Am I crazy or what?

LAN_Guru

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

He does seem to be taking my criticism in stride, and I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong.

And I would like nothing more than to prove you wrong. I would say let the games begin, but this is no game. This is not going to be a stroll in the park. It is going to be 6 months of hell. It will be by far the hardest thing I have ever done but by far one of the most rewarding. I am up for the challenge.

Guys, I just want to learn what I can, help who I can, and share what I can to the best of my God-given ability... and finish well. That's all that matters.

Sorry if I came across as an arrogant prick.

higherho

with 17 years technical experience and the ability to learn fast and retain it is amazing. Congrats on your achievements. You truly are a professional.

I always wanted to see a version of Dr Sheldon Cooper (big bang theory) in the IT field. I

instant000

Can I come work for you, where I can work half the year, and then take half the year off? ... that was the one thing you said that stuck out to me the most ... the fact that you can take off half the year ... surprised no one else latched onto that one.

I need a sabbatical

Forsaken_GA

instant000 wrote: »

Can I come work for you, where I can work half the year, and then take half the year off? ... that was the one thing you said that stuck out to me the most ... the fact that you can take off half the year ... surprised no one else latched onto that one.

I need a sabbatical

No, he said he's a consultant, so that's not terribly surprising. I know a DBA that works 4 months out of the year and takes the rest of it off, pulls down six figures. He's a damn good Oracle DBA, so he can get work whenever he wants it, but he likes his free time.

Excellent1

Most of the others here have spoken to the challenges you'll face in obtaining, processing, and retaining the knowledge from the schedule you've set for yourself.

What I would say is that you sound very driven. While this quality is commendable in moderation, it can ruin your life if not tempered with realistic goals and respect for the fact that as humans we are not meant to be machines that are laser focused to the point of obsession. Don't sacrifice your life on the altar of work, ambition, or knowledge. I believe in balance in all things: physically, mentally, spiritually.

Also keep in mind that none of us are promised tomorrow. No, we can't live every day like it's our last, but we can remember it's the relationships we have and the impact we have on the lives around us that really matter. No one is going to remember what your CCIE number was or what IT exams you passed. They're going to remember you based on the relationship that they had with you.

Again, there is nothing wrong with setting high goals and working hard to reach the top, just moderate that with life outside of those things.

I recently bought a violin. Why? Well, in the midst of working excessive hours, working hard to complete my degree, balance family life, etc, I realized that I had stopped taking any free time for myself to simply do something that I never have before. Based upon my initial forays into rosin and peg dope, I can say with moderate certainty that I will never be invited to play with a professional orchestra. That said, however, I can and will enjoy my ability to strike fear into the heart of small woodland creatures and passersby within earshot of my playing.

Take time to live a little, that's all. Good luck with your studies.

LAN_Guru

Excellent1 wrote: »

Most of the others here have spoken to the challenges you'll face in obtaining, processing, and retaining the knowledge from the schedule you've set for yourself.

What I would say is that you sound very driven. While this quality is commendable in moderation, it can ruin your life if not tempered with realistic goals and respect for the fact that as humans we are not meant to be machines that are laser focused to the point of obsession. Don't sacrifice your life on the altar of work, ambition, or knowledge. I believe in balance in all things: physically, mentally, spiritually.

Also keep in mind that none of us are promised tomorrow. No, we can't live every day like it's our last, but we can remember it's the relationships we have and the impact we have on the lives around us that really matter. No one is going to remember what your CCIE number was or what IT exams you passed. They're going to remember you based on the relationship that they had with you.

Again, there is nothing wrong with setting high goals and working hard to reach the top, just moderate that with life outside of those things.

I recently bought a violin. Why? Well, in the midst of working excessive hours, working hard to complete my degree, balance family life, etc, I realized that I had stopped taking any free time for myself to simply do something that I never have before. Based upon my initial forays into rosin and peg dope, I can say with moderate certainty that I will never be invited to play with a professional orchestra. That said, however, I can and will enjoy my ability to strike fear into the heart of small woodland creatures and passersby within earshot of my playing.

Take time to live a little, that's all. Good luck with your studies.

