Luis Eduardo Da Silva, CCIE #44011

Hi, I passed the CCIE R&S on my first attempt a few weeks ago. I just want to share the experience of my journey with everyone. It all started about a year and a half ago, when I decided I wanted to become a CCIE. I knew it was going to be a long and hard journey but I was determined to do it. I started by getting an all access pass and watching the videos, also read more books than I can remember, after about 6 months I passed the written exam. After that I continued with the ATC videos and working on the Volume 1 and Volume 2 labs. I have to admit that after doing my first Volume 2 lab it went so bad I had the feeling that I had no idea what I was doing and I was never going to pass this exam. But I'm lucky I had the support from my family and friends, and work colleagues that always kept me going when I was feeling down. The rack rentals that INE has are a really good investment. I have tried a home lab, but just the amount of hours you waste setting things up and changing things around are better spent practicing. With work and family you really need to make the most of every minute you can dedicate to studying. After working for a couple of months on the labs I attended the 10 day bootcamp in London last January. I can definitely say that I wouldn't have passed without this. Dave Smith is an amazing teacher. The way he explains everything and walks you into all sorts of problems, helps you really understand how things work. Also, meeting other people that are in your same situation helps a lot. I kept contact with a few of the other students and we formed a study group. I gained knowledge and friends from the bootcamp, so it was definitely worth it. After this I kept practicing and took a few weeks of work in the final stages where I kept doing labs every day. So that?s it, I'm looking forward to getting my personal life back now :) Thanks to everyone that helped me out and just remember to keep working hard and the results will come.