Nick Allgood, CCIE #37428

I've been studying for nearly 1 and a half years for my CCIE and from the very beginning I started with INE stuff, even prepping for the written. I've used INE going forward as my foundation for my lab preparation. The volume I & II workbooks were essential training material. I also did a lot of INE graded mock labs that really helped open my eyes into my weak areas.. especially since I was biased toward myself :) I took the lab the first time and it was pretty brutal.. it chewed me up and spit me out. It was pretty depressing at first, but I eventually came to my senses and used it as a study tool to focus on my weak areas.. and then pretty much spent the next 4 months grinding my weak areas and doing full scale mock labs. I also gotta thank Brian McGahan personally.. he's been a very good teacher, mentor and inspiration along my journey.. reassuring me to not give up and it's possible! Now the rest of you candidates, don't let anything stand in your way :)