Well said and thanks for the encouragement. In my incredibly busy 6-month schedule, I have scheduled in a 3-day weekend every other week to go visit my fiance 200 miles away in L.A. (Lower Aladamnbama), a 10 day hiatus in mid-Sept (between 70-643 and 70-647) to celebrate my fiance and my birthdays and what I'm sure will be a much needed vacation, 4-days off between CCNA and CCNP-Switch, 5-days off for Thanksgiving between CCNP-Switch and CCNP-Route, and 3-Days off between CCNP-Route and CCNP-TSHOOT.. All those are total off-days...no studying. So I will basically be 11 days on, 3 days off for the most part plus two 4-day weekends, one 5-day holiday, and one 10-day holiday/vacation thrown in the mix. When I scheduled it all in an Excel calendar template and color-coded everything in blocks, it doesn't look nearly as brutal as it appears here in text .

And I am sure I will slip a day or two of Habitat volunteering in there and continue doing my volunteering at church. And probably a day/night or two in the woods...Appalachian Trail, Sarah's Creek, Jack's River Falls.....somewhere. My backpack and gear is calling my name as we speak... All that stuff is relaxing to me.

Funny you mentioned a violin. I went and bought myself an electric guitar a couple of months ago. I haven't owned an electric in 20ish years. I always wanted a Fender Strat but never owned one. I do now. An American one at that. And I bought an amazing Egnater Rebel 30 30-watt 1x12" combo tube amp. Incredible tone. I was in the audio and pro-sound business from 1980 to 1994 when I did a career change to IT and never looked back. You couldn't pay me enough money to go back into the audio business but I love music, it is my therapy. It was pretty cool to hang out with Ted Nugent, Derek St Holmes, Kansas, etc. in the day though...Teddy's a cool cat.

LAN_Guru

Excellent1 wrote: »

Most of the others here have spoken to the challenges you'll face in obtaining, processing, and retaining the knowledge from the schedule you've set for yourself.

What I would say is that you sound very driven. While this quality is commendable in moderation, it can ruin your life if not tempered with realistic goals and respect for the fact that as humans we are not meant to be machines that are laser focused to the point of obsession. Don't sacrifice your life on the altar of work, ambition, or knowledge. I believe in balance in all things: physically, mentally, spiritually.

Also keep in mind that none of us are promised tomorrow. No, we can't live every day like it's our last, but we can remember it's the relationships we have and the impact we have on the lives around us that really matter. No one is going to remember what your CCIE number was or what IT exams you passed. They're going to remember you based on the relationship that they had with you.

Again, there is nothing wrong with setting high goals and working hard to reach the top, just moderate that with life outside of those things.

I recently bought a violin. Why? Well, in the midst of working excessive hours, working hard to complete my degree, balance family life, etc, I realized that I had stopped taking any free time for myself to simply do something that I never have before. Based upon my initial forays into rosin and peg dope, I can say with moderate certainty that I will never be invited to play with a professional orchestra. That said, however, I can and will enjoy my ability to strike fear into the heart of small woodland creatures and passersby within earshot of my playing.

Take time to live a little, that's all. Good luck with your studies.

Oh wow, just noticed your avatar and Molon Labe. Another one of my hobbies I sure love my 1911's and black rifles oh, and my TacOps massaged 700P with the 8.5-25 Mark 4 glass on it. And my collapsible Benelli M4 with Tritium ghost-rings...

deth1k

We've interviewed a written CCIE who also had CCNA, CCNP, JNCIA and JNCIS, he's also brought his individual exam papers, hes taken his exams a week apart from each other. Guess how he did? P4S anyone? It's clear as day light that he's cheated on his exams just to get his foot in the door or get an interview, although he's done ok on the phone interview but when it came down to do a lab he couldn't get a single question right. He told me he could explain to me how he'd configure everything yet couldn't do it on the actual router. He's also said he was preparing for CCIE lab which to me is a bit of a joke.

If i was in your shoes i wouldn't rush with passing exams and concentrate in learning the material.

