(Attention! sob story below:)
I got my CCNA R&S back in July 2015, as soon as I got it I was extremely gung-ho on getting the CCNP R&S, so I started reading CCNP Routing and Switching 300-101 ROUTE Official Cert guide by Kevin Wallace. 2015 was also the year I got my first stable, white collar IT job as desktop support, it was the year I got my foot in the door so to speak, but I found it difficult to come home after work and study for CCNP. Regardless, I kept at it and by January 2017 I read the entire book. When I started doing sample exam questions, I realized that I was missing a lot of material, so I started reading Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE) Foundation Learning Guide. It is now March 25 2018, I have abandoned and picked up studying so many times, I am only 1/3 of the way into the second book and I have not given up yet. A big part of me really really wants to break into a Networking position. I worked as a Linux System Administrator in Halifax NS, from 2016-2017 and recently I moved back home to Montreal and took an IT Support analyst job, working for my friend. I love IT, but I still have not landed that Network job.
IT has changed my life drastically, I used to be a roofer (non unionized), as much as I love hard labor jobs, my boss did not treat me right and the last crew I was with treated me even worse. In 2014 I walked off the job after bringing up 60 packs of shingles onto a one story bungalow via a latter, each pack weighs 80lbs and out of a crew of 7 I was the only one bringing them up, it was the straw that broke the camels back. In 2014 I was given a chance and was allowed to enroll into a 1 year Networking program funded by
Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES)
after taking an aptitude test. It was a blessing, considering that my last semester in college I got all 0s because of my own stupidity/not showing up + family issues. It all worked out amazingly for me, I am making more money now than I ever have as a blue collar, but I am still hungry for more.
My long term goal is CCIE R&S, it has been ever since I found out about Cisco certs back in 2013. The hardest thing is finding the determination and the motivation to pursue it, but its there. At times I find myself discouraged, but I keep reminding myself that I can do it, I have what it takes and the doors these certifications will open for me are worth it. In July my CCNA will expire, my short term goal is to prepare for and pass the 300-101 ROUTE exam before my CCNA expires, then SWITCH, then TSHOOT and hopefully by then I will land that Network position job and studying for CCIE will be easier since I will be in the field.
Currently I am going through the entire Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE) Foundation Learning Guide ebook and fixing all the errata using Foxit PDF Reader, that way I don't have to keep referencing back to the errata 30 page word document. This week I am seriously getting back into studying, I will try to put in about 4 hours of study on weekdays after work and about 20 hours of study during weekends. I am determined to pass this test come July!
