RE: Passed SP lab, 21yr old double CCIE!

Rick Well done! You should be focused on getting hands on real world
experience and making money now. Gaining your CCIE only shows that you are
capable of learning (it is tough studying). I have a friend who has 5
univercity degree but only earning AUD60K a year. I have no univercity degree
but have ccie earning AUD300K.

S. O Ocal

CCIE #13940

> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 10:50:37 +0000
> Subject: Re: Passed SP lab, 21yr old double CCIE!
> From: felixnkansah_at_gmail.com
> To: rick_at_rickmur.com; ccielab_at_groupstudy.com
>
> Congrats Rick,
>
> I want to be like you when I grow up :-)
> Felix
> ccie r&s, security
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 9:57 AM, Rick Mur <rick_at_rickmur.com> wrote:
>
> > After about 2 months preparation for the Written and 4 months of
> > preparation for the Lab I passed the CCIE Service Provider lab
yesterday!!
> > I took my lab in Brussels on the 19th. I was really scared and stressed
the
> > 2 days before. Slept very badly.
> >
> > During the exam I had a few things that didn't work right away, which
> > caused my adrenaline level to get to a pretty high level :-P. I finished
all
> > tasks by lunch with just one skipped. After lunch I got that one fixed in
15
> > mins, which shows that taking a break really works.
> >
> > The exam was very tough but fair. Much of the topics in the blueprint was
> > in there and I really saw a difference with R&S. On my R&S lab most
> > questions were really straightforward, looking for a specific feature. On
my
> > SP lab I got lot's of freedom in choosing things or the way I wanted it
to
> > work. I also had a few questions which requested thinking out-of-the-box.
> > Something that is so obvious to configure, wasn't allowed or even
possible
> > in the IOS version, so I had to get around it.
> >
> > Wow it's amazing to be a double CCIE now at age 21 :-)
> >
> > Funny fact was that I had access to both the new documentation and the
> > good-old UniverCD. Had a little advantage of that as well :-P
> >
> > Brussels was a fine location, much better than San Jose. Great 20" LCD
> > widescreens, nice temperature, racks behind a glass wall.
> >
> > My preparation consisted of a couple of resources. I used all materials
> > from both Internetwork Expert and IPexpert. They both have a few pros and
> > cons.
> >
> > The INE Class-on-demand is not even a pearl, but a diamond! This was my
> > greatest eye-opener in the working of a lot of the SP topics. It's also
> > really focused on SP, so knowledge of IGP and BGP is required. I really
had
> > a good understanding of how and why the stuff works.
> >
> > INE workbook 1 is great for SP topics. IPexpert workbook 1 is good for
all
> > topics, but focus is a little less on SP topics and since I already have
R&S
> > I only needed the SP topics.
> >
> > IPexpert workbook 3 is something you don't want if you are a little
> > further. The labs are good for an introduction, but they are really short
> > and the video breakdowns give little extra information, besides entering
the
> > solutions guide answers. But I contacted IPexpert about that and their
> > customer service is the best!! They took my arguments, acknowledged them
and
> > promised to improve the labs soon. A thank you to Mike for that!
> >
> > INE workbook 2 is reaaally good for both complex and less-complex labs.
> > They are great for preparation and I really learned from them. The
solutions
> > guide is without any explanations, just the answers, but besides that
it's
> > great! The level of the labs is a little light. I would say a level 8 to
9
> > is the real lab.
> >
> > IPexpert workbook 2 is such a fantastic workbook as well. If I can advice
> > you to buy 1 workbook from them, it's this one! Those 5 full labs are so
> > intense. Cover so much stuff in each lab. First time I got totally
> > overwhelmed by it, some are definitely harder than the real lab. Don't do
> > these labs if have some weak areas, since they'll beat the crap out of
you
> > :-P They are fantastic for lab preparation in the last month.
> >
> > End of April I was able to join the INE SP online bootcamp. This was
great.
> > I guess they should rename it to a mock-lab week. It was exactly what I
> > needed to built confidence. I scored well on all 3 graded mocklabs and
they
> > cover great topics and really can be compared to the real lab. Brian
McGahan
> > has such a great way of explaining everything and his labs were
fantastic.
> > Again it proved the importance of doing a bootcamp, without it I wouldn't
> > have been that confident about my level, but after those 5 days I really
was
> > ready to go for it!
> >
> > Wow I wanted to do a shorter story, but turned out not to be possible
with
> > so much to tell :-P
> >
> > Again I'm soo happy passing in first attempt for my SP lab and I think
I'm
> > the youngest double CCIE now on the planet.
> >
> > Next up are first some Cisco DataCenter exams, then JNCIS-ER/M and in a
few
> > months I'll start my CCIE Security track!
> >
> > Thanks to everyone here and special thanks to Mike from IPexert, Kady
from
> > INE and a huge thanks to Brian McGahan for his great CoD and bootcamp.
Also
> > Scott Morris for his great Wb2 labs from his previous employer ;-)
> >
> > Rick Mur
> > CCIE2 #21946 (R&S / SP)
> > JNCIA-ER, MCSE
> > rick_at_rickmur.com
> >
> >
> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
> >
> > _______________________________________________________________________
> > Subscription information may be found at:
> > http://www.groupstudy.com/list/CCIELab.html
>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
> Subscription information may be found at:
> http://www.groupstudy.com/list/CCIELab.html
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Mon May 25 2009 - 15:23:49 ART