Josiah Chonko, CCIE #31014
CCIE
On October 19, 2011 I finally passed my CCIE lab at RTP becoming CCIE #31014. I have taken the exam twice before this, both times coming extremely close but not quite making it. I started studying about a year ago using mainly INE products as well as reading blogs and group study. I went through Vol 1 to get started and then jumped right into Vol 2 where I spent the majority of my study time. I went through Vol 2 probably close to 3 times over the year I spent studying. I would go through each lab carefully, referencing the DocCD and Vol 1 for any technologies I was unsure of. The one thing I neglected to spend a lot of time on was troubleshooting. I kept telling myself "I know the technologies so well I can figure out the troubleshooting section when I get there"...this is the wrong answer. Yes, I knew the technologies inside and out but the first two times I failed the exam was due to the fact that I did not have a solid troubleshooting strategy. For all the other candidates out there, make sure you practice troubleshooting, have a solid strategy, read the guidelines carefully and you will do fine. I want to thank everyone at INE, especially Petr who taught the bootcamp I attended in Tampa this past spring. The bootcamp, along with all the other INE products are top-notch and I wouldn't be where I'm at without them.