Dawit Ejigu, CCIE #50222

Being in the networking industry starting from late 2004, I was really hungry to succeed in reaching my goal of being a holder of one of the most respected certifications in the world, CCIE. Although I was in a constant study of the technology along the way, all the study and preparation that I did towards a certification was 2005 CCNA, 2007 CCNP and come 2010 I had to renew my certificates. I decided to take a CCIE R&S written, which would also renew my certification. That was where it all started. It was on and off study and at the end of 2013 things started to get serious. I heard from my friends that they thought INE was the best in the industry. At that time, my company was willing to sponsor my study or bootcamp. So I was so dedicated to take it further whatever it takes. I invested out-of-pocket, signed up for a bootcamp which got me a 2 year All Access Pass and I also bought some rack time. I also had a home rack which I got from eBay. It was a constant 5-8 hours of study after work. I finally went for the bootcamp. It was the best experience in my life. I've been in school, college, graduate school for most of my life. This was something else. It was an enjoyable moment of two full weeks. I never liked sitting in class for a long time, and here I was, attending classes 10hrs straight, for two weeks, and I was like a machine. The instructor was so good at what he does. To put it in few words, he knows his stuff!! By this time, I went through all the videos by Brian and went through a lot of practice labs so I scheduled my lab exam three weeks after my bootcamp. It was CCIE R&S V4 at that time. My first attempt was close. I passed the configuration part but failed the Troubleshooting by a point. I was not crushed, because I thought I did good for a first attempt. But it was too late for me to re-take V4. I had to wait for V5 and study all the technology again. I did all that, plus went through the INE videos for V5 (by Brian) and the last one I took was the online Cram Session for one week. I did a lot of practice labs, pumped my chest to finally say "I'm ready". Success never tasted any sweeter. I finally did it. In some way, I get a very weird feeling that I'm kinda glad that I didn't make it the first time. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have passed on my first attempt but I studied even harder and knew a lot of new things that I didn't know for my first attempt. Thank you for the wonderful guys in INE, Brian McGhan, Dave Smith. Now, instead of just phone number and social security number, I have another number that's dedicated to me and only me!!! Thank you!