Thanks and well done.
Johan Bornman Integrated Systems Consulting (Pty) Ltd Cell: 082 783 3635 On 09 May 2012, at 5:44, Jay McMickle <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks: > I thank God. This has been a dream of mine for 6 years, and he solely helped > me attain this! I don’t want to start a religion roll as we are all from > different parts of the word and have different religious backgrounds.. > However, give God a year of your faith and belief and see if things don’t > change! > Secondly, my wife and family for dealing with me. It’s been a constant 2 > years of knowing that I need to get home and lab. I thank those that have > helped me on the forums, and especially Narbik. He gave me a personal > relationship through my training, and even hung out with us until the wee > morning hours during bootcamps to chat with us about anything and everything. > He really does care and it shows in his work. Finally, I thank my employer. > Without their support, I would have had to quit my job to get this > accomplished in 2 years. > > Materials used: > Global Knowledge CIERS1 bootcamp > CCBootcamp MPLS for CCIE candidates (taken at Cisco LIVE) > INE (video only) > IPExpert Blended Learning Solution (Vol1 and 3 only, video on demand, audio > on demand) > CCBootcamp ALM bootcamp > Narbik CIERS1 (attended twice) bootcamp, Advanced workbook, bootcamp 4.0 > workbook > > Hardware used: > I was using 2800/3800/3560’s hardware cabled for each vendor. > > Products that didn’t work: > CCBootcamp workbooks- I attended a CCB in September 2011. The instructor > (Rahim) was great and very knowledgeable. I attended a bootcamp, but quickly > cancelled on day 2 due to the workbooks alone. There were so many typos, > that even the instructor had to work through the workbooks to find that it > mentions the wrong routers as part of the restrictions. This made me start > to doubt myself- not a good way to learn! I’m sure the owner will come after > me again for this posting, however, he did not follow up on his promise to > rectify the situation (by receiving a beta version of the new workbooks) and > I’m advising students away from your products as I said I would. I have a > few more examples of the bad business practices, but I will spare you those > details. WORST WORKBOOKS EVER! > > Dates: > - April 30, 2010- Passed CCIE R&S Written > > - May 3, 2010- Global Knowledge Bootcamp, CIERS1 (San Jose, California) > > - July 2010- Passed CCIE Security written (Free test at Cisco LIVE) > > - July 2010-Dec. 2011 > I was averaging 15 hours a week of rack time over 4-5 days a week. > > - June 2011 > I attended Narbik’s CIERS1 bootcamp. WHOA. That’s a lot to take in, but > amazing training. The man is a walking IOS dictionary and can rattle off 7 > levels deep of IOS commands. I learned his theory (not verbatim) that if you > need a sh run or to use a “?”, you aren’t ready for the lab. I carried this > with me throughout my studies after that. Narbik taught me to look at the > requirement or question, think about what technology is at hand, and if it’s > a global, or interface command before starting in on a solution. Great > advice! > > - Nov, 2011 > I attended Narbik’s CIERS1 bootcamp for the second time. I was better > prepared and did much better on my assessment labs. I felt close to ready, > but Narbik informed me that I wasn’t ready. Yet, I still had to make my > attempt at the Lab to qualify for the Lab Safe program. > > - Dec. 13, 2011 > My first attempt at the CCIE R&S lab. I got a 50% (avg) on the config > section, and an 18% on troubleshooting. I didn’t expect to pass, but I was > forced (so to speak) to take the lab by the end of the year to qualify for > the “Lab Safe” program (free second attempt). > > - Dec. 15- 2011 > Kicked my labbing into high gear, and focused on the technologies I didn’t > know well. These were mainly IP Services. > > - Dec. 20, 2011-March 20, 2012 > Stepped up my lab times to 25 hours a week. My method was this- Run through > IPX VOL1 for the technologies I saw that I didn’t know well. This was about > 12 topics. Run through IPX VOL3 Mock labs very slowly. In fact, I sometimes > took 16-20 hours for a Mock lab because I was looking them up on the DOCCD, > and playing with different options to actually break the solution and finding > a second solution as an alternative. This was a key building block for me. > I want through Narbik’s Adv. workbooks and Bootcamp 4..0 workbooks. I > especially liked Narbik’s workbooks for the reason for the solution. If I > didn’t know