MY JOURNEY IN ACHIEVING MY CCIE

It all started in year 2006, when I realized that the Nigeria market has less to offer people studying Technology Education in the university. I have always loved anything related to computer right from my early age. My goal was to study computer engineering in the university, but due to cut off mark, I studied technology education which led me into certifications.

As of the time I started my career in networking, I had no computer to learn and work with. Due to this, I knew less about computer operations. Moreover, at the same time of my career, my dad died, and things became so tough in times of funds and concentrating with all around me. In a nutshell, it was all by the Grace of the Almighty God, Zeal, Determination, and Supports from friends that believed in me that got me to where I am now.

I registered for my CCNA while in my second year in school, and as of that time, people around me thought I was crazy, and they told me I was going through the wrong path. This led me to do a lot of things without informing my family members. I thank God that at the end, I never regretted my decision. I would go for training during the weekends and during the week; I would create time to study for both my university courses and certifications. I do appreciate Sybex and CBT Nugget for having good training materials and instructor’s that help me in learning the technology from the foundation to a professional level.

People usually say it is when they are studying for the CCIE Lab that they part with their social life but my social life ceased right from the time I started my certification career. During the period of writing CCNA, I would have to meet different people to lend me their laptop so as to practice with the simulation at school. At the end, I got the CCNA and I realized the journey was just starting. In my third year in school, I was meant to go for Industrial Training but even with my CCNA at that time, I went to various organizations but due to lack of connections, I could not get any placement in the industry. This led to me going back to my institution to do my Industrial Training and it was then I made the determination to get to the top in my career that would not make me begging for job from one company to another.

This also helped me get my CCNP, I enrolled for the training and sacrificed a lot of things such as inadequate funds for transportation to my training center. With the grace of God, I finished the course and also did Certified Ethical Hacker. This made me a great value in the University; they handed over lots of duties to me based on my expertise. I can recall a saying that ‘the only way you know stuffs is when you teach others’. This brought me to start training people in CCNA and CCNP. This took me back to my study books to dig more and understand better which I would say also helped me in achieving my CCIE certification. This is because the more I teach, the more I know so sometimes I would teach people for free. The training also enabled me to set up a real lab because I was not just training on theory but also on practical.

Early last year, I could teach the whole of CCNP without looking at a slide because it was already in me. During the period of taking the training, I realized if I did not move on with my career, I would be left behind by the same students I taught. This was what prompted me to get my CCIE. As of late 2009, I started studying hard for the Lab exam. I would say Lab exam because once you are doing that, you know the time is short because you have a lot to accomplish. Moreover, I believed with the preparation for the lab, and the training I involved myself with, the writing will be as easy as A.B.C.

I started with Jeff Joyle, Tcp IP Vol 1 and 2, CCIE R&S study exam certification guide 4th Edition, Cisco press Troubleshooting IP Routing protocols. At the time I finished, I was so endowed with knowledge. I registered for the 5 days bootcamp INE which they came to do in New Horizon, where I got to clear my thoughts and doubts.

Again, I took the whole of 2010 studying and labbing up scenarios using GNS, online tracks and also the small lab I was able to have, which includes 2 3500s and 1 3560 with 2 2811 routers, INE volume 1&2, class on demand, video on demand. I would say the experience along the line was awesome, because as of the time, people know I got the stuff, I was respected, cherished by my friends and was getting Income, and also getting better in the technologies as the days pass by.

I did my CCIE written in February 2011, and based on that I was able to book for the mobile lab in Nigeria for June. As at that time, I had started working as a full time staff in a small IT firm. I regard it as small because they were virtually everything and have less stuff. This made it tougher because through the whole day, I would be giving my all to the organization and at night, I would be studying for the lab exam.

Due to my lectures, I came in contacts with lots of people who knew I was going for the exam and this brought more pressure to me as the days goes by. A month to the exam day, I took a break from the work but sometimes I would still have to go in and get something done for them. As of then, I spent basically 20 hours per day preparing for the exam. I did four INE mock labs within 3 weeks to the day of the exam. Getting to the lab day, I was full of confident that I was passing. One mistake I did was to go and eat, by the time I got back, the proctor had already taken others to the lab room and I got on pressure.

It was tough to get familiar quickly with the environment because the proctor had already put the others through the necessary information before I got in. The troubleshooting section is actually easy if one mind is at rest, but due to the pressure on me, I took longer time on a question and also did mistook a task for another which made me fail the TS. Immediately after the TS, I was already thinking of how to raise funds for my next attempt. I was able to play with the configuration section to have an idea on how the questions are been asked. If one has truly studied, there is nothing on the lab exam that should be strange or too tough; the only thing is time management.

I got back home and I started getting funds together, I raised the money and travelled to Dubai on the 18th of August which was also the day of my birthday. On getting to the lab room, the pressure started again when I read the tough questions first and took time on them, before I knew what was going on, I was already thinking of what I was going to tell my family if I failed. That alone got me distracted and I failed the TS. I did the configuration and thought I would pass that section, but on getting the result, I did not pass the configuration section, then I realized that I might have made things work, but I did not meet up with cisco specification.

I came back to Nigeria and went back to work, during these times, I went back to my drawing board, and I studied back INE volume 1 workbook all over again. This time, I focused more on the advance services and I used Doc CD with it, at the end I was better and fine to take up the task, I built up my confident with the day to day challenges and that made me more mentally stable. I was able to get a seat for the mobile lab in Nigeria for December and I made sure all the mistakes I did during my first and second attempts were put into consideration. This time, I did not inform anybody and I made sure I did everything according to Cisco Specification. At the end of the exam, I was not sure if I was passing or not, I did the ten questions in the TS, but only 8 were correctly verify, while the remaining 2 were not perfectly fine. A day after the exam, because it was on a Friday, I started to recall back the questions I solved during the config section and I noticed that due to short of time, there were 3 questions that I forgot to add one or two commands to, and the more I believed, the more I got scared. On Sunday night, the result came out and I Passed and got the all awaited number.

Right now, am thinking of going into voice, but with the business needs, I guess I could be going into Security. Thanks to all my friends, family and loved ones who supported me one way or the other.

DADA OLUSEGUN ENITAN CCIE #32395