HTH

Forsaken_GA

deth1k wrote: »

We've interviewed a written CCIE who also had CCNA, CCNP, JNCIA and JNCIS, he's also brought his individual exam papers, hes taken his exams a week apart from each other. Guess how he did? P4S anyone? It's clear as day light that he's cheated on his exams just to get his foot in the door or get an interview, although he's done ok on the phone interview but when it came down to do a lab he couldn't get a single question right.

Yup, that's been my experience as well, and why I become very skeptical of cert prodigies.

I don't conduct the phone screens, but judging by some of the people that I get in my interview room, I'm willing to bet they're using Google to **** on that portion as well.

LAN_Guru

deth1k wrote: »

We've interviewed a written CCIE who also had CCNA, CCNP, JNCIA and JNCIS, he's also brought his individual exam papers, hes taken his exams a week apart from each other. Guess how he did? P4S anyone? It's clear as day light that he's cheated on his exams just to get his foot in the door or get an interview, although he's done ok on the phone interview but when it came down to do a lab he couldn't get a single question right. He told me he could explain to me how he'd configure everything yet couldn't do it on the actual router. He's also said he was preparing for CCIE lab which to me is a bit of a joke.

If i was in your shoes i wouldn't rush with passing exams and concentrate in learning the material.

HTH

I think people are missing the fact that I do study the material, do the exercises and labs, and sim and review until I understand the concepts and theory. I am spending as much (if not more) time preparing for each exam as the average person does. I am not memorizing answers.

My Microsoft and Citrix lab server:

Supermicro SC813MTQ-520CB 1U chassis
Supermicro X9SCI-LN4F motherboard (4x1Gb ethernet plus IPMI)
Intel Xeon E3-1230 cpu (4c/8t)
16GB DDR3-1333Mhz ECC server RAM
4 x WD RE4 500GB drives (RAID 10)

Cisco lab gear on order (arriving slowly but surely):

1 x 2511-RJ (terminal server)
2 x 2611XM 256/48
2 x 3640 128/32
2 x 2950T-24
2 x 3550-24
2 x NM-2FE2W
1 x NM-4A/S
4 x WIC-2T

I would love to have 1841's, 2960's, and 3560's but that would make my Cisco lab $4k+ instead of $2k and, from what I understand, I don't need those for CCNP.

nhan.ng

1U chassic...man that thing must be loud

deth1k

LAN_Guru wrote: »

I think people are missing the fact that I do study the material, do the exercises and labs, and sim and review until I understand the concepts and theory. I am spending as much (if not more) time preparing for each exam as the average person does. I am not memorizing answers.

My Microsoft and Citrix lab server:

Supermicro SC813MTQ-520CB 1U chassis
Supermicro X9SCI-LN4F motherboard (4x1Gb ethernet plus IPMI)
Intel Xeon E3-1230 cpu (4c/8t)
16GB DDR3-1333Mhz ECC server RAM
4 x WD RE4 500GB drives (RAID 10)

Cisco lab gear on order (arriving slowly but surely):

1 x 2511-RJ (terminal server)
2 x 2611XM 256/48
2 x 3640 128/32
2 x 2950T-24
2 x 3550-24
2 x NM-2FE2W
1 x NM-4A/S
4 x WIC-2T

I would love to have 1841's, 2960's, and 3560's but that would make my Cisco lab $4k+ instead of $2k and, from what I understand, I don't need those for CCNP.

Err, to complete CCNP you are looking 2 month of study per exam, this is a realistic schedule and that's for some one with a few years of experience in networking on that level (CCNP). You on the other hand are pushing yourself with two weeks per exam or so, there is no way for some one to absorb this material and implement it in a real life situation / solution. Even if you study 12 hours a day, brain simply can't cope with this much information there's been a number of studies done on this, some good read as an example:

Memory and related learning principles This principle of long-term memory may well be at work when you recite or write the ideas and facts that you read. As you recite or write you are holding each idea in mind for the four or five seconds that are n

Unless off-course you have a photographic memory.

I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything, this is just my advise to you, to take your time to study / practice the material well, there's nothing worse than being humiliated on an interview by having so many certs and not being able to answer any of the questions simply because of a rushed decision. You don't want to be known as paper certified.

