Ali Ahmad Jabbar, CCIE# 51526

It is a matter of great respite for me to pass my CCIE R&S lab exam on first attempt and that on INE scholarship which I won back in August 2013. Honestly speaking, I have been through many ups and downs during my CCIE journey that at one time I was unable to muster enough courage to go for this stressful experience. However, INE workbook, all-access pass, boot-camp and lab exam kept me in the race somehow: I managed to stay connected! Initially, I put my focus on learning technologies in-depth with INE workbook and went through the complete V5 workbook in about two months. Also, I watched Brian McGahan's ATC videos for all those sections which I didn't understand clearly, Brian's amazing skills really kept me spell-bound: he is well and truly the best of the best. In November 2014, I attended INE boot-camp which covered many new things that I didn't know, so it had a seriously positive impact towards my lab preparation but unfortunately I couldn't attempt lab soon afterwards due to my job switch. About four months ago, I developed a strong conviction to go for it and spent every single minute of my spare time towards exam preparation. I would highly recommend every CCIE R&S aspirant to brush up skills with INE ATC videos, workbook and boot-camp before going for the lab exam. If you don't do it, you definitely miss some serious learning opportunity! In the end, I would pay my sincere gratitude to Brians and the whole INE team for helping me achieve my dream. Without the support of INE, it would have been quite impossible.