New to forum and request your thoughts on CCIE program

Hello,
I am new to the forum and have started the CCIE journey; I plan on taking the written exam in December 08 and my goal for the lab is spring of 2010. I am about to retire from the military in Jan 09 (after 20 years) and I have many years of experience in telcom/computer networking arena (CCNP since 2001).

I would like your thoughts regarding the CCIE program:

Do you feel the prestige of the CCIE program has been diminished as the numbers grow at a fairly high rate and Cisco seems to be pushing CCDE as the premiere certification.

What is the average age of CCIE candidates? I just turned 40 and most candidates seem to be twentysomething or early thirties. I like to say I am "seasoned", but sometimes I think this is a young person's vocation. (Although, I enjoy the technical aspect of Cisco networking vice being an IT Manager)

For the folks that have made CCIE status...was it worth it? Was it worth the cost in both the financial costs and the toll on your personal/family life?

After gaining the CCIE status...did your life change?

Thank you....and I plan on going down the CCIE journey to prove to myself that I can do it...my personal Mount Everest...I want to test my self-discipline (the key to life success and happiness).

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Turgon

cblm123 wrote:

Hello,
I am new to the forum and have started the CCIE journey; I plan on taking the written exam in December 08 and my goal for the lab is spring of 2010. I am about to retire from the military in Jan 09 (after 20 years) and I have many years of experience in telcom/computer networking arena (CCNP since 2001).

I would like your thoughts regarding the CCIE program:

Do you feel the prestige of the CCIE program has been diminished as the numbers grow at a fairly high rate and Cisco seems to be pushing CCDE as the premiere certification.

What is the average age of CCIE candidates? I just turned 40 and most candidates seem to be twentysomething or early thirties. I like to say I am "seasoned", but sometimes I think this is a young person's vocation. (Although, I enjoy the technical aspect of Cisco networking vice being an IT Manager)

For the folks that have made CCIE status...was it worth it? Was it worth the cost in both the financial costs and the toll on your personal/family life?

After gaining the CCIE status...did your life change?

Thank you....and I plan on going down the CCIE journey to prove to myself that I can do it...my personal Mount Everest...I want to test my self-discipline (the key to life success and happiness).

Still a very useful qualification, not least as it forces you to reflect on technologies you may not otherwise encounter in the job you primarily hold down. I find it augments my existing experience quite well and it's something I wanted to get around to doing but all the excitement in my career progression forced it on the backburner.

Time to complete is a variable but all candidates generally need to find enough elapsed time to cover the necessary things. This amounts to understanding the rudiments of configuration, awareness of exercises and different ways to do things, verification practice, speed. If you're busy in fulltime work and have a family this will determine how aggresive or relaxed your schedule needs to be. Some folks get a lot done on works time if they are lucky. Others work flexible hours offering gaps to study. Trainers often fall into this camp. Others take time off work for months and concentrate solely on CCIE studies.

cblm123

Turgon...thank you for your thoughts; I admire your determination and your goal oriented preparation. Sounds like your networking knowledge has grown exponentially since you have started your studies and that alone would seem to make the journey worth it.....and of course, I am sure it will be nice to pass the lab to validate your effort! I wish you the best of success in your endeavor.

mikej412

cblm123 wrote:

Do you feel the prestige of the CCIE program has been diminished as the numbers grow at a fairly high rate and Cisco seems to be pushing CCDE as the premiere certification.

Last I heard there were still under 17000 active CCIEs worldwide and no CCDEs. The supply of highly skilled experienced CCIEs still doesn't seem to be keeping up with the demand -- and the CCDE Practical Exam doesn't exist yet.

cblm123 wrote:

What is the average age of CCIE candidates? I just turned 40 and most candidates seem to be twentysomething or early thirties.

Cisco doesn't say -- but at 40 you would have fit it with the crowds I've seen at my Lab attempts. But then, studying for the CCIE might have made those twentysomethings look like they were in their late 30s and 40s (and 50s). Or maybe I qualify for the senior citizen lab schedule and get lab dates with other old people.

cblm123 wrote:

I plan on going down the CCIE journey to prove to myself that I can do it...my personal Mount Everest...I want to test my self-discipline (the key to life success and happiness).

That's a good enough reason to try for the CCIE.

But didn't military service already prove your self-discipline? Or were you Air Force?

(sorry -- I was Army Infantry)

GT-Rob

There may be a lot of twenty-somethings studying for the lab, but that doesn't always mean they are the ones passing

I really wouldn't worry about a lack of demand for CCIEs. I mean, 17000 worldwide, for a product that has about 80% market share, is not a lot.

Also, 'just my thoughts', but the CCDE will NOT be as prestige as people are making it out to be. Mainly because its just going to be just another computer test, and regardless of how hard they make it, employers won't look at it like they do the CCIE.

nullrouter

The CCDE should carry on par with the IE for Design-oriented work, all it is just 'CCIE Design' reworked and renamed. Introduced for the experts who have moved on from fault fixing and implementation and into design/architecture.

Don't know why some people are getting upset about it being a lab computer test and not configuring OSPF areas on lab routers

. It's kinda of complaining the CCDA and CCDP devaule the CCNA and CCNP.

I've already seem some job ads here asking for a CCDE already... silly recruiters.

cblm123

mikej412...you caught me, I am Air Force...while the Army is big into 'drill and ceremony', the Air Force is the more technology focused service.

Also, I forgot to mention (as others have written) that you have to have passion to go along with self-discipline...so my magic success formula is:

Passion + Self-discipline = Life success

For those folks going for the CCIE just for the greater salary (a great motivator), but do not have the passion for Cisco networking are doomed to fail. In my opinion, if you are looking for a larger salary, then there are easier and less costly certification paths that will lead you to good salaries such as CISSP, PMI certs, Six Sigma (of course as long you have experience to go along with the certs).

Also, in my opinion, the CCDE would have greater prestige if the CCIE cert was a prerequisite, but I guess that will never happen...

GT-Rob

Its not so much that the CCDE's content is not enough, its the fact that its a computer based test, and more than likely, it will be braindumped. All it takes is 1 employee at a test site to write it down, and sell it.

I just don't think smart employers will put it on par (or above as some people think), as the CCIE. Its not about which is harder, its about which is more likely to be 'faked'

dynamik

I thought you had to present a proposal to a panel and defend your solution. Is that not the case?

Cisco wrote:

Step Two: CCDE Practical Exam

The CCDE practical exam is still in development, however it will be an eight-hour exam that will test your ability to identify, manage, and create advanced solutions for large scale networks. You must pass the lab within three years of passing the written exam in order to achieve certification.

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/ccde/index.html

GT-Rob

From what it sounds like now, as per the demo they had a Cisco live, is you do the written exam at any vue, then you take the 'lab' exam at certain vue centers. Its going to be flash based I think, on their computers.

mikej412

Yeah, at the certain Vue centers that do the "other serious tests" -- quarterly. With a new exam each quarter.

If they only have one test for each "exam day" -- I'd guess the last geographic area tested would still "somehow" manage to have a higher pass rate than the first geographic area tested.

GT-Rob

So are they saying they are going to change the exam every 4 months? That would be a help anyway.

Paul Boz

I'm down for the CCIE because it carries high prestige, is the ultimate challenge, and signifies the serious dedication requires to obtain it. It has nothing to do with salary.