Re: CCIE#35347

Good job mate, GR8 work, congratulations. You deserve it, enjoy.
What I did is what every instructor should do.

Thanks. NOW.....don't get lazy, start the second one.

On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 4:22 PM, Marko Milivojevic <markom_at_ipexpert.com>wrote:

> Khan,
>
> We understand different needs and positions people are in. We have
> products and solutions that suit just about everyone. Even if you're
> from an African country we might be able to help you with your study.
> Please don't feel afraid to reach out to training_at_ipexpert.com to ask
> for details.
>
> --
> Marko Milivojevic - CCIE #18427 (SP R&S)
> Senior CCIE Instructor - IPexpert
>
> On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 1:05 PM, <khan.sirhan_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> > You said that you struggle just to get by but can afford the expensive
> ipexpert and other material. I used mostly white papers because the price
> of the ipexpert material is too expensive for someone living in an African
> country.
> >
> > You are very fortunate my friend, congrats
> > Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mohammad Moghaddas <moghaddas.it_at_gmail.com>
> > Sender: nobody_at_groupstudy.com
> > Date: Tue, 8 May 2012 23:01:49
> > To: Marko Milivojevic<markom_at_ipexpert.com>
> > Reply-To: Mohammad Moghaddas <moghaddas.it_at_gmail.com>
> > Cc: Terry Vinson<wantmydigits_at_gmail.com>; <ccielab_at_groupstudy.com>
> > Subject: Re: CCIE#35347
> >
> > Congrats. Nice job.
> >
> > On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 9:18 PM, Marko Milivojevic <markom_at_ipexpert.com
> >wrote:
> >
> >> Nice work - well done! Hard work always pays off. :-)
> >>
> >> --
> >> Marko Milivojevic - CCIE #18427 (SP R&S)
> >> Senior CCIE Instructor - IPexpert
> >>
> >> On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 8:02 AM, Terry Vinson <wantmydigits_at_gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >> > *Hello Everyone,*
> >> >
> >> > *I passed the CCIE R&S lab on May 1, 2012 at RTP, NC.*
> >> >
> >> > *I ve tried to write my success story about a hundred times since I
> got
> >> my
> >> > pass notification for the Routing and Switching track. Each attempt,
> >> > however, has sounded more angry than happy, which is odd because I am
> >> > ecstatic to have passed. Not having to study anymore and having
> decided
> >> to
> >> > take a week off from everything but family has given me a lot of time
> to
> >> > reflect on why I get so upset when I think about the last five years.
> I
> >> > made the realization last night that my anger stems from feeling like
> I
> >> > wasted a lot of time, and went up a lot of blind alleys during my
> >> > preparation. I need to put things in perspective before I explain that
> >> any
> >> > further. I am 45 years old. I have four sons ranging in ages from 5 to
> >> 22,
> >> > I am a self-employed consultant, and in the current economy we have
> been
> >> > struggling just to get by. So in a nutshell my preparation came out
> of my
> >> > own pocket and I spent way more than I should have to get where I am.
> I
> >> > bought materials, in the last three years, from virtually every major
> >> > vendor I can think of, to include Cisco 360.*
> >> >
> >> > *I found out about Narbik Kocharians on GroupStudy.com and contacted
> him
> >> > and let him know that I was very dissatisfied with the first CCIE
> vendor
> >> I
> >> > chose to use due a B customers helping customers B approach for
> guidance
> >> and
> >> > support with the package. Narbik was very understanding and explained
> to
> >> me
> >> > that he thought I had large gaps in my foundational theory. He told me
> >> that
> >> > we could fix that together. I bought his workbook and set out to fix
> the
> >> > problem. I was livid at how much I didn t know after a year and a
> half of
> >> > using the first vendor. I flooded Narbik with my frustration and
> again he
> >> > just let me vent and then said we can fix that too. He told me that he
> >> was
> >> > going to have a bootcamp in Columbia, Maryland starting on Monday;
> this
> >> was
> >> > Sunday and he said I could come if I wanted to. I did want to, but we
> >> > didn t have the money to pay for a hotel. So I slept in my truck for a
> >> week