HTH

Essendon

deth1k wrote: »

I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything, this is just my advise to you, to take your time to study / practice the material well, there's nothing worse than being humiliated on an interview by having so many certs and not being able to answer any of the questions simply because of a rushed decision. You don't want to be known as paper certified.

The guy has 17 years of experience. Give the dude a break guys.

deth1k

Essendon wrote: »

The guy has 17 years of experience. Give the dude a break guys.

Indeed he has and only now decided to get certified

Essendon

deth1k wrote: »

Indeed he has and only now decided to get certified

I dont see a problem with that! Makes him more marketable and his hire rate would go up. Imagine 17 years of experience backed up by all those high-end certs, this guy would rake in the moolah!

instant000

I'm not in any way doubting your ability. As you have a lot of experience with the Microsoft/Citrix technologies, taking those exams should be merely a formality.

Even with that said, gaining CCNA/CCNP will be more difficult for you, due to the lack of exposure, which you have admitted to. However, since it appears you are good at taking tests, it won't be as difficult for you as it would for someone who isn't good at taking tests.

If you study hard enough, you can pass any test. The question in the minds of some is will you really know anything? Will you go beyond the exam objectives?

With an interest in your success, I provide you these links:

Welcome to The TCP/IP Guide!
Free MCTS MCITP CCNA CompTIA and CISSP exams, study notes and forums

The first, is a good general guide on IP.
The second is a good site for certification exam resources. Many people, of varying experience levels post to these forums.

(Yes, I am referring to techexams.net, as if I'm not posting to this site. Actually, I think this site is that awesome, so I reference it when the opportunity presents itself.)

deth1k

Essendon wrote: »

I dont see a problem with that! Makes him more marketable and his hire rate would go up. Imagine 17 years of experience backed up by all those high-end certs, this guy would rake in the moolah!

Not only does the certificate matter, it's how long you've had it for, being CCNP for a week with no experience in networking field means nothing these days. I can't comment on his Microsoft skills as that's obviously what he seems to be good at.

LAN_Guru

deth1k wrote: »

Err, to complete CCNP you are looking 2 month of study per exam, this is a realistic schedule and that's for some one with a few years of experience in networking on that level (CCNP). You on the other hand are pushing yourself with two weeks per exam or so, there is no way for some one to absorb this material and implement it in a real life situation / solution. Even if you study 12 hours a day, brain simply can't cope with this much information there's been a number of studies done on this, some good read as an example:

Memory and related learning principles This principle of long-term memory may well be at work when you recite or write the ideas and facts that you read. As you recite or write you are holding each idea in mind for the four or five seconds that are n

Unless off-course you have a photographic memory.

I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything, this is just my advise to you, to take your time to study / practice the material well, there's nothing worse than being humiliated on an interview by having so many certs and not being able to answer any of the questions simply because of a rushed decision. You don't want to be known as paper certified.

HTH

Thanks for the link. While reading the page, I kept realizing that I am already subconsciously utilizing many of the techniques for long-term memory and recollection such as reciting out loud and writing down certain things such as TCP/UDP ports, IP subnetting charts, etc. When I do labs, I don't use the exact subnets, etc. as in the books. I create my own labs using the same scenarios, topologies, etc. but the names, IP addresses, etc. are changed. That way, I am forced just a little bit more to think about what I am doing and understand concepts rather than just etching a diagram from a book in my head.

I really appreciate everyone's comments and concerns. I am not going to sit here and continue trying to convince people that I can do what I say I can do. I'm just going to do it.

This is where the talk stops and the rubber hits the road. 70-680 at 15:30 on 7/14.

LAN_Guru

deth1k wrote: »

Indeed he has and only now decided to get certified

That statement is only partly correct. I am an MCSE and have held Citrix certs in the past though Citrix chooses to retire or expire certs rather than specify a product in the title such as MCSE - Server 2003. So my Citrix certs are expired, but my skills are current.

Some of you made me want to prove to myself that I really do understand networking. A core understanding of networking will be crucial for Cisco. So I purchased and downloaded the Network+ Transcender. Without preparing, I took 3 Transcenders in a row and scored mid-high 900's every time. Maybe I should go take the live exam and add Network+ after my name? I would certainly hope that a network engineer with 17 years real-world experience (including 8 years in government and corporate IT then 9 years in consulting) could pass Network+ without preparing for it.

