questions correctly and draw the proper conclusions
from a given network. It is kind of like Forensics to
me.
So...
Beat and bang on me all you like - you should instead
ask questions if you were wise - you might be
surprised at my resourcefulness and wit for solving
problems and coming to conclusions and ultimately
saving the day (at least in my little corner of the
world).
I may be a fool for writing too much and doing what I
love - but I have better things to do than to write
critical letters to other people - some here seem to
enjoy flaming others more than sharing knowledge. Why
is that anyway?
And by the way, giving any experiences and especially
detailed from any paid training or materials ought to
be a good thing - SO YOU KNOW.
I really wish others had been more verbose before I
spent money on some things - I may still have bought,
but I'd like to KNOW.
Is it so wrong to write about Cisco Training
Experiences on a Cisco Study List? Hmmm...
Granted I do write a bit more than others. I guess it
is my leisure.
But Hoogen, if you saw how many requests for this info
I get from this list and off-list, you might be a bit
more thoughful.
I also get tired of explaining to the lurkers that
some people are not total jerks for being so publicly
critical of others. But some on this list have
nothing else to offer but flames. So be it.
As many here know, I handle questions online and
offline, in-person, via telephone, and email and so
what you see on this list is really only a small
fraction of what I do and am doing for others.
Sorry my long-ish posts bore you, but you can filter
by my name and email if you like. I assure you there
are others who like to know how to go about training
themselves and being either more educated about the
various offerings available or simply how to conduct
self-paced training.
I actually started asking some serious CCIE questions
for the group - lab type questions and of the 10,000+
engineers on the list only a handful started to answer
them - even privately.
Today there are more people who take stabs at my
questions and actually try to learn from them.
So a poll - if you will - should I post my own study
notes and observations of what it takes to pass the
lab and handle each technology effectively.
I have amassed quite a few considerations, and while
they may pale in comparison to people who do this
professionally, they are quite a few tips and tricks
and many some people here on this list may have never
even heard before.
How many people here script thier base installs?
How many people here script the final configuration of
their labs so they can compare the results with even a
diff file if nothing more automated?
How many people here have compiled study notes on a
per topic basis with references on a per-technology
basis?
How many people here have been at this long enough to
consider even doing such options?
Now there are a ton of CCIE's and near CCIE's and yep
mostly every instructor or vendor on this list, but
what about the little guys, the guys who are trying to
get this stuff, but do not know how or simply do not
have the means.
We who have been around a while might find this odd,
and some may take a cavalier attitude towards the
others who have not yet walked their own steps yet,
but others are offering other things that are close if
not the real lab - why not offer the knowledge it
takes to meet the lab on a study group?
This list has been here for 9 years and for 9 years no
one candidate or group of candidates have used it to
tackle a single subject completely at once so that all
may benefit. Some have tried a bit here and their and
if one scours the archives, the answers are mostly
their somewhere, but not one person has tried to be
this methodical?
Is it needed or even wanted?
Instead we choose one-off questions. And some
questions which should be FAQ perhaps.
Think about it.
No one says you have to read it.
I promise you I am not sitting back be more worried if
you do or do not read my posts.
I'm more concerned about those who actually have a
question I may actually be answering.
:)
--- Hoogen <hoogen82@gmail.com> wrote:
> Darby,
>
> With all due respect to the effort you are putting
> in, take a break. You are
> completely driving everyone crazy with the novels
> that you write, or the
> praises that you heap on your HU or whoever, or the
> amount you spend on your
> training to get yourself trained. HU himself would
> have had only a doc cd to
> train with and wouldn't have spent the amount you
> seem to be spending on
> bootcamps listening to IE working on IPexpert. This
> is Crazy spending on
> training.
>
> You don't have to quit your job, divorce your wife
> or empty your bank
> accounts to get that number. Life is important,
> number isn't. CCIE doesn't
> mean you are the Master of a technology, you keep
> learning everday slowly
> but steadily and achieve your goals while you
> support your family. That way
> you gain more joy it attaining the number and not by
> dumping your wife and
> getting the number it isn't really worth.
>
> James,
>
> James good luck for your Lab. Hope you do clear it
> first time. Enjoy your
> time don't take so much stress. My family was the
> most important factor for
> me in getting my number. And take your time, you got
> to learn things
> everyday, you don't stop learning after you get your
> number neither is a
> fact that you won't get stressed up after that
> number, the work pressure
> doubles up after you do get your number.
>
> -Hoogen
>
>
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