The Study Bug Bites Again

Once I passed the CCIE routing and switching lab, I thought I was done with IT certifications forever. However, I’m finding I’m a little bored now that my life has settled back down. I'm not suffering from epic boredom, you understand, but I am the smallest bit anxious to work on another project. There’s room to start thinking about another quest - another mountain to climb. Some people call this being bitten by the "study bug".

My personal life has been interesting since I passed in April 2008. My job continues to be compelling, generally speaking, although I find it’s hard to stay motivated if the work presented isn't challenging. Perhaps I need to come up with my own challenges, but I’m busy and paying the bills, which is more than some can say in this economy. Outside of work, I’ve jettisoned extracurricular fluff: running web servers for friends, consulting, and such like. I’ve been putting more time into the family, an important and rewarding pursuit. My children need their Dad, and they seem to be a little happier for the attention I’ve been giving them. Being a Dad is not an easy task. I’m trying to do the job right, and I’m learning how as I go. The older the kids get, the more their needs change; raising kids is a moving target.

Back to the question at hand. Could I fit preparation for a second CCIE track into my newly arranged life? For sake of discussion, let’s assume the answer is “yes”. Very good. Which track? I have a strong security background, but we don't use Cisco as a security vendor. My shop doesn't use Cisco as a voice vendor, either. I'd have to work for a different team to get into Cisco storage, not something I'm willing to do right now. The CCIE wireless track is shiny and new, but as a technology, wireless is making slow progress in my shop. All that in mind, I believe that the Service Provider track would be the easiest second track to attempt, not that I believe any CCIE track is “easy” in the traditional sense of the word. Based on comments from a couple of reputable training vendors, I’d have to learn ATM, IS-IS, more BGP, and MPLS, plus pick up off the floor what's been leaking out of my brain since I took the R/S lab.

How would I tackle the CCIE SP track? I don’t have a solid plan right now, but I have some high-level thoughts.

• I need to do foundational reading to firmly grasp MPLS. I have a vague idea of MPLS and how it works - perhaps slightly better than vague. I have enough of a grasp that I don’t feel like an idiot if I’m talking to an engineer at one of our providers. No matter, I have a lot of reading to do to get a hold of it.
• In conjunction with the reading, I need to do some lab work to best prepare for the written exam. I short-changed myself during my routing and switching written preparation by reading and reading and reading, but not doing any lab work to go with it. I think I should do some lab work to help bolster what I’m reading about.
• I need to develop a study schedule that doesn’t leave out the family. Leaving out the family was the greatest mistake I made when preparing for routing and switching. I want the kids to be barely aware that I’m studying, as opposed to CCIE preparation being the all-consuming fire that owned my life for 16 months. I have to have a better balance, and that balance had to be there right from the start.
• I need to pass the written qualification exam. I suppose that’s obvious, but the written is not to be taken for granted. If my company sends me to Networkers in 2009, then I could attempt the written there. I didn't make it to Networkers last year, since I used my training allotment on a CCIE bootcamp.
• I need to review the current vendors’ programs as relating to the SP track. The demand for SP training isn’t nearly what it is for R/S, so I'm guessing the training material doesn't get the same kind of care and feeding. I’ll have to dig into this and see what vendor self-study options are available.
• I need to evaluate my R/S rack and see what pieces are suitable for SP prep. I honestly have no idea what equipment is required for SP track preparation. I'm not even sure which of my routers are capable of MPLS. My rack might be useless, forcing me into renting rack time or finally learning Dynamips.
• I need to see if my company will support me on another track. My guess is "no", since it doesn’t help them if I learn MPLS. It would be foolish not to ask, though.

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