something in-depth, Narbik’s workbooks were my direct solution. > All of the vendors workbooks were still weak in IP Services, especially EEM > an OER. I know that Narbik, and I’m sure the other vendors will as well, > have updates to their workbooks as this has been mentioned time and time > again. I believe Brain with INE has > committed to releasing something soon. > > - March 20-April 30, 2012 > Kicked my labbing into high gear. My job allowed me to work from home, so I > was averaging 30 hours a week (7 days a week) without any days off from > labbing. Those last 5 weeks were rough! I was staying up late at night, > drinking Monster energy drinks, and chasing them with Red Bull energy drinks! > Up until midnight/1am, and getting up at 6am, taking my girls to school, > going to the gym, and then heading back to the house to lab/work. The last > week before my lab, I actually took a week of vacation and turned off my > email and didn’t answer my work phone except at breaks. > > - May 1, 2012 > Passed CCIE R&S Lab in San Jose! Although they say to stop labbing and relax > your mind, I don't work like that. I labbed until midnight the night before > the lab in my hotel, and labbed for an hour that morning. This is partially > because my mind was conditioned to do that (lab late), and I wanted my mind > alert and fingers ready that morning for the lab. I didn't feel it was > proper to show up and not have the mentality for the wording of the lab. > *NOTE* You could have cut the tension with a knife in the waiting area prior > to the lab at Cisco's San Jose's office. I couldn't help but crack jokes! > Probably my way of dealing with nervous situations. Also, it took 10 hours > for my email that I passed! AHHHHH! Why was it that when I failed I knew in > 2 hours? Needless to say, I got zero sleep that night! > > *My tips to success* > When you lab up, take your time to learn a technology. When you learn it, go > to a different vendor and work their technology based labs. Go through them, > fix it, and break it. Get fancy with it and find another way to do it > (because there is always another way and you might get a restriction that > will throw you for a loop). > > Preferred vendors (there is no single vendor), and why- > Narbik-Workbooks are in different degrees of difficulty, they build upon each > other, and have a VERY detailed explanation to learn from. After paying for > his bootcamp and attending, you can re-take the bootcamps if seats are > available for free. With the amount of information delivered, I highly > recommend taking it at least twice! > > IPExpert- VERY hard, right out of the box! But, their BLS has video’s that > help understand how, but not why. It’s up to you to learn the technology > prior to working their labs. The VOD is a “death by slideshow” that didn’t > help me at all. I did thoroughly enjoy their video on demand. I have a > lengthy drive to work each day, and these came in handy to some extent. But, > once I found myself solid on a technology, and I was done with Narbik’s > workbooks, this is where I went. This is for the advanced student that feels > they are ready, but in my opinion, not a learning tool. > > INE- Their all access pass is great, and offers you discounted rates on their > CCIE workbooks. Their video’s are REALLY good. For a lot of candidates, INE > is a good choice as their hardware is 1800/2600 model routers and less of a > financial impact. > > Cisco 360- I don’t care for the workbooks, but their assessment labs are good > to get a feel of the lab interface, and gives you an idea via a score of > where you are. If you can score high on these labs, you will do good on the > labs. But, I saw technologies on the lab that I did not get tested on within > the Assessment labs. > > I hope this helps you. Now, onto CCIE Security! Re-cabling my racks now for > IPExpert and Narbik's layouts. ;) > > God Bless. > > Regards, > Jay McMickle- CCIE #35355 > > > Regards, > Jay McMickle- CCIE #35355 > _______________________________________________ > For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please > visit www.ipexpert.com > > Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out > www.PlatinumPlacement.com > > http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs _______________________________________________ For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please visit www.ipexpert.com Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out www.PlatinumPlacement.com http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs
