My First CCIE

Like the lab itself isn’t enough of a challenge, now that Cisco has implemented the open ended questions… and put SO much weight on them.. I just don’t know. I’m fairly confident that I can go pass the lab. But the question part of it seems hit or miss. Some pass, some don’t. And it doesn’t matter if you max the configuration part. Miss the questions and the rest of it means nothing. And, thanks to NDA, I have no idea what questions I’ll get or even what kind of questions. In theory, if you know the technologies, you’ll have no problem. But that’s a pretty broad statement. All the technologies? Inside and out? Including terminology? Doesn’t that equate to memorizing all the books? I just don’t know. So the Cisco lab has moved from a calculated test that I can overcome to a crap shoot. Maybe I’ll get questions I can answer. Maybe I won’t. Not really sure I want to toss $1400 plus the trip and hotel into that. I’m not a gambler at all. And now that the lab has been reduced to the toss of a coin….

So what are the options? Quit? I could although I hate quitting. Does that mean I’d stop learning? Absolutely not. I still want to be a hot shot and numbers don’t change that. They validate it. But they don’t determine whether I know my stuff or not. Take the lab anyway and hope you’re ready? Probably. But if I fail on the open ended questions, I’ll probably not go back… which means I tossed $1400+ to the wind. I’d rather use that money for more books and other things.

I don’t know. Maybe this is another emotional slump. I need to make a decision in the next month or so. If I’m going to do it, I’d like to take the shot by mid September. The timer’s going and I’m not sure which wire I’m going to cut.

P.S. I was just out looking at some of the discussions about these questions. I was reading one post where people were like “you need to stop whining about the questions. You should know everything. You call yourself an expert” and my personal fave.. “how’d you pass the written. you must have cheated”. Well, to set the record straight for at least one guy (me).. I didn’t cheat and I did pretty well at the written. But you’d have to be a moron to not recognize the difference between a multiple choice question and an essay question. If the question is “Name a feature of BGP that.. etc.. etc… etc” and the answers are “A) remote control.. B) purple… C) peer groups.. or D) lettuce”… well.. there ya go. I guess cheating is a problem that’s going to screw someone. Whether it’s an employer who hires someone who doesn’t have a clue (or can’t figure out that the answer is C without a cheat sheet).. or Cisco as they try and protect the value of the cert. Unfortunately, the people feeling the pain now are the people trying to certify (most of which are doing it legitimately). And the problem with “you should know it all” is that it’s random. Are there really a lot of real CCIE’s who can explain in detail how the bit bucket works for policing? What are the formulas for dual rate policing calculated? I’m sure there are some people who can step up.. but I bet that most would have to look it up. And maybe that’s the answer to the open ended questions. Allow documentation access like the rest of the lab. That would make me happy. I mean, if you’re supposed to know everything, why allow documentation at all? Am I going to whine about the questions? You bet. Until I pass them, they scare the snot out of me in a lab that was already grueling enough. Peace.