Rick Mur - 21 Year Old Double CCIE

RickMur.com

Couldn't find any threads about this. Reading about this guy has left me feeling like such a slow learner.

He's 22 now but had 2 MCSA's, MCSE, JNCIA-ER, CCNA, CCNP, CCIP, CCIE R&S, CCIE SP at the age of 21, and several years experience by the sounds of it. That's just madness.

He was straight into work from high school and knew certs and experience were the way to go. I wish I had that awareness when I was younger, I had no idea about Cisco, certs or anything really and that's why I went to uni.

I started CCNA over 7 months ago and still haven't finished it. Working and studying is hard, I have stopped and started so much.

I can't imagine this guy does much other than work and study, there just isn't enough hours in the day

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Comments

aordal

Pretty impressive. It takes a lot of dedication and unfailing motivation to keep on task like that. Personally I like to take advantage of what life has to offer and study when it's not offering me anything fun! =d

dynamik

I wish I had done a lot of this sooner as well, but taking things that far does cause you to miss out on a lot of other things. Regardless, it's an impressive accomplishment. If that's his thing, good for him.

networker050184

I agree with others, it would have been nice to have two CCIE's by the time I was 21, but all the partying and chasing girls I did when I was younger was much more fun than studying for Cisco exams! To be honest I wouldn't trade those days for three CCIE's.

Neeko

You must literally love networking like a hobby to be so dedicated. I find it interesting but I've never been very geeky so hard to compare myself really, if I spent as much time studying as I have getting wasted etc I'd probably have every CCIE there is

billscott92787

That is definitely impressive. I have a friend that is 21 that is a CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE in R&S. I am 21 just getting started toward my CCNA. I had the chance to take the courses in high school and instead took Oracle. I regret the choice.

JockVSJock

Very impressive. He was in the right place at the right time...His father ran a business, so he got the right exposure instead of stumbling around in the school of hard knocks...

Wonder what his soft skills are like? Alot of the guys I've worked with that are under 25 yrs old are super-cocky and know everything...

rsutton

JockVSJock wrote: »

Alot of the guys I've worked with that are under 25 yrs old are super-cocky and know everything...

I've worked with my share of uber cocks, some even in their mid 30's. The rest of us never could take them seriously. The funny thing is that the guys who get the most respect are the ones who are the least arrogant. I'm glad I've worked with them however, it makes it easier for me not to talk to down to people, not that that is my style anyways.

Satcom

i hate this guy

djhss68

Satcom wrote: »

i hate this guy

LMAO. Yeah me too. It's purely out of envy.

sagewalkinthere

Wow... that's awesome. Very inspiring, now I have some catching up to do...

Forsaken_GA

rsutton wrote: »

I've worked with my share of uber cocks, some even in their mid 30's. The rest of us never could take them seriously. The funny thing is that the guys who get the most respect are the ones who are the least arrogant. I'm glad I've worked with them however, it makes it easier for me not to talk to down to people, not that that is my style anyways.

There's a very good chapter in Network Warrior by Gary Donahue that should be required reading for any alpha geeks

PC509

Wow. Within ONE year, he earned the CCNA - CCIE. His blog reads like a combo "Cupid.com" and tech blog site.

Talk about cramming for the big one. This guy sounds like one of the arrogant ones that are out there. Congrats on the CCIE, but damn. 21 with that many certs just doesn't look good. Seems like he's collecting them and Daddy helped inflate his resume a bit...

rakem

I bet he has never had s3x.

thenjduke

I am glad I expierenced other things when I was 21. I was in the Army National Guard and I was expierencing college, girls, fraternity, and life in general. High school was all about parties and playing football, hockey, and hanging with friends. Let me tell you I rather expierence life because all his certs can not compare with the things I seen people go through. I am 36 and he is 21. When he reaches my age and tell me that he has been through 2 kids and a wife and several woman and many friends and expierence in the field for 15 years then I will be happy

He has done impressive job though but I think studing for certs is easy. Life is hard and you have no manual except what parents taught you and trust me many parents suck at that. I know I had it hard growing up.

tiersten

Not sure why people are bashing this guy. Achieving two CCIEs even at 30+ is a considerable feat. He is young and quite a few places would be wary about hiring somebody with that many certificates but not many real years of experience however but obviously somewhere did because he lists a job on his site. At the end of the day, if he's missed out of the last few teenage years then it is his own choice.

