Jay, Congratulations!!. Great work. I also notice that OER is not covered in vendor workbooks. OER is one of the last topics to cover. What material you use for troubleshooting section.
Thanks, Muhammad P ------------------------------ On Tue, 8 May, 2012 11:44 PM EDT Jay McMickle 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
