It's my time: Mrock's CCIE thread

Mrock4

About to hit the lab. Yesterday was somewhat demotivating, reading about all these people who are able to lab for 4-6 hours a day 7x a week. Then I came to the realization- I'm not like them. I have a family, and other obligations, which mean- I have to get creative with my time. Don't get me wrong, I *wish* I could study that much to knock this thing out quicker, but I just have to take a different approach, and stop comparing my efforts to anyone elses. I forget who, but I've heard once that the CCIE is a lonely endeavor, and I think that's the best way to put it.

Sat down and drew up a rough schedule of study time with my wife, so I think I'll be able to maintain a strong study schedule, while at the same time keeping the family life in order.

This week I'm getting a lot of hours in thanks to the CCNP Sec bootcamp, but after this week I'll begin the new study schedule, which is basically the same as I did before:

Mon/Wed - 7pm - midnight (5 hrs/ea day)
Friday- 8pm - 2am (6 hrs..the later start time allows for some family time)
Saturday *or* Sunday: 6-8 hours

This will net me about 22 hours a week. I'm going to maintain this schedule for a few months, and then it'll ramp up to include longer study sessions, and eventually, both saturday/sunday sessions (most likely 7am - ??, that way I still have the evenings with the family). It's my intention, once I'm about 2 months out from the lab date (which would be January), to average about 30 hours/week of study on top of my 40-45 hour work schedule. It'll be rough, but I think that's what it's going to take to put me over the top.

Anyways, enough talking..off to lab!

Mrock4

Almost forgot- the above schedule only lists actual 'labbing', there'll be videos/books/CCO inbetween..

Mrock4

Still labbing, but got snagged on a rather foolish mistake. For some reason, kept seeing my EIGRP routes weren't coming through from SW1 to SW3. Thought initially there was an issue on the VLAN between them (there was), fixed that, still wasn't coming through. Finally realized the command "eigrp stub connected summary" was on SW1 (a 3560). Tried to remove it, only to realize I was running the IP Base image on the 3560, which only allows 'basic' EIGRP functionality, so I am in the middle of upgrading the image, then I can get back to labbing..fun times.

Mrock4

Great day of labbing. Wish I had this much time available normally. On a side note, the CCNP Security bootcamp has been OK. I cannot say I am totally impressed, but it's been slightly better than average, so that's good.

On a side note, I was using the v4 INE Vol I labs and tried a couple of the v5's, and one thing I really DO like about the newer ones, are the fact that each lab builds on the previous one (mostly), so they 'feel' more like full labs.

Mrock4

Up early to get about 4 hours of labbing in before the CCNP Sec bootcamp begins today.

Mrock4

Finished EIGRP Vol I labs. Moving on.

spiderjericho

MRock, did you pay for the CCNP Sec boot camp? Does it include vouchers? It seems strictly online.

And you're making big moves. CISSP, CCNP Sec and then CCIE R&S.

Mrock4

spiderjericho wrote: »

MRock, did you pay for the CCNP Sec boot camp? Does it include vouchers? It seems strictly online.

And you're making big moves. CISSP, CCNP Sec and then CCIE R&S.

My work paid for the bootcamp- it doesn't include any vouchers unfortunately.

The CISSP/CCNP Sec were for work- although I'm not going to take the CCNP Sec exams anytime soon. Trying to focus on the CCIE and once that is done I'd like to come back to the CCNA:Sec and CCNP:Sec. I do a lot of work with ASA's these days, so that's why I'm taking the CCNP sec without the tests. I enjoy security, but I know if I stopped to do the CCNP Sec track that'd put off the CCIE plans by at least 6-12 months (4 professional level exams + CCNA:sec).

spiderjericho

Yeah, you should focus on your goal. You can always come back to the Sec later. It's cool that your job is investing in you.

And the CISSP will be a nice resume bullet despite my opinion that it's overrated (though the test experience is brutal and the wait afterward grueling).

Mrock4

I think the CISSP is a great (and challenging) cert, but a lot of people assume a CISSP is supposed to be technically savvy, and judging by the folks who I attended the bootcamp with, about 75% were in primarily non-technical (management) roles, which is really where the cert shines anyways.

I've been lucky with my work somehow. I've had more training at my company now in the past year than I did in my 7 years in the military.

Big surprise, but I spend a LOT of time submitting training requests for my team (whether they want to or not!)- it's really nice to be in a position to encourage others and help them develop professionally.

spiderjericho

Yeah, CISSP is not a real technical cert except for maybe the telecommunication, environmental systems and a few other topics. I'm just blown away by the reverence for it. The best description is a test that tests the person on management or best-for-business decisions. But it's a grueling test. Probably the worst test I've ever taken.