Neeko

tiersten wrote: »

Not sure why people are bashing this guy. Achieving two CCIEs even at 30+ is a considerable feat. He is young and quite a few places would be wary about hiring somebody with that many certificates but not many real years of experience however but obviously somewhere did because he lists a job on his site. At the end of the day, if he's missed out of the last few teenage years then it is his own choice.

I agree, while a few of us have said it would take endless hours of study and leave barely any social time we haven't judged him for it. Obviously it is where he gets his fix and that just means his career will excell more than everyone else which is ideal for him.

This type of post is uncalled for:

PC509 wrote: »

This guy sounds like one of the arrogant ones that are out there. Congrats on the CCIE, but damn. 21 with that many certs just doesn't look good. Seems like he's collecting them and Daddy helped inflate his resume a bit...

You're just generalising, you have no idea what he is like as a person.

rakem wrote: »

I bet he has never had s3x.

PC509

Neeko wrote: »

You're just generalising, you have no idea what he is like as a person.

Just by visiting his site, and yes I was generalizing. That's why I put "It sounds like...". That usually means a generalization...

I think it's great he earned the CCIE (2) at 21. But, judging from his site, he did get a job with family and is the type of person that is "look at me! look at me!". Sure, I'm all for the congrats look what I did. But, there are just some people out there (Paris Hilton, for one) that have a big sign that says "Attention Whore".

Nothing against the guy, he is probably an awesome guy with little friends (who has the time at that age, getting 2 CCIE's and everything else within one year), he has to reach out to the internet crowd for the pat on the back...

Yes, just generalizing. Just as I do with Paris Hilton......

/usr

I'd rather be drinking beer.

thenjduke

This I agree with. Drink beer it takes more effort.

aragoen_celtdra

PC509 wrote: »

Just by visiting his site, and yes I was generalizing. That's why I put "It sounds like...". That usually means a generalization...

I think it's great he earned the CCIE (2) at 21. But, judging from his site, he did get a job with family and is the type of person that is "look at me! look at me!". Sure, I'm all for the congrats look what I did. But, there are just some people out there (Paris Hilton, for one) that have a big sign that says "Attention Whore".

Nothing against the guy, he is probably an awesome guy with little friends (who has the time at that age, getting 2 CCIE's and everything else within one year), he has to reach out to the internet crowd for the pat on the back...

Yes, just generalizing. Just as I do with Paris Hilton......

C'mon guys, Rick is a good guy. Let's give credit where credit is due. This guy has worked his butt off to get where he is. At such a young age he knew what and where he wanted to be and went for it. Sure he had a little leg up by working for his father. But he still had to learn everything he knows and went through all the preparation and hard-work to perfect his craft.

By the way, he does work for a very reputable tech service firm in the Netherlands and is technical lead for his team. So if his real world experience is in question, he definitely knows his stuff.

Instead speculating about his social life or how many friends he has (he does have them), it's probably better that we continue the discussion towards the positive. After all we are talking about a real person here not just an unknown number. Congratulate him for his accomplishment; use him for inspiration if you will. But lets keep the negative stuff to ourselves. Rick can definitely appreciate that.

