CCIE Study - Setting a Schedule

When you're thinking about whether or not you want to chase after the CCIE, if you're serious you are going to have to put a schedule and plan together.

The reason for the plan is important, first of all you need to be realistic in how much effort it is really going to take to get over the line.  You could be one of the few that from start to finish get their digits in a short period of time, but more likely it will take somewhere between 1 and 2 years (or even longer since there's no real time limit provided your written exam is still current when you are ready to face the lab) it doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a complete hermit but there will definitely be some commitment and sacrifices made by you (and your family and friends) for you to succeed.  Part of starting the schedule is to get the buy in and support from your loved ones early in the piece, it's better to work out whether its going to be achievable before you start things off than get part way through and realise all that sacrifice was for naught (well it wouldn't be wasted because surely you would have picked up quite a bit of knowledge and expertise you may not have already had....)

The other part of the plan is if you are paying for it yourself (or if you are fortunate enough to have your work supporting you) its a good idea to line up when you may need to spend your cash - if you do the hard work in putting a schedule together even if it slips, you can at least track where you are, where you will end up and start saving up money (or lining up that request to your manager) this is important because as you embark on your journey, rather than buying everything up front, this gives you the option to adapt to the situation (or if for whatever reason you need to stop your studies, you don't have unused equipment or workbooks sitting around collecting dust)

What actually goes into a schedule? This isn't exactly what I used myself but it is a close approximation, it's listed as a starting point, how much space between each milestone is fairly flexible because everyone is different in their starting experience and capabilities and time that they have available to study (and financial resources) each milestone will have a number of sub tasks that I'm not going to go into detail here but examples may include blueprint topics, or individual workbook labs.  It's important to see how far you have to go but importantly you should celebrate how far you have come as well.

Milestone one is to pass the CCIE Written Exam.  While there is a good amount of blueprint overlap between the written and lab, tentatively it's good to get this out of the way first and then focus all your studies on the lab.  Some people suggest that if you're ready for the lab, you can hammer the written and while this should be true, the reality is you cant login to the CCIE portal and see what slots are available to take for the lab (tentatively scheduling that, especially if you are thinking of taking some vacation time prior to the lab)

Milestone two varies but if you have decided on a training vendor and have determined your plan on lab resources (something I plan to write about in a next post) it may achieved be completing an initial workbook twice.  The reason I say twice is usually the first time round you will be learning more about how the features actually work which can be quite arduous and length and may require quite a bit of solution guide validation (maybe getting there is milestone 2A) the second time round you should have quite a good understanding of those technologies and can go through the workbook again more efficiently and understand the behavour (perhaps this is then milestone 2B)

[Optional] Milestone three may be where you are ready to attend a bootcamp, this particular milestone may be reordered (or possibly repeated depending on the training vendor) however I would recommend hitting the bootcamp with a reasonable understanding of the technologies across the blueprint.  Most bootcamps wont be able to hit every part of the blueprint but most instructors are able to help you out in your problem areas but more importantly if you have been studying on your own networking with real people that are on the CCIE train as well can be very inspiring and invigorating if the shine of chasing those digits is wearing off.

Milestone four will be completing an advanced vendor workbook - generally these workbooks are somewhat similar in complexity and duration as the real lab.  Besides getting used to the types of topics, you will be focusing on your reading comprehension as well as speed and accuracy.

[Optional] Milestone five would be doing a graded mock lab.  There are several vendors around, some are closer in experience to the actual lab exam than others but pretty much any mock lab is good in that it puts you under pressure in a slightly unfamiliar environment

[Optional] Milestone six may be another bootcamp visit (some training vendors give free reseats, or if the time table of the available bootcamps don't tie up with your own schedule this may be your first visit)  If this is a revisit, it should be seen as a re-enforcement that you have addressed your previous weaknesses and hopefully some validation that you are ready to face the lab

Milestone seven would be doing (another?) graded mock lab.  Certainly don't repeat an existing lab but use this as a method for verifying you have your speed and accuracy under control and that you are really reading the questions.  If you didn't do as well in the previous mock lab, you should be aiming for a higher level of success here.

Milestone eight would be facing the lab itself, should you not get over the line, tentatively looping back to milestone six or seven may be worthwhile.  Take time to refocus, re-energise and remember why you wanted to face the lab, although there are quite a few success stories of people passing the first time round, there are many more than require more than one shot to get their digits.

The optional steps are purely that, not everyone needs or has the funding (and time) available for bootcamps, in some countries the number of bootcamp options are minimal or non-existent, so you need to factor in international travel costs as well, I understand that there are a number of online bootcamps and while I am sure they are very useful, I have to personally say I got a lot of value in being in a classroom with fellow students and an instructor without the other sort of interruptions you may have if you're online from home (or work)

Perhaps these thoughts can be used by potential CCIE candidates in working out what they need to do to get over the line in terms of how they may face the lab and get their numbers, certainly do more research into what others needed to go to get over the line and work out what may be appropriate for you.  It's worth putting in a few weeks of research up front and be as well informed as to what you need to do rather than change your mind on things part way through.

In a future post I'll give my thoughts about selecting a training vendor (or vendors) and lab equipment.