Someone stated that I am hubris. I would also venture to classify a MCSE who also advertises MCP (DUH!), a MCITP who advertises MCTS (DUH!), a CCEE who places CCA after his name (DUH!), or a CCIE who also places CCNA after his name (DUH!) as hubris. Those are givens. If you are a CCIE (or CCNP), you are also a CCNA. Everyone knows it so don't put the entry-level certs after your name just to fill space with letters.

Thanks for doubting me. It motivates me that much more...

LAN_Guru

deth1k wrote: »

Not only does the certificate matter, it's how long you've had it for, being CCNP for a week with no experience in networking field means nothing these days. I can't comment on his Microsoft skills as that's obviously what he seems to be good at.

I have 17 years experience in the networking field, thank you.

I troubleshoot by the OSI. I have been working with Cisco products, though on a limited basis, for 7 years... 11 years if you want to include CBOS on 677 CPEs. I am not a total beginner.

LAN_Guru

Essendon wrote: »

The guy has 17 years of experience. Give the dude a break guys.

Thank you. You are the only one who has acknowledged that 17 years of real-world experience means something.

LAN_Guru

instant000 wrote: »

I'm not in any way doubting your ability. As you have a lot of experience with the Microsoft/Citrix technologies, taking those exams should be merely a formality.

Even with that said, gaining CCNA/CCNP will be more difficult for you, due to the lack of exposure, which you have admitted to. However, since it appears you are good at taking tests, it won't be as difficult for you as it would for someone who isn't good at taking tests.

If you study hard enough, you can pass any test. The question in the minds of some is will you really know anything? Will you go beyond the exam objectives?

With an interest in your success, I provide you these links:

Welcome to The TCP/IP Guide!
Free MCTS MCITP CCNA CompTIA and CISSP exams, study notes and forums

The first, is a good general guide on IP.
The second is a good site for certification exam resources. Many people, of varying experience levels post to these forums.

(Yes, I am referring to techexams.net, as if I'm not posting to this site. Actually, I think this site is that awesome, so I reference it when the opportunity presents itself.)

Thanks for the resources. Another excellent IP tutorial (the one I studied back in 1996):

http://web.archive.org/web/20100821112028/http://www.3com.com/other/pdfs/infra/corpinfo/en_US/501302.pdf

LAN_Guru

There is a balance between certifications and experience. I acknowledge having neglected keeping my certifications current. The scales have greatly tipped towards experience in my case. That is what I intend to change. I personally feel it is easier for an experienced person to obtain certifications than a recently certified person to obtain experience.

I know a girl who got her MCSE-NT4 doing self-study using an emulator on a Mac. She had never owned a Windows computer. Then she went to work for Interland doing web hosting support. Would I have hired her to work on a NT project? Hell no.

I know a guy that I worked beside at HP doing NetServer support for major governement and corporate accounts (NASA, DoJ, DoD. Home Depot, Ford, Chrysler Financial, Goodyear, WorldBank, etc.) back in 1996-97. He had no certifications but was one of the sharpest IT people I have ever known. He knew NT inside and out, constantly playing with it and learning minute intricacies of the product and it's technologies. Would I hire him to work on an NT project? In a heartbeat...

Forsaken_GA

LAN_Guru wrote: »

.

I know a guy that I worked beside at HP doing NetServer support for major governement and corporate accounts (NASA, DoJ, DoD. Home Depot, Ford, Chrysler Financial, Goodyear, WorldBank, etc.) back in 1996-97. He had no certifications but was one of the sharpest IT people I have ever known. He knew NT inside and out, constantly playing with it and learning minute intricacies of the product and it's technologies. Would I hire him to work on an NT project? In a heartbeat...

Our most senior engineer is a damn good network geek. He just got his CCNA last month. I think it was actually hard for him, because he had to come down to that level, he's used to thinking on a different plane.