Turgon

I don't know Rick but he's a helpful guy on groupstudy and obviously very capable. He's an intelligent young man who has worked very hard for his CCIE's in a relatively short period of time. He put the hours in. You know whatever breaks you have in life you still have to take them. One guy I heard of was off work on fullpay with rackhire, training materials and courses all paid by the employer to prepare for the lab. Took him 4 attempts 16 months down the line. And he was experienced so go figure. Rick has achieved a lot and is knuckling down getting a lot of valuable experience. Getting the CCIE means many things to many different people, but it always equates to lots of determination. Companies love to hire such people.

cerberos

Who is jealous with him, let him dare to do the same... We judged the guy too much and blamed him on wat? On his success? I can't really believe my eyes, from wat time dirtyness and s%x count towards someone's talents or skills? Dogs and bulls make it and without opening a book... This is a downgrade and a shame!... About friends, I personally regret the years I have spent in bullsh%t, however I'm not against friendship... In the same time friendship doesn't mean to waist valuable time and efforts in bullsh%t and nonsense... Biting on the nails to get those chances and times won't get them back!... I applaud for this guy, Horaayyy

tigerplug

To say the least... I'm suprised with the tone of some comments regarding his achievements. Its pretty disappointing. I don't use this forum so much but I always thought of it as a place where people get help with certification, discuss ceritification and receive PRAISE after putting in HARD WORK and EFFORT.

The CCIE certification is there for anyone who wishes to take it. If you wish to take become a CCIE there is only one thing you have to do - work hard towards it.

Some people learn faster than others, some people have difficulty picking things up and then there are some people who just have a natural flare for it and are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to grab a break. This is what Rick has done.

I don't know the guy personally but I have approached him with simple questions while reading Cisco Press books etc.. and he has been very helpfull. He's a pretty straight forward guy, theres no b*sh!t with him and he is clearly commited to helping people where/when he can.

Turgon

tigerplug wrote: »

To say the least... I'm suprised with the tone of some comments regarding his achievements. Its pretty disappointing. I don't use this forum so much but I always thought of it as a place where people get help with certification, discuss ceritification and receive PRAISE after putting in HARD WORK and EFFORT.

The CCIE certification is there for anyone who wishes to take it. If you wish to take become a CCIE there is only one thing you have to do - work hard towards it.

Some people learn faster than others, some people have difficulty picking things up and then there are some people who just have a natural flare for it and are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to grab a break. This is what Rick has done.

I don't know the guy personally but I have approached him with simple questions while reading Cisco Press books etc.. and he has been very helpfull. He's a pretty straight forward guy, theres no b*sh!t with him and he is clearly commited to helping people where/when he can.

All valid points but don't forget time. There's also the question of time. Time to study during the best hours of the day when the mind and body is refreshed. As opposed to studying difficult things when the carcuss is already worn out, late evenings and weekends. But make no mistake, even though just one hour a day nine to five to study adds up, you still need to put those long hours in evenings and weekends to make CCIE.

jonny72

I find it interesting he says he went down the certification route rather than college as he thought it was a better choice for a career in IT. Pretty good choice I reckon and its a pity this sort of option isn't more readily available for school leavers - at least it isn't where I live (in the UK).

I reckon an 18 year old with a CCNA and a couple of other entry level IT certifications would be the kind of person companies are looking for to fill trainee positions.

itdaddy

amazing but he sure knows what he is shooting. I think anyone of us could do that if we didnt have kids, to pay bills, and wifes? I mean when I was 18 to 21 I had tons of free time but I obviously he put his time in cause he knows what he wants...what a great benchmark for all of us..
it is hammer time huh!
freaking awesome!

Kaminsky

JockVSJock wrote: »

Very impressive. He was in the right place at the right time...His father ran a business, so he got the right exposure instead of stumbling around in the school of hard knocks...

Wonder what his soft skills are like? Alot of the guys I've worked with that are under 25 yrs old are super-cocky and know everything...

Not directed at you JockVSJock but just a response to the negative turn this thread seems to have taken. So don’t take “you” to mean you personally.

We are not all made equal and we each have to do what we can with the opportunities and abilities we have at the time. It’s natural to read about successes like this and compare them to your own success and then, if you find yourself falling short of someone else's mark, feel disappointed at yourself like you should have done a lot better. You could just as easily beat yourself up about not being a shuttle pilot, a brain surgeon, a political leader, being born into a wealthy family, being a sports superstar or being studious and diligent long term to have racks and racks of certs very early on in life in this guys case.