> >> > in an arctic sleeping bag because it was winter. That sucked, but
> >> honestly
> >> > I had slept in way worse conditions when I was a soldier. It was worth
> >> > every second of it. I learned more in 5 days than I had in the
> previous
> >> > year. The sad part was that my lab was scheduled for 15 days after the
> >> > bootcamp and Narbik told me straight up I wasn t ready for it. That
> was a
> >> > tough pill to swallow, but he was right. I didn t even come close to
> >> > passing, but like Narbik said, B you know what to expect now! *
> >> >
> >> > *So the next year was all about filling gaps in my knowledge, reading
> >> books
> >> > and labs using Narbik s workbooks. In the next two years, I took
> Narbik s
> >> > bootcamp again twice (at no cost and received updates for all the
> >> workbooks
> >> > B again at no cost). At the end of the last bootcamp, Narbik told me
> that
> >> > he thought I was borderline ready, but I needed more lab work (I was
> too
> >> > slow). I didn t know how to answer that because I had done every lab
> he
> >> had
> >> > to offer half a dozen times. So ignoring his advice I again scheduled
> a
> >> > lab. I failed again but I was so much closer. But I found another
> >> weakness
> >> > that I hadn t really considered. My test taking strategy was virtually
> >> > nonexistent; I was working and thinking too linear. That was when I
> met
> >> > Anthony Sequiera.*
> >> >
> >> > *Anthony was not what I was expecting from a CCIE instructor, he was
> >> > frequently talking about other things than just technology. He was
> >> bringing
> >> > up things that affected my performance on the lab that I had honestly
> >> never
> >> > even considered. We exchanged emails and he made me a promise. B I ll
> >> help
> >> > you get your CCIE no matter what the circumstances are or who I m
> working
> >> > for. Anthony was able to open a lot of opportunities for me to learn
> and
> >> > practice and was constantly offering support and advice. But at this
> >> point
> >> > I was B gun shy B of the exam. I was so afraid of failing again I
> wasn t
> >> > willing to test. It took a long time for Anthony to help me break down
> >> > those barriers. But eventually we did and I scheduled the exam, this
> time
> >> > it was the Version 4 exam. Anthony and I where both focused on the TS
> >> > section, because frankly it seemed to be what most people were
> failing,
> >> and
> >> > the fact that there were no real tools available to students to help
> them
> >> > deal with this new lab requirement was adding to my apprehension. So
> >> rather
> >> > than just take a wild swing we got together with the great minds over
> at
> >> > IPexpert, who I should point out Narbik had recommended I use for my B
> >> mock
> >> > lab practice. Anthony and I created a tool that made sense and held
> up to
> >> > the troubleshooting labs I had from all vendors B B the Quick Fire
> >> > Troubleshooting Strategy. We spent countless hours discussing it,
> tearing
> >> > it apart, and testing it against whatever mock troubleshooting
> materials
> >> we
> >> > could find.*
> >> >
> >> > *Quick Fire centers around a common issues methodology combined with
> >> > intense time management. In our opinion, the biggest problem in the
> >> > training space at that time was that everyone talked about
> >> troubleshooting
> >> > and even discussed how to approach troubleshooting, but nothing dealt
> >> with
> >> > the biggest issue, which is the two-hour time limit. After getting
> >> > comfortable using the Quick Fire Troubleshooting Strategy, we decided
> >> that
> >> > I should schedule a lab. The good news was that the troubleshooting
> plan
> >> > worked AWESOME! I knew I had 8 out of 10 tickets and was unsure about
> >> one,
> >> > the other I did not have a clue if I solved it B correctly B or not.
> The
> >> > outcome was not what I was hoping for, because I did not pass the
> >> > configuration section, but Quick Fire held up perfectly. What would
> have
> >> > been another blow to my ego, was actually an opportunity to retest the
> >> > troubleshooting strategy Anthony and I developed. So I scheduled
> another
> >> > lab; what would be my second attempt at the Version 4 with
> >> troubleshooting.*
> >> >
> >> > *During the next 30 days I didn t even really focus on the lab, but
> every