So I agree with you that certification does not imply experience (and the inverse is also not true, a lack of certification does not imply a lack of experience)

Going and getting certified in something you have oodles of experience with is no big deal in my eyes, like I said, compared to throngs that are studying for certification exams, the guy who goes in and takes the test to bolster his resume is a ringer. It'd be like me going and taking the RHCE. I'm easily past that level of linux ability, and it would take me about two weeks study to get prepped for their lab. Why haven't I done it? Because the expense of the lab and travel isn't worth it, that's not where my career goals lay. If work ever decided to expend some of those learning credits we have with Red Hat for my benefit, I'd go take it in a heartbeat, but since I don't want to be a Unix admin, I'm not going to go out of pocket for it.

On the flipside, I am studying my ass off for the CCIE, because that's what I do want to do. And work may find it's to their loss that they didn't give me a hand with my training once the headhunters come calling

LAN_Guru

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Our most senior engineer is a damn good network geek. He just got his CCNA last month. I think it was actually hard for him, because he had to come down to that level, he's used to thinking on a different plane.

So I agree with you that certification does not imply experience (and the inverse is also not true, a lack of certification does not imply a lack of experience)

Going and getting certified in something you have oodles of experience with is no big deal in my eyes, like I said, compared to throngs that are studying for certification exams, the guy who goes in and takes the test to bolster his resume is a ringer. It'd be like me going and taking the RHCE. I'm easily past that level of linux ability, and it would take me about two weeks study to get prepped for their lab. Why haven't I done it? Because the expense of the lab and travel isn't worth it, that's not where my career goals lay. If work ever decided to expend some of those learning credits we have with Red Hat for my benefit, I'd go take it in a heartbeat, but since I don't want to be a Unix admin, I'm not going to go out of pocket for it.

On the flipside, I am studying my ass off for the CCIE, because that's what I do want to do. And work may find it's to their loss that they didn't give me a hand with my training once the headhunters come calling

Like I said, you and I have more in common than is evident at first.

I am mainly obtaining these certs because I want them, not because I need them. The skills I don't have, I can hire. But I WANT these carts.

And you're right, headhunters will be tripping over each other to talk to you when their Monster keyword notifications alerts them on "CCIE"

LAN_Guru

nhan.ng wrote: »

1U chassic...man that thing must be loud

Not as loud as you would think. Granted, it is a 1U with four high-speed fans but it is way quieter than the Intel server platforms that I have worked with for the last 5 years. This is my first time with Supermicro and I like it more and more. Quality stuff...

Besides, I have the server and anything else with a fan or hard drives (other than my laptop) in a closet.

/usr

Lan_Guru,

I don't really think the other posters here are trying to discourage you, despite that it kind of comes across that way. I do however, think they're giving you valuable criticism regarding your chosen path.

You posted this in hopes of getting such criticism from others who have experience, or in hopes of us praising you, correct? Since you've denied the latter, I'll assume you wanted input.

However, it seems as if you're a bit unwilling to accept the opinion of others when it comes to them suggesting that this might not be the optimal path.

I'm not doubting your experience, you have years more than myself and would likely work circles around me. As someone else noted, you can pass any exam if you put in enough time and know the items in the objectives.

IMO, you would get much more out of these exams if you slow down your pace a bit. You would retain more in the long run and wouldn't be killing yourself for no real payoff except a piece of paper that says you passed X exam.

Mind_Sculptor

Good Luck!

LAN_Guru

Mind_Sculptor wrote: »

Good Luck!

Thanks! I've passed 70-642, 70-680, 70-640, and 70-643. Writing 70-647 on 8/24 then moving on to Citrix CCEE. The schedule got flipped around a bit because the 70-643 2nd edition book was released almost a month early. I am running about a week behind schedule due to circumstances beyong my control but I should still be able to have MCITp-EA, Citrix CCEE, and Cisco CCNP completed by December 23rd...

LAN_Guru

deth1k wrote: »

Indeed he has and only now decided to get certified

Excuse me?...I got my first IT certifications (Citrix CCA on MetaFrame 1.8 and Microsoft MCSE on NT 4.0 (6 exams in 8 days with 916 exam score average including two 1000 scores)) over eleven years ago in 2000.