Introduction
I recently made a full commitment to study towards the CCIE Routing and Switching v5 written exam. The primary reasons for this are to refresh my certifications but far more importantly, to update and build upon my current skill set. It is key to me that I don’t just pass the exam but deep dive in to each and every subject on the blueprint. If I am successful in both these goals, I will then have a decision to make on whether to go for the lab, but that isn’t on the road map at this stage.
CCIE Routing and Switching v5 Preparation
This post isn’t about the exam itself or even the material in the blueprint. Rather it breaks down what came prior to starting the very first ‘official’ study session as I feel that this will have an important impact on my success and general enjoyment of the learning ahead.
Timing
This is critical. Studying for the CCIE requires such a large commitment in terms of time, effort and in many cases money, you need to be ready to take this challenge on. Diving in without giving serious consideration to the things listed below will likely make your journey a difficult one. Some key areas to think about:
- Certification level. There are no prerequisites to pass your CCIE. To sit the lab, you need to have passed the written exam and that is it. My advice would be to not take that path however. I would recommend that you do both the CCNA and CCNP level certifications for the particular CCIE path you are hoping to achieve. This will serve several functions. Firstly, the studying required to pass each level will build your foundational knowledge up, making the CCIE content less of a shock to the system. Secondly, sitting those exams will get you used to the way Cisco ask questions and the exam process in general. Thirdly, whether deserved or not, many people will be weary of CCIEs that took the direct route, bypassing NA and NP exams
- Career. There are two key factors here for me. One is experience and is naturally related to my previous bullet point. A CCIE with only two years networking experience will raise a red flag with some people. Not to say that every engineer with 10+ years under their belt is the best thing since sliced bread, but, in addition to lower level certs, a minimum of five years or so experience says to me that you’re more likely to have seen a good range of tech and worked on more networks. Regardless, this isn’t about job interviews, so on a person by person basis, more experience should mean you are better prepared to do the CCIE than when you were less experienced.The second factor is based on whether your current role will allow you to commit to your CCIE studies. If you’ve stepped in to a completely non-technical management role, or it involves a lot of travelling, or you are doing a six month contract pulling 60+ hour weeks, it might not be the best time to start this journey. That’s just me, you might relish the extra challenge, but I think success will be much more likely if you have the time in your week to put the extra studying time in, without burning out. Working in a relevant technical hands on role will help supplement your training. A role that you also enjoy will be far more likely to motivate you to study than a role that does not inspire you in any way
- Personal life. This is the one I hear takes a lot of people by surprise. You might be lucky in that you can do all the studying you want at work or you might have so much spare time that fitting in 10-20 hours of study a week only impacts your TV watching schedule but most people will have to make some serious compromises. You will certainly need to consider cutting right back on your social life, even giving up going out at all for a period of time. There will also be a toll on those close to you so make sure you have the full support of your family and friends. Especially with family, make sure you explain to them just what lies ahead so that they can adjust too.
From a health point of view, you probably don’t want to start a CCIE track if you are recovering from a serious illness, or if you have a medical operation due in what would be your study period. You most likely don’t need that kind of extra stress in your life. - The same goes for your finances. Make sure you are at a reasonable level of financial stability before you begin the commitment. This will be a relative decision for each of you, but I personally wouldn’t want to have working overtime to pay off debts in the back of my mind, or thinking about where I was going to get all the money to pay for the exams and training materials. Which brings me to my next point
Materials
You need to ensure that you have all the relevant training materials to hand, maybe not at the outset but certainly as you get to the section of your training that requires them! What those materials are will depend on a number of factors including your preferred learning style, budget and current knowledge. Some people love text books, workbooks, videos, labs, online resources, classroom training or any combination of these.
Whilst it is important to have the right materials, I would be cautious of having too many. You need to review the blueprint for both the written and the lab and work out what materials will give you the best chance of understanding the topics on each and passing the relevant part as comfortably as possible. Reading five multicast books may give you an unprecedented understanding of the subject or it may waste valuable time when you largely read the same topics written in different styles, where one really good book on the topic might suffice.
Read what other people are saying about their materials and if you can, actually speak to people who have gone through this before you.
Plan
Some people like to set a date in their head from the outset e.g. “I will pass the written in three months and sit the lab 12 months later”. For me, I am happy to be a little more relaxed. Remember from my opening comments that I am initially only studying for the written at this time and the primary reason is to renew my knowledge, so I have no specific deadlines. Having said that, I still have a rough plan outlined for getting through each of the six modules, have all the official materials which I will be supplementing with online resources as I tackle them and have set expectations with my family. I am aiming to do between 10 and 15 hours a week.
Summary
I’ve spent a long time thinking about the CCIE. When I first passed my CCNA, it was at the forefront of my mind and remained so for quite some time afterwards. Having moved about in my career since then and gained a wealth of experience in different technologies, I think I’ve done the right thing waiting until now. All the things listed above have come together at the right time. I will review whether I will take a shot at the lab at a later date.
I would love to hear from readers who are either thinking about doing their CCIE, are currently on the path or have already achieved their digits. Leave your comments below, hit me up on Twitter, or send me an email.
Till the next time.