Hello, I feel like writing tonight, so this text you see…
My name is Karl, and I took the CCIE written beta exam a week or so ago and would like to comment on it, and my career goals, in general. This information may be beneficial to some and may be useless to others. Comments and criticisms are welcome. I took the beta appox. 3 days before the beta period ended. I was kicking off my study for the written exam with the first of about 20 books I wanted to read before attempting to take the 300 dollar written, when I discovered to my jubilation that there was a 50 dollar beta to be had. I decided to take the beta for a cheap peek at what I was in for. I fully expected to be annihilated by the questions; consumed and spitten back into my seat - devastated by the complexity and depth of the subject matter for which I was expected to be expertly versed in. BUT, I found, instead of being submersed in dismay, that I was actually treading water. Hope breeds desire. No, I didn’t pass the exam, but that was not my intention. I merely wanted to have a look-see. I wanted to, and did, compose a more personalized blueprint of the exam than what was offered to me on Cisco’s website. (Actually, the blueprint on the website is a pretty good representation of what I was subjected to during the beta (for those looking for exam info.)) Like a few others have said here, I’m no longer intimidated by the exam. So, by now you may be wondering about my experience, and if I’m a bookworm, or if I'm a lab rat... Yes, I have experience. Yes, I’m a bookworm. And, yes, you guessed it; I’m a lab rat. I work in the USPSNOC at WorldCom. My group manages a network of over 36,000 routers (think about it, how many post offices are there?). We provide physical layer up to network, and in some instances, higher level services. So I troubleshoot ds0 up to optical carrier levels, data link, and obviously network. I’m a first level engineer but I think if the times were better I’d be higher up the food chain. Face it. No one is moving. If you are comfortable, you aren’t going to take the risk with another job right now (inside or outside). That’s my problem. No one is moving. I'm stuck. But I’ll be damned if I’m letting this time go by without busting my ass to position myself to move on up. I’ll be ready for better times. Granted, being a 1st level engineer with a CCIE cert is a little scary but I think for those of us who have the gumption to go on, get it on, and grab it, we should. Even though I think with abreviated study concentrating on my weaknesses I could pass the written more quickly, I’m taking the full year to cover everything I originally intended to cover. Why? Because as a CCIE, I’ll need it. I’m not a paper bitch. And I will prove it in about a 1.5 years. Lucky for me, I have a well-designed network to analyze and troubleshoot, and I have a 40 router lab to build whatever I want to, to my heart’s content. Although it may sound like I’m bragging or being cocky, I’m only boasting to all that soon, I’ll be prepared to reap the benefits of a more “network engineer friendly” market. I don’t f*ck around…. Karl Thrasher Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=43969&t=43969 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
