Congrats.

Turgon

Just received a PM from a member who cleared the lab. I don't know if he will post but either way Im very pleased for him. An 18 year old CCIE and Cisco Instructor to boot. I wondered how he was getting on but I always felt he had what it took to get through. If you are good enough you are old enough. Congrats Pavel!

kahn

Hats off then
Cheers

mikej412

Is that littlegrave? I think we had a few high school students join around the same time and based on his questions it was pretty obvious he stood a good chance of going straight for the CCIE. (And one of the other high school students still hanging around and posting is working on his CCNP).

Either way Congratulations are in order!

I wish I knew then (when I was 18 ) what I know now....

ITdude

Congrats! That is really awesome.

Turgon

mikej412 wrote: »

Is that littlegrave? I think we had a few high school students join around the same time and based on his questions it was pretty obvious he stood a good chance of going straight for the CCIE. (And one of the other high school students still hanging around and posting is working on his CCNP).

Either way Congratulations are in order!

I wish I knew then (when I was 18 ) what I know now....

hehehe..I know what you mean Mike. Yes it's littlegrave. I never doubted he would get through if he put the work in and it looks like he has. Great to see the youngsters coming through!

mamono

Wow, talk about achievement! Does that make him the youngest CCIE? That sure is a bright future!

a543047

Wow, very impressive. But one should be chasing after girls and playing video games at that age.

That's what I was doing anyways...

PStefanov

Thanks everyone! I didn't really want to post because these kinds of topics usually provoke nasty discussions I am not willing to participate in (just an observation). Anyway, I made a post about my preparation for the lab in my blog and will write another one for the actual lab very soon. I hope some of the information will be of use to some of the members here. Not sure if it's ethical and allowed to post links to other websites, so just use the link in my profile.

Pavel

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

Thanks everyone! I didn't really want to post because these kinds of topics usually provoke nasty discussions I am not willing to participate in (just an observation). Anyway, I made a post about my preparation for the lab in my blog and will write another one for the actual lab very soon. I hope some of the information will be of use to some of the members here. Not sure if it's ethical and allowed to post links to other websites, so just use the link in my profile.

Pavel

Im sure insights from a very intelligent candidate such as yourself will be most helpful Pavel. Congratulations again!

Anyone that could possibly nitpick about your achievement needs professional help. Don't let petty jealousy phase you at all. You already have a good deal of experience in the field and your accomplishment is simply a testimony to ability and hardwork. I make that 5 or maybe 6 people on TE cleared this exam since I joined. I need to catch up! How many hours were you devoting to hands on studies on a daily basis do you reckon the last year or so?

dynamik

PStefanov wrote: »

Thanks everyone! I didn't really want to post because these kinds of topics usually provoke nasty discussions I am not willing to participate in (just an observation).

I think you've been spending your time on the wrong forums

Congratulations!

PStefanov

Thanks again!

Well, let's do the math. If we take into account only the hours spent labbing after I took the written, then

IEWB volume 1 - let's say 20-25 hours
IEWB volume 2 - 20 labs, average 5.5-6 hours of configuration + verification = 120 hours
IPExpert v9 - 21 labs, approximately 5 hours per lab = 105 hours
ASET Lab sessions - 8 sessions (did 11 labs in these sessions plus a full session for Catalyst features), each lasting 9 hours = 72 hours

So that's around 320 hours of labbing. I am not including additional time for things that come into my mind just like that, and I spent a lot of time labbing when I was learning the core technologies like OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, IPv6, Multicast (not that this is a core technology), etc for the written exam. Not to mention the 2 months or so spent labbing just for MPLS, and although that wasn't specifically related to my CCIE preparation, I think I learned a great deal about some of technologies mentioned in the R&S lab blueprint.

But I guess it doesn't matter so much how many hours you spend in the lab, it matters what you are doing during that time

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

Thanks again!

Well, let's do the math. If we take into account only the hours spent labbing after I took the written, then

IEWB volume 1 - let's say 20-25 hours
IEWB volume 2 - 20 labs, average 5.5-6 hours of configuration + verification = 120 hours
IPExpert v9 - 21 labs, approximately 5 hours per lab = 105 hours
ASET Lab sessions - 8 sessions (did 11 labs in these sessions plus a full session for Catalyst features), each lasting 9 hours = 72 hours

So that's around 320 hours of labbing. I am not including additional time for things that come into my mind just like that, and I spent a lot of time labbing when I was learning the core technologies like OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, IPv6, Multicast (not that this is a core technology), etc for the written exam. Not to mention the 2 months or so spent labbing just for MPLS, and although that wasn't specifically related to my CCIE preparation, I think I learned a great deal about some of technologies mentioned in the R&S lab blueprint.

But I guess it doesn't matter so much how many hours you spend in the lab, it matters what you are doing during that time

How did you find the ASET labs? A few folks have found them useful for preparation. Agree on the last point. I think I have probably amassed more racktime all in than yourself but I started before you and Im still at it! Having said that my study windows have been mostly fairly small short sessions of an hour or two as opposed to full on 5+ hour blocks. I find those very useful when I get the time. Did you manage to get any game time 9-5 for lab prep from your employer? I encourage folks to take what they can there if the employer is supportive. I very rarely had that opportunity and I have no doubt it would have been better than the evening and weekend slog.

