Jahsoul vs CCIE: Official TE Blog

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

Today in the battle of Man vs CatOS, CatOS won. *sigh*

Trying to configure that 2948G-L3 took me out. This is really my first time trying to get indepth with a switch running catos and it showed. lol. I will have to looked up somethings regarding CatOS..

Are you still managing to keep your 20 hours a week studying up? It seems you have this window when you do simple maths at the beginning but its easy it to shrink. I think you reckoned on 25th September you had that kind of time going for you which would be 160 hours at least by now. Whatever the pace just keep going. When are you planning to do the written?

earweed

Keep chugging man!
Good luck to Auburn in the BCS Championship game (If you guys don;t get screwed again). We'll get you guys back next year.

jahsoul

Turgon wrote: »

Are you still managing to keep your 20 hours a week studying up? It seems you have this window when you do simple maths at the beginning but its easy it to shrink. I think you reckoned on 25th September you had that kind of time going for you which would be 160 hours at least by now. Whatever the pace just keep going. When are you planning to do the written?

I was actually thinking about that the other day. At first, I was doing 20 hours a week and I got burned out. I was getting so much info and trying to take all of it in. I had no clue of how to really approached studying for this beast. I actually listen to CBTs that I converted to MP3 about 6 hours out of the day but its crazy because out of those 6 hours, I listen to 2 or 3 at the most. Now, I'm on CCIE Written CCIE and I'm about to start reading the Routing TCP/IP Protocol Vol 1 so the next 2 months will be kind of crazy. Once I get through reading vol 1, I will read the Official Exam Guide, and I may take it after reading that. (or jump into QOS exam guide.)

@earweed
That game was crazy. I'm glad whoever jump kicked Julio Jones in the shin..lol. I'm still boycotting the BCS until a non AQ can make it in..

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

I was actually thinking about that the other day. At first, I was doing 20 hours a week and I got burned out. I was getting so much info and trying to take all of it in. I had no clue of how to really approached studying for this beast. I actually listen to CBTs that I converted to MP3 about 6 hours out of the day but its crazy because out of those 6 hours, I listen to 2 or 3 at the most. Now, I'm on CCIE Written CCIE and I'm about to start reading the Routing TCP/IP Protocol Vol 1 so the next 2 months will be kind of crazy. Once I get through reading vol 1, I will read the Official Exam Guide, and I may take it after reading that. (or jump into QOS exam guide.)

@earweed
That game was crazy. I'm glad whoever jump kicked Julio Jones in the shin..lol. I'm still boycotting the BCS until a non AQ can make it in..

A lot of people pass the CCIE by cramming over long periods, but many more dont. You have to find what will work for you and what is realistic. This is why I recommend people start off light and ramp up once they have got a taste for the stuff and have the bandwidth to put the hours in. Many people burn brightly on the CCIE then fade away, sometimes for good.

For the written I recommend you put Doyle to oneside and just use it as a reference. Concentrate on reading Odom's book first. Do no more than one chapter a day and the end of chapter questions. Then do the final exam that comes with the book. Your looking at 3 months work to study for and clear the written. Read every day.

jahsoul

*update*

Studying has been steady. I really haven't been on here too much but it's been a crazy 2 weeks. I feel comfortable with switching so I'm focusing my studies more on routing now (which has always been my weakness). I'm going to just push through and listen to CBT's at work and go home and read the CCIE study guide with Doyle as a compliment. (thanks for the advice Turgon). The past few day, I have been talking with a recruiter for an ISP for the position of a NOC technician in Anniston with a 57% salary increase, so I'm really contemplating taking this job (because of the experience I will gain and salary) or attempt to get my current employer to match job responsibility and salary. I'm praying about it and I will just see how this goes...

Joey

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

*update*

Studying has been steady. I really haven't been on here too much but it's been a crazy 2 weeks. I feel comfortable with switching so I'm focusing my studies more on routing now (which has always been my weakness). I'm going to just push through and listen to CBT's at work and go home and read the CCIE study guide with Doyle as a compliment. (thanks for the advice Turgon). The past few day, I have been talking with a recruiter for an ISP for the position of a NOC technician in Anniston with a 57% salary increase, so I'm really contemplating taking this job (because of the experience I will gain and salary) or attempt to get my current employer to match job responsibility and salary. I'm praying about it and I will just see how this goes...