> >> > so often I would do an IPexpert Volume 3 lab just to keep my speed
> from
> >> > deteriorating. Come test time I was way more relaxed, had more even
> more
> >> > faith in Quick Fire. I even adapted some of the methodology from the
> >> > troubleshooting process to the configuration section of the test. In
> the
> >> > end it all culminated in passing the lab and getting my digits. That s
> >> the
> >> > long and short of it.*
> >> >
> >> > *In my opinion it all boils down to the fact that the CCIE exam has
> >> > changed, it s no longer, B answer all the core questions and pick up a
> >> few
> >> > of the services and management tasks and you are golden . In my
> opinion,
> >> > that test doesn t exist anymore. The new test is a broad range of
> topics
> >> > that all have relatively the same weight, the concept of the core and
> >> > fundamental reachability is there but it s no longer 70 to 75 percent
> of
> >> > passing. Cisco has upped the ante in terms of the significance of
> these
> >> > B miscellaneous B topics, and to tell students that they are not
> going to
> >> > expect you to be an expert on them is an out-and-out travesty.*
> >> >
> >> > *It was a long expensive journey to get to the point where I had all
> the
> >> > tools I needed to pass and honestly, we had to invent a few along the
> way
> >> > as a result of the exam changing and maturing. Technological
> proficiency
> >> > was pivotal, but having a well-considered and practiced strategy was
> just
> >> > as important. That concept of strategy extends not just to the actual
> lab
> >> > but also to the act of preparing for the lab. I came late in my
> >> preparation
> >> > to IPexpert on the advice of both Narbik and Anthony, and I found just
> >> what
> >> > I needed there. They had an honest, structured approach that addressed
> >> all
> >> > phases of the CCIE learning process to include tools like Marko s
> >> wonderful
> >> > audio bootcamp that was one of best knowledge sustainment tools I ve
> had
> >> > the pleasure to use. But for me, the workbooks were the most
> impressive
> >> > offering because by the time I found IPexpert, that was what I was
> >> looking
> >> > for. I wanted, no I needed, multiprotocol labs that where reflective
> of
> >> > what I d had come to expect to see on the exam after my failed
> attempts.
> >> > Their workbooks were concise, well planned and the closest I ve seen
> to
> >> the
> >> > actual exam with regard to the wording and structure of the individual
> >> > tasks. The integration between workbooks was seamless. It wasn t a
> series
> >> > of workbooks created, in a handful of weeks, by different developers
> with
> >> > no clear transition. As I worked through these books I could feel my
> >> > confidence and general understanding growing, and that process
> continued
> >> > until the CCIE was just a fundamental part of that transition.*
> >> >
> >> > *It is important to understand that everyone learns differently and at
> >> > different rates. But the one constant is that learning needs to be
> >> > deliberate, and that is so much easier when the actual course
> instruction
> >> > is deliberate by design. Furthermore, you need to find vendors like
> >> > IPexpert and Micronics Training that are willing to devote themselves
> to
> >> > your success.*
> >> >
> >> > *I am very proud to say that I am now employed writing elegant, yet
> >> > practical and accessible texts and classes for IPexpert in the area of
> >> CCIE
> >> > R&S. I hope I have the opportunity to provide assistance to some of
> you
> >> > reading this, just as I received the assistance that I so desperately
> >> > needed.*
> >> >
> >> > *For those thinking about giving up. Don't do it! The elation of
> success
> >> > will completely erase the grief you felt when you didn't pass. It felt
> >> bad
> >> > to fail but absolutely incredible to pass!*
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > 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
> >
> >
> > 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

-- 
*Narbik Kocharians
*CCSI#30832, CCIE# 12410 (R&S, SP, Security)
*www.MicronicsTraining.com* <http://www.micronicstraining.com/>
Sr. Technical Instructor
YES! We take Cisco Learning Credits!
A Cisco Learning Partner
Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net