Two years ago I published my Ten Years a CCIE series. Actually, I had written the series a couple years before I published it, but as I say in my introduction to the series, I felt it was a bit self-indulgent an uninteresting, so I scrapped it for a while. The original pieces were dictated, […]
Tag: ccie
The value of a CCIE
In the final post in my “Ten Years a CCIE” series, I take a look at the age-old question: Is a CCIE really worth it? I conclude the series with some thoughts on the value of this journey. I’ve written this series of posts in the hope that others considering the pursuit of a CCIE […]
Why certifications can suck
Ivan Peplnjak referenced a piece by Robert Graham called “Why cybersecurity certifications suck,” which I found amusing considering that I am doing some question writing right now. I’ve certainly been a member of the chorus of complainers in the past, in various venues, but I have to say that my experience on the writing end […]
Cheaters
Note: This article was originally posted in 2016. Since that time, the CCIE program has changed the process for earning a CCIE, and the separate written exam is no longer used. This means that the problem of people claiming to be a “CCIE” when they have only passed the written exam is no longer the […]
Recertification Pain
Note: This article was written in 2016 and has not been modified. A number of changes have been made to the CCIE program which have dramatically improved the re-certification process. Continuing education is now an option, as I suggest in this article. The re-certification frequency has been reduced. I may modify this article in the […]
Multiple CCIE’s, multiple attempts
In this article in my “Ten Years a CCIE” series, I look at passing the Security exam in 2008. I get to experience the agony of failure for the first time, and have to re-tool my strategy. Goodbye to Cisco I worked two long years at Cisco. Two very long years. I learned so much […]
A CCIE Goes Home to Cisco
In this article in my “Ten Years a CCIE” series, I describe my experience going to work at Cisco as a CCIE. Unlike many Cisco-employed CCIE’s, I earned my certification outside of Cisco. A CCIE leads to a job at Cisco I returned to my old job at the Chronicle and had my business cards […]
Room of horrors: Inside the CCIE lab
In this article in my “10 Years a CCIE” series, I take you inside the infamous CCIE lab, where countless candidates have sweated out the devious challenges concocted by the CCIE exam authors. Planning travel I was fortunate at the time I took the lab exam in that I lived in San Francisco, very close […]
How to pass the CCIE lab exam in one attempt
In this post in the Ten Years a CCIE series, I go over my preparations for the CCIE Routing and Switching exam, and what I did to pass in one attempt. The first months… I passed my CCIE Routing and Switching Lab in one attempt, so I think my approach can be considered effective. At least, […]
In those days, you had to build a lab…
In this article in my series, Ten Years a CCIE, I discuss the challenge of building and maintaining a lab, and the question of building versus not building a physical lab. Acquiring Gear As I mentioned in a previous post, GNS3 was not available at the time I took the CCIE exam. This meant that […]