As far as your other statement, I'd say it's a case of being in the right organization at the right time. Some organizations have an emphasis on having highly trained employees and offer tuition assistance and training opportunities while balancing it with meeting operation commitments. Some don't. This can be a case in either the civilian sector or government.

Personally, I'm going on my 11th year in the military. And I can't really complain about the training opportunities. Is it the best it can be, no.

I Lat Moved to IT in the USMC in 2005. During that year, I got to go to a Cisco class (can't remember for what and didn't have a real appreciation since I was new to networking and wasn't in an environment that utilized Cisco).

In 2006, I got sent to Net+ and Sec+ boot camp.

In 2008, I got to do CCNA. I also did the troubleshoot portion of VCP3.

In 2009, I was sent to a CCNP and MCSE 2003 boot camps.

In 10, I was allowed to attend the CCNP course we offered locally (I was working at the school house at the time).p and got to actually really learn the concepts and material versus the boot camp brain ****.

In 11 while still at the school house, I got to attend CISSP and CEH courses.

When I transferred to VA, I attended ITIL Foundations. About the same time, I had my first child, who was born with congenital heart disease, so I was side tracked (and still am to a certain extent). They offered Microsoft, ITIL, CISSP and PMP classes regularly and would occasionally throw in a Cisco, Fortinet or random vendor.

I'm now in Tampa and am attending my second intermediate ITIL class. They've also signed off on the Checkpoint associate and expert boot camp from Global Knowledge. I tried to get them to send me to Juniper Associate, but it was a hard sell since we don't use it in our Enterprise.

So my point is, it all depends on the situation. Obviously everyones mileage will vary.

You mentioned on this or the last page about some having the opportunity to lab it up during work hours. Obviously, there's no science to finding a place like this, it's mostly luck or asking what the professional development opportunities are at prospective work place.

I also can't complain about the TAm which has paid for one BA (though I had 3 years of school before I joined) and somehow magically is paying for the second through WGU (USMC military TA only pays for one bachelors).

But I'm not trying to be a military recruiter. You're doing well and are on the right path.

Mrock4

Yeah, we have definitely had two different experiences with the military. In my 7 years, I think I went to one class (it was a Solarwinds class, for 3 days). In the last 9 months alone, I think I have attended 5 classes so far. Could have actually been more, but I've given my seat away a couple of times to junior engineers since it's not really fair (nor does it make any sense IMO) to keep sending a senior guy.

That's a great thing though that you have going- if I had that much training, it would have been really hard to leave- it still was, but before I joined the military my goal was to get networking experience (which I did) and then get a CCIE, so it was just a natural progression to get out. Fond memories though!

spiderjericho

Nothing wrong with your approach.

With the way the military is, I'd say if you wanted to get experience with your area of interest, the civilian sector is probably better. There can be a Swiss army knife approach to how they handle network/sys admin personnel.

Like right now, they have me doing desktop support at my new unit. I'd say my expertise is in Network Engineering. Probably sys admin after that. Marine Corps training focuses on those areas and if I stay in the same section, my skills will atrophy unless I self study on my own.

But anyways, back to CCIE.

Mrock4

You're right- it really does depend on where you're at. I got a fair taste of the same, but was pretty lucky to stay in the networking area for a while (with a couple of exceptions).

On the CCIE front, I watched about 4 hours worth of OSPF videos today, and am going to follow it up with some reading this evening. As part of my study plan, I also circle back to do quick reviews on other topics I have covered (ie: I reviewed some layer 2 stuff since I did the layer 2 labs a month ago), that way by the time I finish the Vol I stuff my knowledge of earlier topics isn't stale. Plus, when I circle around I tend to learn extra things here and there.

Tomorrow I'm going to do a bit more OSPF review on the theory side, then begin the labs.

Mrock4

As promised, beginning my OSPF labs today. Read about 1/2 of the OSPF chapter in doyle's TCP/IP Vol I. Have read the entire thing before, but that was almost a year and a half ago. Going to use spare time (ie: lunch breaks) to finish up the rest of the chapter next week. It's really great to review this stuff prior to labbing.

Mrock4

Read for about an hour or so earlier (as detailed in my previous post), and labbed OSPF for about 3 1/2 hours.

Mrock4

Supposed to be an off day..but couldn't resist. Doing some Cisco doc review for good measure.

Mrock4

Day 1 of my modified schedule. Going to maintain this for 2 months, then step it up (when I hit the 6 month mark to the lab). Current schedule is:

Mon- 5 hours labbing
Tues- Documentation review/reading (as time allows)
Wed- 5 Hours labbing
Thurs- Same as Tues
Fri- 6 hours labbing
Sat- 6-8 hours labbing
Sun- Off

Mrock4

Labbed about 4 1/2 hours today. It was pretty productive. I thought I knew OSPF decently, but realized there were a lot of gaps in my understanding, so I'm focusing hard on OSPF.

