From: john matijevic (john.matijevic@gmail.com)
Date: Tue Sep 23 2008 - 20:46:36 ART
Congradulations,
nice post.
John
On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 7:23 PM, Majonestx <majonestx@gmail.com> wrote:
> Congrats u deserve it.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> On Sep 23, 2008, at 1:25 PM, CCIE3000 <ccie3000@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Guys,
>>
>> Well I've been dreaming of writing this email for quite a while and now I
>> can.
>>
>> I started going for the written in August 2006. Passed that okay and
>> thought
>> that I'd move on to what I thought would be the easy part as I'm a hands
>> on
>> kind of guy.....hhhmmmm, started okay but there were a few bumps on the
>> way.
>>
>> I used the IE labs and thought okay, great I'm ready. Went for my first
>> attempt on September 2007. The exam had a kind of IE feel to it and I did
>> pretty well, although no cigar. I wasn't quick enough and I didn't get
>> enough sleep the night before so my concentration suffered.
>>
>> Thought okay, good first attempt, get back in there quick. Oh boy what a
>> shock, very different exam and at the time I thought mind blowing. I took
>> a
>> big kick in the balls on that one and it took me a good two months before
>> I
>> could pick up the books.
>>
>> Although the IE stuff was good, I realised that it wasn't the oracle and
>> bought Narbiks work books, lots of stuff I'd covered but also lots of new
>> things too. At the end of the day you need all the ammo you can get and I
>> picked up some new info.
>>
>> Went in the 3rd time, well prepared, learnt loads extra, got my speed up
>> even more but on the day had real butter fingers. Got stuck on a real
>> silly
>> multicast problem right at the beginning of the section which I wasted too
>> much time on. My brain started to suffer and I made some silly mistakes,
>> plus at the time I was smoking which meant the my concentration was
>> suffering through lack of nicotine.
>> Score report compared to my mental calculations of the day meant that I
>> was
>> about 6-8 points short
>> ...damn......damn......damn......damn......damn......damn......damn...
>>
>> Okay, I'm gonna nail this thing if it's the last thing I do. I must admit
>> I
>> only found group study just before my second attempt. I read the stuff but
>> never really went majorly deep into all the posts as I was too busy trying
>> to learn stuff from my labs. For the forth attempt I read everything and
>> labbed everything I thought was of interest. I got my speed up and went
>> with
>> using alias exec commands. Guys, I can't stress enough how much time you
>> can
>> save using alias', plus you don't make silly typos like cofn t instead of
>> conf t etc...
>> Just remember to remove them at the end of the day.
>>
>> Quit smoking, you just can't smoke like I used to and sit in a room all
>> day,
>> I had to get the nicotine out of my system.
>>
>> Had a good exam, not easy by any stretch but yet perversely
>> enjoyable...come
>> on you dogs..do your worst...I eat these kinds of labs for breakfast. Some
>> tricky questions, but yet I kept a cool head and made sure I confirmed and
>> checked stuff. That's where I realised my previous mistakes. I'd entered
>> commands thought they were good and moved on. Only when I'd got my speed
>> up
>> did I have time to check and realise I'd made a couple of really dumb ass
>> mistakes which would have cost me the lab.
>> Got back home, didn't sleep much, kept checking every hour, at 06:50 I
>> woke
>> up my wife and the whole apartment block with my cries of joy.
>>
>> Since quitting being an Electrician many years ago, I starting off in IT
>> operations doing back ups and batch runs, learning how to use things like
>> email (hey, trust me, when you are used to working on cold building sites,
>> with drills and god knows what whilst trying not to electrocute yourself
>> email is a pretty cool thing to suddenly discover :) )
>> Anyways, I worked nights, weekends for a few years learning about the IT
>> industry and a couple of very cool guys in Networks let me sit with them
>> on
>> my days off and I started to learn networks. After a while although
>> everyone
>> thought I worked in the networks team I spent so much time there I got a
>> job
>> in the networks department.
>>
>> Studied for CCNA then CCNP and with experience thought of myself as a
>> pretty
>> okay engineer. But I always looked at CCIE's and thought, those guys are
>> the
>> daddies. Although I always fancied going for CCIE I'm more of a learn by
>> experience kind of guy and not much of a reader. Anyways, a few years went
>> by and I moved to a new county with my wife. I was enjoying myself but I
>> was
>> up against testking CCNP's and these guys would work for silly crap money.
>> I
>> came from working for an investment bank earning good money and then
>> loosing
>> out on jobs in my adopted country because the unemployment is high and
>> wages
>> were low....this is no good thinks I, I need to earn some proper money. A
>> company contacted me, asked me to join them and offered me the chance to
>> go
>> for CCIE, I warned the wife and jumped at the chance. Finally, to get to
>> the
>> top of my industry and move to the bracket were only the worthy get the
>> title. This is no digs at CCNP's ( I was one long enough) , just a dig at
>> the cheating ones.
>>
>> Since starting to study, I've got married to a truly amazing woman who I
>> couldn't have done it without, bought an apartment and had to say good bye
>> to my Dad who passed away after a long illness last August.
>>
>> The poor old Fella never knew I'd started out on the CCIE path but I hope
>> that he would have been proud of my achievement and I dedicate it all to
>> my
>> Dad and Wife.
>>
>> Tips for you guys.
>> Don't rely on one work book, get as many views as you can.
>> Play with things, make things up, break things and fix them using all the
>> non obvious methods. You may be a good engineer but CCIE lab will have
>> questions to get you to do things and not allow you to use obvious
>> methods.
>> Mock labs, IE are very good although sometimes you wish there was a
>> proctor
>> to clarify things, but you then realise how the real lab could be marked.
>> Also net master class mock labs, real toughees, but you pick up some good
>> things too.
>> If you are doing your lab in Brussels, stay at the holiday inn. More
>> expensive than the NH, but they have a pool, sauna, steam room
>> etc.....best
>> way to de-stress the night before your exam. Man, a Sauna and then a plop
>> in
>> the freezing cold plunge pool was bliss.
>> Plus you can blag it if you say you have business with Cisco, I got a
>> preferential rate.
>> At the end of the day, it's a long, hard, tough road but the goal makes it
>> all worth while. You just have to role with the punches and tame the beast
>> and you will get your number.
>>
>> For my next project I'm now gonna carry on working on my Dad's old motor
>> boat and get her ready for some fishing next year after a 16 year rest out
>> of the water, she's getting on for 40 years old but she's a tough old girl
>> and holds some very fond memories of when my Dad and I used to head out
>> for
>> some fishing. I shall be drinking a beer in his honour when I get her back
>> to her former glory and back on the water.
>>
>> Sorry for the long mail but after two years of study you need to get a lot
>> of stuff off your chest :)
>>
>> Good luck to the guys starting out, I shall stick around for a bit longer
>> and help out where I can.
>>
>> Si
>> CCIE 22023
>>
>>
>> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>>
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>>
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