There may not be as many job openings specifically seeking CCIEs
as there are for the also popular MCSEs (Microsoft Certified
System Engineers), but there are also a lot fewer CCIEs in the
job market: 330,000+ MCSEs versus a little over 5,000 CCIEs.
Given the high level of expertise required to become a CCIE
combined with laws of supply and demand, it should come as no
surprise that an IT professional with a CCIE on their resume
can easily command $100,000 salary or more. Just check the DICE
job board and see for yourself.
So what does it take to get the right to put these four
valuable letters after your name? On the surface it's not
too daunting: pass one multiple choice qualification exam
and one hands-on lab exam. But it's the lab exam that's
the killer. It's 2 days long, costs $1,250 to take, and the
failure rate for first-timers taking the hands-on
exam is reported to be about 80%. But, as over 5,000 people
can tell you, it can be done.
Although until recently there were several CCIE tracks to
choose from (Routing & Switching, ISP Dial, and SNA/IP
Integration), all but the Routing & Switching track are
scheduled to be discontinued. The Routing & Switching
track has always been, by far, the most popular. To earn your
CCIE in this track, you'll have to pass a qualification exam,
then the lab exam.
The qualification exam contains about 100 questions and
you have up to 2 hours to complete it. Exams are administered
through the worldwide Prometric
network and cost $300. It covers such a whole lot of territory,
including: Cisco device operations; bridging and LAN switching,
WAN addressing, signaling, and framing; security access and
control issues, network performance management, and of course
lots and lots of networking and desktop protocols.
Next up is the lab exam. It's a bit more inconvenient to
schedule, as you'll have to travel to a lab location. In the
U.S. testing facilities exist in North Carolina and California.
There are also lab-testing facilities in many other countries,
including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Korea,
South Africa, Singapore, Japan, and a few others.
The lab exam is a two-day, hands-on test. Most of
the exam consists of building a network to specification.
Then, while you are out of the room, an examiner will insert
faults into your network, and you have to find, document,
and fix them when you return.
While there is no specifically defined training track to
assist CCIE candidates in preparing for this exam, there are
plenty of learning options available. CCIE candidates often
set up a practice lab at home, or buy time at practice lab
that is set up somewhere else. There are eight such facilities
at universities in the U.S. There are even companies that
make router facilities available via the Internet, at an hourly
fee.
Cisco maintains blueprints for all of its certification
exams on its Web site, and candidates should become intimately
familiar with them. Another option is to attend a CCIE Bootcamp,
such as the one offered by CCPrep.com.
CCIE candidates should also plan to read lots of books and
manuals.
In order to maintain active CCIE status, CCIEs are required
to complete a recertification exam every two years. The recertification
exams are similar to the qualification exam in format, and
are available in a variety of topic areas.
The CCIE is obviously difficult and expensive to earn, however,
many IT professionals and their employers find it worth the
effort. A company with one or more CCIEs on staff gets extra
reseller perks from Cisco, and will find the power of that
designation benefits the company's sales, and it certainly
shines on the resume of the person that earns the title.
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