PStefanov

ASET labs are booked by your local Channel SE. So you have to work for a Cisco Partner or have a friend working in Cisco that can book the labs for you. More information here: ASET Program
LabGear is the provider of the labs and they are free. 6 full ASET labs are available for download and there's also auto verification available, which is very cool.

I highly recommend doing the ASET labs. They are a great help and will be a significant part of your preparation.

mamono

Congratulations!!! Looking forward to all the insight and preparation recommendations!

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

ASET labs are booked by your local Channel SE. So you have to work for a Cisco Partner or have a friend working in Cisco that can book the labs for you. More information here: ASET Program
LabGear is the provider of the labs and they are free. 6 full ASET labs are available for download and there's also auto verification available, which is very cool.

I highly recommend doing the ASET labs. They are a great help and will be a significant part of your preparation.

I will see what I can do about this. My company is a Cisco Partner.

mgeorge

CCIE R&S at 18 is a great accomplishment.

Keep going, don't stop now. Whats next, sp, voice, security?

doom969

Huge Congrats to you,
thats really impressive !

PStefanov

mgeorge wrote: »

CCIE R&S at 18 is a great accomplishment.

Keep going, don't stop now. Whats next, sp, voice, security?

I'd really want to gain more knowledge in security - IPSec and configuration of ASAs, but won't spend too much time on them. Service Provider is next on the list as the blueprint of this track has most similarities with the R&S one, and I've already covered like 50% of MPLS. I plan to have taken the written by the end of this year at latest.

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

I'd really want to gain more knowledge in security - IPSec and configuration of ASAs, but won't spend too much time on them. Service Provider is next on the list as the blueprint of this track has most similarities with the R&S one, and I've already covered like 50% of MPLS. I plan to have taken the written by the end of this year at latest.

SP would be good. Post R&S I will be spending more time on that one so keep in touch.

Ahriakin

Late to the party but congrats, fantastic achievement.

chmod

PStefanov wrote: »

I'd really want to gain more knowledge in security - IPSec and configuration of ASAs, but won't spend too much time on them. Service Provider is next on the list as the blueprint of this track has most similarities with the R&S one, and I've already covered like 50% of MPLS. I plan to have taken the written by the end of this year at latest.

What do you do? Do you work for a cisco partner or as a network admin for a huge company?

PStefanov

I recently quit my job as I wanted to fully concentrate on my CCIE lab preparation, but I used to work for a Cisco partner and deal mainly with trainings and some SMB projects. Now looking for a job in the UK and would prefer to deal with implementation of projects.

What I've found is that huge companies will always want you to have a degree before they hire you for a position so I don't think I'd be able to get a job in such any time soon.

jrs91

PStefanov wrote: »

I recently quit my job as I wanted to fully concentrate on my CCIE lab preparation, but I used to work for a Cisco partner and deal mainly with trainings and some SMB projects. Now looking for a job in the UK and would prefer to deal with implementation of projects.

What I've found is that huge companies will always want you to have a degree before they hire you for a position so I don't think I'd be able to get a job in such any time soon.

Yep. Get your degree. Work on the campus network if you can so that your skills don't go stale. Regardless of whether you have your CCIE or not, not having a degree could potentially put a glass ceiling on your advancement. And there's always some twit in HR that could block you from getting a shot at technical interviews that you'd do very well in because you don't have it. You may also decide you want to do a graduate degree some day as well.

I can't emphasize enough that you should get undergrad out of the way while you're young. You don't want to be working and going to school. Trust me, it sucks, especially in an IT job where you can have emergencies that require your expertise. I've had my phone start vibrating just after i put it in my bag to start an exam, and then had to weigh the choice between my job and potentially losing it and getting a 0 in an exam that could set me back a year in school. FWIW though, I'm lucky to even have an employer that entrusts me with as much responsability as they do and still permit me to attend class in the middle of the day. You'll also get used to a higher standard of living that would make going back to being a full-time student harder.

You're obviously a bright kid, so I hope you attend. If there's advice I wish someone had given me, it would be to do something you truly enjoy at univeristy. If you don't, you will hate it, and maybe not complete it. It took me a long time because despite my intelligence, I was doing things other people wanted me to do. I finally figured it out and now that I study something I enjoy, I don't hate school. What I'm doing is a fairly useless degree on its own, but i have skills and job experience so that doesn't worry me. Just so you know how usless my degree is, I'm majoring in classics (ancient history/archaeology/literature, particularly focused on the greeks and romans). Some may question the choice, but I feel a broad education is something that makes you a more interesting person and pays dividends in other ways than straight salary. Plus, chicks will prefer it if you can find something else to talk about than routers and switches. :P

PStefanov

I couldn't agree more with you, jrs91.

Yep. Get your degree. Work on the campus network if you can so that your skills don't go stale. Regardless of whether you have your CCIE or not, not having a degree could potentially put a glass ceiling on your advancement. And there's always some twit in HR that could block you from getting a shot at technical interviews that you'd do very well in because you don't have it. You may also decide you want to do a graduate degree some day as well.