Joey

Good luck with the job, I think it will help you. Meanwhile, read Odom everyday and start hammering the Odom and Boson tests daily. Even 15 minutes a day on that stuff will help you make better sense of it all.

You're facing a career upgrade which will absorb your time, attention, and energy if you get the job. I know something about this as I went through three job changes the last two years with different companies, 1 x mobile network, 1 x CRM, 1 X SP. Bedding into such roles well takes 100% effort on real work. Outside of work you need to refuel and stay connected to family. Not much slack for studies there. Just keep at it patiently and on a daily basis. If you are still blogging in one years time you have a shot.

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

*update*

Studying has been steady. I really haven't been on here too much but it's been a crazy 2 weeks. I feel comfortable with switching so I'm focusing my studies more on routing now (which has always been my weakness). I'm going to just push through and listen to CBT's at work and go home and read the CCIE study guide with Doyle as a compliment. (thanks for the advice Turgon). The past few day, I have been talking with a recruiter for an ISP for the position of a NOC technician in Anniston with a 57% salary increase, so I'm really contemplating taking this job (because of the experience I will gain and salary) or attempt to get my current employer to match job responsibility and salary. I'm praying about it and I will just see how this goes...

Joey

How are your studies going?

jahsoul

Man, I swear, Turgon always hit up the thread right before I post..lol

Studying has been going good. Mixing routing and QoS studies now.

Sadly, when I get called with an offer for the job I spoke about, it will get turned down. It's just too much I have going on in my current location that I just can't ignore. I got my son into an awesome school and I just didn't have that gut feeling regarding moving to Anniston. It would have been an awesome experience but I had to look at more than myself in this situation. If only we had NOCs in Montgomery (that I knew about).

Another thing has also come up. I spoke with my VP of Operations and he told me that he is willing to pay for a professional cert and he will give me my own county to work in and a pay raise. I'm faced with a dilemma..

1. I need a raise but I do not want my own county. I will go from doing desktop support work with some networking to desktop support work with some network, server, and system admin work. It's cool to learn all of that but I don't want to be a jack of all trades and master of none especially when it's way more stuff that comes with it. I came into IT to be a network guy and I don't plan on compromising. I want to get into a position where I don't get pulled to install smart boards for 16hrs a day or just do manual installation of switches without configuring anything. I understand dues and I'm willing to pay them but dang, some things are not linked with what I want to do. I will never put up a smart board again if I leave..lol. ijs

2. This will really take me off track with my current studies. Not really off track (the only professional cert that I'm interested in currently is the CCIP and every book I had listed for my current studies are great foundations for the CCIP) but scheduling.

3. I want to take him up on his offer to pay for it but again, I do not want a county. I got to reiterate it. lol

I will continue to pray about this situation but I'm not going to slack in my studies. Lost too much already..lol

kryptos80

jahsoul wrote: »

Man, I swear, Turgon always hit up the thread right before I post..lol

Studying has been going good. Mixing routing and QoS studies now.

Sadly, when I get called with an offer for the job I spoke about, it will get turned down. It's just too much I have going on in my current location that I just can't ignore. I got my son into an awesome school and I just didn't have that gut feeling regarding moving to Anniston. It would have been an awesome experience but I had to look at more than myself in this situation. If only we had NOCs in Montgomery (that I knew about).

Another thing has also come up. I spoke with my VP of Operations and he told me that he is willing to pay for a professional cert and he will give me my own county to work in and a pay raise. I'm faced with a dilemma..

1. I need a raise but I do not want my own county. I will go from doing desktop support work with some networking to desktop support work with some network, server, and system admin work. It's cool to learn all of that but I don't want to be a jack of all trades and master of none especially when it's way more stuff that comes with it. I came into IT to be a network guy and I don't plan on compromising. I want to get into a position where I don't get pulled to install smart boards for 16hrs a day or just do manual installation of switches without configuring anything. I understand dues and I'm willing to pay them but dang, some things are not linked with what I want to do. I will never put up a smart board again if I leave..lol. ijs

2. This will really take me off track with my current studies. Not really off track (the only professional cert that I'm interested in currently is the CCIP and every book I had listed for my current studies are great foundations for the CCIP) but scheduling.