These are all negative feelings and become just extra pressure you are putting on yourself that actually slow you down unnecessarily. There are plenty of others in life that will criticise you without you yourself becoming one of them. What chance would you have if you do that. Much easier to avoid the self negativity, say well done at someone else’s success and carry on focussing on what you are doing well with the opportunities and abilities you have. Maybe take a little inspiration from it. You’ll have a much happier life for it.

I’ve read a bit of this guy’s blog and he didn’t come across to me as cocky or know it all. He has just started his life by hitting the ground running whereas the vast majority of school leavers just wander around at the start wondering what the hell to do next. I imagine that a great deal of this guys initial success is down to his parents support and pointing him in the right direction for his interests. I hope to be there to encourage my kids when they reach that age… if they don’t think they know better and still want my help when the time comes and are willing to take advice. I know I certainly wasn’t one of those unfortunately but we all make our own choices.

Forsaken_GA

Human nature tends towards jealousness and resentment. I've always found this place to be sort of a neutral ground when it comes to all of that, so I'd hope folks would think twice before posting something blatantly negative. If your mom didn't teach you to shush up if you can't say something nice, you've got some remedial learning to do.

I think it'd be nice if folks here would hold themselves to a higher standard. There's always slashdot for the lowest common denominator

cerberos

It was really pretty amazing his decision about leaving School and College and just concentrate about earning Major Certification in this early age... I presonally thought of this when I reached 28 and found out that School and College wasn't more than a place to meet my friends, Club maybe!... No focusing, nobody look after u to realize ur talents and skills and where is ur right place, the whole goal is to succeede...

Starting 4 years old, I was in a French School, studying French Grammare, language, geography and Math, and many all in French. Got to College, and resumed my education in French still but in broader, Literature, grammare, Culuture, most of the Centuries, Louis 13, 14 and watever HELL! Moliere, Boileau, Montesqieu... You'll be amazed that I should be graduated as a teacher even! But hang a minute, we were taught things that will never be applied in the real field! How to develope the kid talents and increase it and push him in the right direction, all those things are fakes, and nobody do that... Most of the times we as teachers think about money and nothing else, if there are some objectives we teach it, or force it on the child and nothing else! Simply, I regret almost 25 years in studying nonesense, and things was not meant to be for me.... Despite that all teachers knew that I was on the science part when I was a kid, nobody interfered with my parents and advised them.... I remember when I shared my toughts with my teachers, I had 10 years old this time, about a probleme in Quantum Mechanics, I wasn't even knowing what Quantum Mechanics means, and many things like that and they weren't interested and found it boring! As a teacher now, I knew what kind of crime they made... But who cares?

I get back with my memory a little, and remember the song of Pink Floyd < Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 >, It explains everything, and U should be amazed more when u know that education at School is nothing more than bringing up a good Citizen who will follow rules and not to commit crimes, simply erasing and killing barbarian acts from u and me as humans, civilisations?!?!?! But not to give u knowledge u really seek!

A Shuttle Pilot is not studying something complex more than u, just think about the IP Routing Process when ur eyes got crossed first time u tried to study it or subnetting and many more... I can tell u that IT, depends on ur degree and the point u stoped at, is from the most complex fields u can choose... The Ground Controler Station, or the Pilot Cabin controler Station is not more complex, if not less, than 100 Routers, wired and wireless, Routing, IPS IDS, NAC, Switches, 500 Workstation and their Security... I didn't even mention an Enterprise, we are in the Information Age, not the Space Age as u might guess... You are studying what all Science reached and co-operated to make, which is IT. Enough that if u studied ur whole age in IT you can never finish it or say I got all the certifications there or Objectives, so how about experience?

Simply, and finally again, I applaude the guy dary step in neglecting School or College and start focusing in this young age on something to make he say I'm an Expert in this at 21, and I neglected the bullsh%t and nonesense of School and College! No thoughts control or decesion blocking I found when I study alone at least! At least I study what I want!

cleanwithit

Man, I just turned 21, and just now getting my MCSA; I take my 291 in a couple of weeks. I feel like a slacker, lol. Hopefully, I will have my CCNA by the end of the year.

This def. is inspiring, and motivating.