A few years back when I started my CCIE journey, I read something interesting here - How to Pass the Routing and Switching CCIE Lab Exam - Internetwork Expert:

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" - Confucius

That's what I've stuck to for the last couple of years and I've really enjoyed every moment. I mean this doesn't refer just to your job, it refers to a lot of aspects of your life.

You have no idea how much I crave for being involved in projects these weeks after the lab. I went to a few interviews, mostly to practice my interview skills, did well, but I didn't see myself working as a TAC or a field engineer.

I've got a month and a half now to prepare for matriculation exams, but I am already accepted in a few universities in the UK for a BEng in Telecommunications Engineering. I think that course is interesting and while I'd like to broaden my horizons, this course is somewhat related to networking. The reason I chose this course over networking-related ones is that they are very "tight" in specialization and I am definitely going to work in networking so I'll gain that (or more) knowledge in my free time anyway. But yeah, a degree is a must so I plan to get a MEng in 4 years and a couple of CCIEs in the meantime

From what people have told me HE in the UK is pretty intensive and if you take into account the recession, I'd be very pleased if I could find a part-time job after/before classes. But no job is not an option for me as I'd like put my skills to use and have at least 4-5 years of experience by the time I graduate.

If there's advice I wish someone had given me, it would be to do something you truly enjoy at univeristy. If you don't, you will hate it, and maybe not complete it. It took me a long time because despite my intelligence, I was doing things other people wanted me to do. I finally figured it out and now that I study something I enjoy, I don't hate school. What I'm doing is a fairly useless degree on its own, but i have skills and job experience so that doesn't worry me. Just so you know how usless my degree is, I'm majoring in classics (ancient history/archaeology/literature, particularly focused on the greeks and romans). Some may question the choice, but I feel a broad education is something that makes you a more interesting person and pays dividends in other ways than straight salary.

Tell me about it. In our education system, which by the way sucks big time, students study theory for 12 years. Projects can be counted on the fingers of your hand. We study such idiotic things that the only thing this accomplishes is to put you off. None of my teachers could explain why we have to do so. I myself don't care much about grades and stuff like that and what I do most of the time is learn things I find interesting and that improve my personality.

Plus, chicks will prefer it if you can find something else to talk about than routers and switches. :P

My friends are always joking at me that I'd never find a girlfriend again cause there are only 2 female CCIEs in my country

bertieb

PStefanov wrote:

From what people have told me HE in the UK is pretty intensive

Partly true. I would suspect it is certainly true for most engineering type degrees, I was surprised how much work was needed when I did mine, though this would likely apply to similar degrees in most countries. Certainly NOT true for degrees such as BA(Hons) Basket Weaving* and the like

* I have nothing personal against anyone who has done an undergraduate degree in Basket Weaving

Turgon

jrs91 wrote: »

Yep. Get your degree. Work on the campus network if you can so that your skills don't go stale. Regardless of whether you have your CCIE or not, not having a degree could potentially put a glass ceiling on your advancement. And there's always some twit in HR that could block you from getting a shot at technical interviews that you'd do very well in because you don't have it. You may also decide you want to do a graduate degree some day as well.

I can't emphasize enough that you should get undergrad out of the way while you're young. You don't want to be working and going to school. Trust me, it sucks, especially in an IT job where you can have emergencies that require your expertise. I've had my phone start vibrating just after i put it in my bag to start an exam, and then had to weigh the choice between my job and potentially losing it and getting a 0 in an exam that could set me back a year in school. FWIW though, I'm lucky to even have an employer that entrusts me with as much responsability as they do and still permit me to attend class in the middle of the day. You'll also get used to a higher standard of living that would make going back to being a full-time student harder.

You're obviously a bright kid, so I hope you attend. If there's advice I wish someone had given me, it would be to do something you truly enjoy at univeristy. If you don't, you will hate it, and maybe not complete it. It took me a long time because despite my intelligence, I was doing things other people wanted me to do. I finally figured it out and now that I study something I enjoy, I don't hate school. What I'm doing is a fairly useless degree on its own, but i have skills and job experience so that doesn't worry me. Just so you know how usless my degree is, I'm majoring in classics (ancient history/archaeology/literature, particularly focused on the greeks and romans). Some may question the choice, but I feel a broad education is something that makes you a more interesting person and pays dividends in other ways than straight salary. Plus, chicks will prefer it if you can find something else to talk about than routers and switches. :P

Good choice of degree. I did History years ago because it was what I wanted to do. Hasn't hurt my IT career at all.

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

I recently quit my job as I wanted to fully concentrate on my CCIE lab preparation, but I used to work for a Cisco partner and deal mainly with trainings and some SMB projects. Now looking for a job in the UK and would prefer to deal with implementation of projects.

What I've found is that huge companies will always want you to have a degree before they hire you for a position so I don't think I'd be able to get a job in such any time soon.

Not in the UK. In the US they are obsessed about degrees. Put yourself forward as a contractor looking to go permanent and get registered with all the right agencies in the UK.