3. I want to take him up on his offer to pay for it but again, I do not want a county. I got to reiterate it. lol

I will continue to pray about this situation but I'm not going to slack in my studies. Lost too much already..lol

Hey, just reading through your thread here. Very good stuff. I've been on the fence on whether or not to go for CCIE yet or not, but you've given a good argument to go for it.

I think with your situation, you gotta 1.) do whats best for your family then 2.) job satisfaction. Unfortunately, thats what comes with family and responsibility, at least, thats what I found.

Good luck to you man. Keep learning.

chmorin

jahsoul wrote: »

If only we had NOCs in Montgomery (that I knew about).

Montgomery... where? What state? If I can ask.

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

Man, I swear, Turgon always hit up the thread right before I post..lol

Studying has been going good. Mixing routing and QoS studies now.

Sadly, when I get called with an offer for the job I spoke about, it will get turned down. It's just too much I have going on in my current location that I just can't ignore. I got my son into an awesome school and I just didn't have that gut feeling regarding moving to Anniston. It would have been an awesome experience but I had to look at more than myself in this situation. If only we had NOCs in Montgomery (that I knew about).

Another thing has also come up. I spoke with my VP of Operations and he told me that he is willing to pay for a professional cert and he will give me my own county to work in and a pay raise. I'm faced with a dilemma..

1. I need a raise but I do not want my own county. I will go from doing desktop support work with some networking to desktop support work with some network, server, and system admin work. It's cool to learn all of that but I don't want to be a jack of all trades and master of none especially when it's way more stuff that comes with it. I came into IT to be a network guy and I don't plan on compromising. I want to get into a position where I don't get pulled to install smart boards for 16hrs a day or just do manual installation of switches without configuring anything. I understand dues and I'm willing to pay them but dang, some things are not linked with what I want to do. I will never put up a smart board again if I leave..lol. ijs

2. This will really take me off track with my current studies. Not really off track (the only professional cert that I'm interested in currently is the CCIP and every book I had listed for my current studies are great foundations for the CCIP) but scheduling.

3. I want to take him up on his offer to pay for it but again, I do not want a county. I got to reiterate it. lol

I will continue to pray about this situation but I'm not going to slack in my studies. Lost too much already..lol

Always do what is best for you and your family man. Only advice I can give you there. The rest takes care of itself!

jahsoul

chmorin wrote: »

Montgomery... where? What state? If I can ask.

Alabama...

jahsoul

After talking with my wife last night, I am going to keep with my CCIE studies. I'm enjoying my slow and steady pace. I felt like I would rush myself to go through the CCIP. The proposal was more of a distraction than inspiration. I slacked off on studying and just didn't feel like doing much of anything. Now, I am more focused and more determined. I'm still trying to find the best practice of studying that works for me and trying to figure how to get my hand on more expert level technology outside of a lab environment.

Im all in now.

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

After talking with my wife last night, I am going to keep with my CCIE studies. I'm enjoying my slow and steady pace. I felt like I would rush myself to go through the CCIP. The proposal was more of a distraction than inspiration. I slacked off on studying and just didn't feel like doing much of anything. Now, I am more focused and more determined. I'm still trying to find the best practice of studying that works for me and trying to figure how to get my hand on more expert level technology outside of a lab environment.

Im all in now.

Good man. Find your own pace. You wont be hammering it out inside a year because I just dont think you have that kind of daily study time. The expert level technology experience is a double edged sword, I have that everyday and I can tell you it leaves little or no time or energy for studies as you are fully engaged at work. But it's good to have some context for what you are learning when you do have the time to study.

jahsoul

@Turgon

But what you are getting now is more valuable than the cert that we are going for (IMO) but I guess that is because this is what I really want to do and having a title of Network Technician is nothing if mostly all I do is set up printers and plug up monitors because the principle don't feel like it.

As far as studying, I am approaching it more realistically. I'm going to dedicate 2.5 hours a day to book studying and notes and lab hard over the weekend (4 hrs Sat and 4hrs Sun). I think this will be better than trying to go 4 hrs a day. More time all around for God, family, and whatever else comes up.

