Re: PASSED R&S (with kids!)

Whats NEXT is returning my life back to normal and losing the fat
belly I have managed to acquire. Its time to hit the Gym!

On 10 December 2010 21:28, Narbik Kocharians <narbikk_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Good job mate, good on you. Congrates, What's NEXT?
>
> On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 1:22 PM, Marko Milivojevic <markom_at_ipexpert.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> Well done mate! You forgot to tell us the magic number :-)
>>
>> --
>> Marko Milivojevic - CCIE #18427
>> Senior Technical Instructor - IPexpert
>>
>> FREE CCIE training: http://bit.ly/vLecture
>>
>> Mailto: markom_at_ipexpert.com
>> Telephone: +1.810.326.1444
>> Web: http://www.ipexpert.com/
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 16:16, Muzammil Malick <malickmuz_at_gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Hey Everyone
>> >
>> > Apologies in advance for the essay!!!
>> >
>> > I cant believe my journey is finally over. I took the R&S lab
>> > yesterday and found out today that I passed.
>> > CCIE should come with a warning "CCIE study is hazardous to your life
>> > if you have a wife and kids"
>> >
>> > My journey began in January 2009 when i began preparing for my
>> > written, my study was based purely on
>> > reading lots of books and making lots of notes. I used the Cisco Press
>> > R&S Certification Guide and TCP/IP Vol 1 and 2.
>> > At the time of studying I was working away from home and so I had lots
>> > of free time to study whilst my wife took care of my 2 year
>> > old son and I would visit them on the weekends.
>> > I passed the written mid 2009 and it was around the time when v4
>> > blueprint was announced. So I decided to book myself a date
>> > for the v4 exam and work aggressively towards it. I took the first day
>> > that v4 was introduced in Brussels.
>> >
>> > Now from here on in I would just like to say that what I did was
>> > probably not something you would want to follow if you are preparing.
>> > It was a learning experience for me!!
>> >
>> > I began by studying the Doc CD in detail! I worked through all the
>> > blueprint sections and read lots of RFCs, books, blogs, Internet and
>> > made sure
>> > I knew all the commands for all technologies relevant to the blueprint
>> > and understood how they worked.
>> > This included 3 hours every evening, and entire weekends labbing all
>> > the technologies using the DOC CD as a guide. I made notes on all
>> > these commands
>> > and technologies.
>> > I did this for 6 months all the way to my lab date in October.
>> > My first attempt was an eye opener. I had OEQs which I failed but
>> > kicked myself later. My troubleshooting was miserable and my config
>> > was even worse.
>> > Overall I came out of the exam and decided that I could definitely
>> > pass but I had a lot more work to do.
>> >
>> > This is where the problems started. I had found a flat near work and
>> > my wife and son moved in with me and my wife was expecting in November
>> > 2009.
>> > I knew it would be tough to take the lab again in this period and so I
>> > was forced to take a break. My second son was born on December 1st and
>> > I did not start
>> > studying again till February so I had a fair few months out of the game.
>> >
>> > Now I will say that between the time I took my next B attempt and
>> > yesterday's I have taken a "few" attempts. I wont go into them but
>> > what I will say is that my study pattern changed
>> > drastically throughout the year and I think it is this change that
>> > enabled me to pass.
>> >
>> > When I started studying again I focussed my attention on INE Vol 1 and
>> > made sure I knew the technologies inside out. This reinforced the
>> > notes that I had taken in my first 6 months of
>> > studying and taught me loads. It also helped me fill in a lot of gaps
>> > I had. I still kept my focus around the DOC CD and at no point did I
>> > ever do a full 8 hour lab at home.
>> > I focussed my attention on mini scenarios making sure I understood the
>> > technologies and command inside out.
>> >
>> > During my last couple of attempts I came to understand one important
>> > thing and it was a post that Narbik made on GS that nailed this down
>> > for me.
>> > Cisco don't want you to do ninja tasks! There were a few questions
>> > that cropped up on my attempts that I still do not know the answer to,
>> > to this day. However I know that if you know
>> > the fundamentals, these cannot stop you from passing.
>> > From my failed attempts I learned that I didn't understand the basics
>> > well enough, and I could not implement them at speed.
>> > So in the last couple of months I trimmed my study down to doing very
>> > simple labs and making sure I could do all the "simple" things fast.
>> > This year was like torture for me. I had to spend loads of time away
>> > from my wife, son and new born baby. My wife has endured endless
>> > nights looking after them both whilst I locked myself away to study.
>> >
>> > Thank you Darling!!
>> >
>> > There were times where I seriously just wanted to pack it all in and
>> > call it a day and just accept that it wasn't meant to be but I have
>> > amazing friends and and amazing family (wife!!) who kept me going!
>> >
>> > I arrived in Brussels (from UK) the night before my exam and stayed at
>> > the NH Hotel. Didn't sleep very well due to feeling a little ill and
>> > got up feeling a bit crap! The lab started on time and to my shock I
>> > spent 20 minutes
>> > on the 2nd trouble ticket. I could not for the life of me figure it
>> > out! But as soon as it clicked I was well on my way. I still managed
>> > to finish with 15 minutes to spare after having checked everything. I
>> > solved all tickets.
>> > I moved on to config which generally went well. There were a few tasks
>> > where I just did not know the answer to but I knew that I could get
>> > the majority of points elsewhere so I went after them at speed.
>> > I read the questions down to the "word" to make sure I was doing them
>> > correctly. I ended up using the full 8 hours because one of my routers
>> > played up during the middle of the exam. Had to reload a couple of
>> > times
>> > but it sorted itself out eventually! (was a bit of a nightmare but I
>> > guess it can happen). Went home feeling less than confident because I
>> > didn't get as much time as I would have wanted to check everything
>> > over because of
>> > the router problem. I was driving home from airport and convinced
>> > myself that I had failed! Got home 11pm and results weren't posted,
>> > checked at 4am today and there it was, a PASS!
>> > I couldn't believe it and kept refreshing and closing down browser and
>> > restarting until I was finally sure and I woke my family and told
>> > them!
>> >
>> > I just want to say a special thank you to all the following, some of
>> > who dont even know me but unknowingly have helped me through a reply
>> > to my postings, past posting, blog or God knows what:
>> >
>> > Marko, Scott M, Narbik, Carlos Mendioroz, Tyson S, Brian M, Brian D,
>> > Kambiz, Bob Sinclair, Paul Negron, Anthony Sequeira, Gary Baker, and
>> > just a general thank you to everyone on the list!
>> >
>> > Thank you
>> >
>> > Muzammil Malick
>> >
>> >
>> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>> >
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>
>
>
> --
> Narbik Kocharians
> CCSI#30832, CCIE# 12410 (R&S, SP, Security)
> www.MicronicsTraining.com
> Sr. Technical Instructor
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Received on Fri Dec 10 2010 - 21:48:15 ART