Harold W. Bowlin, CCIE #52521

I began really buckling down and studying for my CCIE in August of 2015. I have been in the industry for ~10 years. I wasn't sure when I started that I wanted to work so hard to get a CCIE. Once I was a CCNP and CCDP, however, I knew I needed to progress my career path. This was back in 2010. I wasn't really serious in my studies for the first four or five years. I realized I needed to up my level of effort if I wanted to finish my goal. I booked a bootcamp with David Smith in January and attended it. David was awesome and is the only guy I know that can teach for 14 hours a day with such enthusiasm. He is very knowledgeable and answers all questions thoroughly. He will even answer lab questions and give examples as you go through the bootcamp if you ask. My first attempt was on Jan 18th. I ran out of time on Troubleshooting, passed Diag, and ran out of time miserably on Configuration. I realized after that attempt that what I thought was studying wasn't really studying. I started doing labs for five to six hours a night and attempted a second time on March 18th. I almost passed that time, but failed Diag. I was not happy with myself and booked another lab right away. My third attempt was on April 22nd and I smashed all three sections. I was finished by 2:30PM and spent another hour verifying my configuration. If you attempt a couple times and don't pass, don't get discouraged. Keep studying hard and grinding out sessions. It will pay off in the end!