Won't knock it out in a year??? We will see about that..lol. j/k. I'm probably going to milk that 18 months for the lab after the written unless I just get super confident.

vinbuck

I hope you took time out of your CCIE studies to watch Auburn win the National Championship I went to Auburn from '96 to '99....War Eagle!!! It was about time...sorry to interrupt the CCIE study thread :P

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

@Turgon

But what you are getting now is more valuable than the cert that we are going for (IMO) but I guess that is because this is what I really want to do and having a title of Network Technician is nothing if mostly all I do is set up printers and plug up monitors because the principle don't feel like it.

As far as studying, I am approaching it more realistically. I'm going to dedicate 2.5 hours a day to book studying and notes and lab hard over the weekend (4 hrs Sat and 4hrs Sun). I think this will be better than trying to go 4 hrs a day. More time all around for God, family, and whatever else comes up.

Won't knock it out in a year??? We will see about that..lol. j/k. I'm probably going to milk that 18 months for the lab after the written unless I just get super confident.

Im in a strong position because I have been doing CCIE level work fulltime for a few years now, so if I can find the time to finish the thing it validates my experience and gilt edges my resume. One could call it a nice to have. But the position you are in is not uncommon, and the CCIE could give you a leg up to get nearer to kind of work you want to do. It can be done in 1 year but these are usually people with a lot of daily bandwidth to study. My advice is to fit it into your day and not the other way around so you dont fall off on the important business of making a living and keeping folks happy on the homefront. Problems there can creep up on you and will only make your studies harder. In anycase being short of experience there really is no value in cramming something as intense as this. When you do make the grade and start to engage with more experienced professionals in the field all you have going for you is how well you understood things and how you developed during the CCIE journey. You have no context at work for your studies so its important to give yourself every benefit of the learning experience. This requires time. People dont like to hear that so they cram, and drop out.

jahsoul

Turgon wrote: »

People dont like to hear that so they cram, and drop out.

This is one of the best things that I've heard regarding this. I'm seeing more and more that this is a thing of patience. Once I feel like I'm ready to take the written, I will do that but just looking at the labs I have in front of me, I plan on taking the full 18 months. I have a few books and white papers for cross referencing while I read the exam guide. Yesterday, I also got a call from a well known government contractor regarding work as a Jr. Network Engineer for work on base down here. Just going to see how that goes... *shrugs*

jahsoul

MississippiGuardsman wrote: »

I hope you took time out of your CCIE studies to watch Auburn win the National Championship I went to Auburn from '96 to '99....War Eagle!!! It was about time...sorry to interrupt the CCIE study thread :P

WDE!!!

I did look at the game even though I loathe the BCS. To be honest, I'm kind of conflicted about this win. Me being a life long Auburn fan, I know that we had a waaaaay better team in 2004 and I still feel a little bitter about that. And if Cam gets our crystal paperweight taken away, I'm going to GA and kick some butt!!! lol

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

This is one of the best things that I've heard regarding this. I'm seeing more and more that this is a thing of patience. Once I feel like I'm ready to take the written, I will do that but just looking at the labs I have in front of me, I plan on taking the full 18 months. I have a few books and white papers for cross referencing while I read the exam guide. Yesterday, I also got a call from a well known government contractor regarding work as a Jr. Network Engineer for work on base down here. Just going to see how that goes... *shrugs*

It could take several years. It really depends on your priorities and where your time is needed. If you are successful in this line of work you often find you need to fully engage with it, so a lot of professionals finish the thing over a number of years. Others study like hell for a couple of months locking themselves away from family (baby just one more time), then they take the lab and fail, feel deflated and exhausted, get back into work for 6 months, then convince their wives again (baby just one more time), cram like hell, take the lab and fail. Then eventually they give up because if you keep missing the lab it becomes an in joke at work that sooner or later an executive may not find so amusing. Add to which, wives have been known to pack their bags and walk out the door.

jahsoul

Turgon wrote: »

Add to which, wives have been known to pack their bags and walk out the door.

That's kind of depressing. lol.