Mrock4

Getting ready to begin a 4 1/2 hr lab session. More OSPF!

Also, my endorsement paperwork was received today for my CISSP, so that's awesome. Now the 6 week wait begins!

Mrock4

Going to be in OSPF a while. Really enjoying it though. The "capability transit" idea kind of screwed with my head with regards to path selection for virtual links, but a good read of INE's blog post really helped (see link below..highly recommend)

Understanding OSPF Transit Capability

Back to labbing! Got 4+ hours done tonight, and still not done. Tomorrow's an "off" day, which means I'll be reading an hour or so tomorrow plus doing some Cisco doc review.

Mrock4

Let the friday night labbing begin..

rakem

Mrock4 wrote: »

About to hit the lab. Yesterday was somewhat demotivating, reading about all these people who are able to lab for 4-6 hours a day 7x a week. Then I came to the realization- I'm not like them. I have a family, and other obligations, which mean- I have to get creative with my time. Don't get me wrong, I *wish* I could study that much to knock this thing out quicker, but I just have to take a different approach, and stop comparing my efforts to anyone elses. I forget who, but I've heard once that the CCIE is a lonely endeavor, and I think that's the best way to put it.

I hear you buddy. We all know that life gets in the way of the CCIE very often, unless you have no family and don't work then you can't be expected to study for 6 hours every day.

I like the 'lonley endeavor' quote. So true, so many weekends spent alone in front of a computer... so many late nights doing labs.

It will be worth it in the end.

SteveO86

Mrock4 wrote: »

Let the friday night labbing begin..

If this were Facebook or Google+ I'd like or +1 this

Mrock4

Thanks guys! Glad to know I'm not alone!

My spirits are up. I've been seeing a marked difference in the last month'ish since I started labbing heavily. I've gotten better, solutions come faster (and are more accurate).

On page 145/223 of OSPF labs, so I'm progressing pretty good. OSPF was by far my weaker protocol since I don't use it very often in production. A lot of it has come back, and I've learned a lot of new stuff. I wouldn't so much say it's a bunch of new commands I've learned or concepts, but mostly I've gained a much better understanding of how things work.

Another quote that's very fitting for the CCIE- "The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know"

Mrock4

Calling it quits a bit early tonight, but got just shy of 4 hours of solid labbing done.

Mrock4

Putting in that work! Back to labbing this morning.

Mrock4

Got a pretty solid amount of OSPF labs in. Believe I got about 4 1/2 - 5 hours in today. Should be able to finish OSPF labs on Monday. Going to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing and revising my plan.

That is one thing I can say, the general framework around my prep (I suppose you could call it my methodology) hasn't changed, but my detailed plan with regards to when to start a certain topic etc, changes all the time. I think that's a good thing, because it allows for me to change things on the fly, that way if I need an extra week to study a topic, I get it, instead of sticking to a hard schedule...and possibly having gaps in my understanding.

With regards to the actual topic I'm studying now (OSPF), I feel a LOT better after the last week or two. 95% of my solutions have been right on the first time, and if I had no idea how to configure a technology, I look through the Cisco docs for the answers.

Mrock4

Back at it! Got home late from work tonight (busy day), so I started studying late. Will be going from 8pm - 1am tonight. Going to get out of work a bit early tomorrow and relax (it's my day off from studying), and catch up on sleep. My birthday is this week too, so I'm going to take off that day, and make up for it this weekend.

Starting tonights session by reading more TCP/IP Vol I. After I read for a bit I'll hit the labbing and should finish OSPF tonight. If I do, I'm going to read some more and/or watch some OSPF videos. This friday will be my "circle around" session where I review bits and pieces of what I've covered thusfar (EIGRP, switching, frame relay), then Saturday I begin BGP.

Mrock4

I read a lot about the sacrifice required for the CCIE, and in a weird way, feel proud to be truly *earning* those numbers. Just finished labbing..1am. Wake up comes at 5:45am. Going to be a long day tomorrow, but I'm proud of my progress, and I started the day out not looking forward to labbing. Glad I did though..realized I got a lot more to cover.

Didn't completely finish OSPF tonight. My next study day isn't until Friday (going to get this weeks hours in over the weekend mostly), so until then I'm going to get in some reading every day and possibly some INE ATC videos (on various topics, not just OSPF).

As part of my 'circle around' strategy, I'm going to lab some various topics layer this week of stuff I've already covered to check how well I retained them. Mostly my previous trouble areas, such as PVLAN's.

Anyways..nite nite.