Lab Attempts (Part 3 of 3)
Lab Attempt #1
I flew out early Thursday just in case there were any flight issues or delays. It is a good thing I did. It just so happened that a nice winter storm was rolling through North Carolina and surrounding states. It wasn’t very bad, but it was more ice/freezing rain than they were used to. My flight was delayed about 4 hours, but I still arrived in RTP with plenty of daylight.
After getting my rental car and checking into my hotel. I mapped out my exact route to Cisco’s campus. I then jumped in my car and drove there. I found where building 3 was and where I should be parking. I highly, highly recommend everyone does this because you don’t want to be surprised by any construction detours or bad directions. I found something for dinner, and then settled into my hotel room for a very anxious night.
Lab Exam Preparation (Part 2 of 3)
Step One: Acquiring Training Materials
Jumping to the next phase in my studying didn’t take me too long, I didn’t want to lose my excitement or drive. So, in February of 2010 I started poking around the Internets to find out what the best way to go about tackling the lab exam would be. There were two ways I could go: 1) do a complete self-study and piece it all together myself or 2) dish out a fair amount of cash and go with a training provider like INE or IPexpert. After looking through the different packages that they both offered and asking around on a few different forums, I decided on IPexpert.
Written Exam Preparation (Part 1 of 3)
I am still in a little bit of shock after seeing the ‘PASS’ marked next to my lab report from last week. I have to say, initially I thought I failed. When I logged in to get my score report, I immediately looked to the bottom of the score report list and read ‘FAIL’. My heart sank. It wasn’t until my wife said “YOU PASSED!!!” and gave me a giant hug that I looked again to see the four most beautiful letters ‘PASS’ at the top of the score report list. Now, as a newly minted CCIE, I am looking forward to any new opportunities that this may open up. I have to say, it feels good to know that I am one of ~1400 people in the world with my Voice CCIE.
Progress Update
In the last month and a half I really haven’t had much time to post anything. Between gearing up for my lab attempt on the 17th of December, the holidays and the vacation I just got back from, the last 5 weeks have really flown by.
For those of you wondering if I passed my exam on the 17th, I did not. I was close, but close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. I was able to make it through the entire exam, but I spent too much time on certain sections and ultimately ran out of time to go back and tweak things that were not working.
Countdown: 24 days…
and I am starting to feel the pressure. Need to work faster, smarter and harder….
That is all