The government contractor called me today and everything is sounding good right now. Not trying to count my chickens before they hatch, though.

I'm about to get into the books now and what I've done is just printed out the blue prints and once I feel like I've mastered it, mark it off. Right now, every is slow and stead. I will try to get in an hour before church tonight.

About to start reading about SPAN and RSPAN.

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

That's kind of depressing. lol.

The government contractor called me today and everything is sounding good right now. Not trying to count my chickens before they hatch, though.

I'm about to get into the books now and what I've done is just printed out the blue prints and once I feel like I've mastered it, mark it off. Right now, every is slow and stead. I will try to get in an hour before church tonight.

About to start reading about SPAN and RSPAN.

That's fine but dont let a month elapse before you read about SPAN and RSPAN again.

jahsoul

Today, brushed up on routing fundamentals. It's truly amazing the things that you really forget when you don't use them. I work on mainly layer 2 issues so routing is truly my weakness but I have about 3 different references that I'm using together so I feel really good about this.

Also, while reading through the QoS Exam Guide, I began to have a growing interest in IP telephony. It's pretty cool and I would like to work with it one day. I'm debating sneaking the CVOICE book into my studies and working on that before 2/28...lol.

jahsoul

*small update* lol

Well, Friday was kind of strange. I made it through the phone screen and I was sent the application and additional paperwork. 15 to 30 minutes after I sent the email, I got a call asking for an interview later in the day. I went and I think it went smoothly. The only thing technical that we talked about was what I do at my current job. I left feeling pretty good about the experience. I am just waiting to see where to go from here.

I have decided to take a little detour in my CCIE studies next month and focus on CVOICE. I've taken a real interest in IP telephony and I want to attempt this exam before it expires so I will be going back and forth between this forum and the CCNA Voice/CCVP forum.. After CVOICE, I will go back to reading the exam guide. This is really slow motion but satisfying. lol

jahsoul

I think I will end up being a voice guy....lol. I can't explain it but when you see a technology that just pulls you in, you know it's for you. I'm still going to attempt the CCIE but I also want to focus on Voice afterward.

I should be hearing something this week regarding the job that I've talked about the last few post. It would be an awesome opportunity and just a great title to have; Junior Network Engineer. It just sounds awesome..lol

chmorin

jahsoul wrote: »

I think I will end up being a voice guy....lol. I can't explain it but when you see a technology that just pulls you in, you know it's for you.

Yes- Come to the dark side!

jahsoul

chmorin wrote: »

Yes- Come to the dark side!

The force is pulling me...lol. I read through half of Chapter 1 of the CVOICE exam guide (before the kids started wanting attention..lol) and I think this will be the road that I take. I'm just trying to pace myself. I have a month to finish CVOICE. I will try to read CVOICE and flip through CIPT1 but I don't know what would be the real point of that considering all of the new stuff coming out. Decisions, decisions...

Turgon

jahsoul wrote: »

The force is pulling me...lol. I read through half of Chapter 1 of the CVOICE exam guide (before the kids started wanting attention..lol) and I think this will be the road that I take. I'm just trying to pace myself. I have a month to finish CVOICE. I will try to read CVOICE and flip through CIPT1 but I don't know what would be the real point of that considering all of the new stuff coming out. Decisions, decisions...

Chase two rabbits simultaneously you dont catch any. Decide if you will do CCIE R&S or CCVP and then just do it.

jahsoul

Started my new job today as a Jr. Network Engineer and I think that this is what I was looking for as far as a position. I handle everything on the LAN and it's awesome. I was going to dive into voice but for the first time, I can say that the job requires me to focus my studies on other things. I will focus more on the routing, switching, and design aspect so I can contribute more to the shop.(it is only me and the Sr. Engineer doing everything on the network admin side and I split time with the wiring/infrastructure engineer). I will get a lab environment on my desk (Dynamips on my work laptop with a 3560 breakout switch and 4 3560s. ). I'm going to soak in as much as I can. I have finally found the job to give me the experience I was looking for.

gorebrush

Excellent news - good to see that people do get the opportunities they are looking for!

Good luck with the new job, and the CCVP/CCNP Voice/whatever Cisco are calling everything these days