Jul 31 2009 4:31PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
Chris Bryant,
ccie,
Cisco,
ccnp,
CCNA,
training,
study guide,
labs,
Rack Time,
preparation,
exam,
exams,
The Bryant Advantage
So now that I’ve been at the bootcamp and it’s time to buckle down and get ready for the exams, I was looking for some extra training material. I wanted to find some good study guides and labs that would help me prepare. I was also looking for some rack time (renting Cisco hardware and logging on to it remotely to do labs on) since I don’t own enough equipment myself.
Well I was doing some digging and I came across this thing called The Bryant Advantage. Chris Bryant is a certified CCIE and he created his own study material which is 100% legit and is great for studying for the exam. He also provides rack time if you need it.
So I figured I’d take the plunge and I bought the Bryant Advantage materials with the rack time. I have to say the material is just great! I’ve been reading his ebook and he really does a great job of explaining everything. Also Chris is extremely helpful for any questions you might have. I can highly recommend buying his material to prepare for the CCNP.
-RP
Jan 26 2009 4:18PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
ccie,
Cisco,
Cisco Certification,
CCNA,
ccnp,
verbal,
changes to CCIE Lab and Written exam,
question format,
scoring,
scaled scores
Hi folks, something new in the world of CCIEs. Cisco has decided to add a new component to the CCIE program. Apparently a verbal one!
For those of you that don’t know, the CCIE is considered one of the most respected IT certifications in the industry and is known for it’s extreme difficulty in achieving.
They have been trialing this for sometime now in a pilot that has been running since last August. They want to use this as a method to see if a candidate has the ability to verbally explain themselves when describing technical situations.
I recently received an e-mail from Cisco stating that effective February 1, 2009 that the verbal component will be added. They also mentioned they are changing the format of the exams effective February 17th, 2009 so that you can’t go back when you answer questions, you can only move forward onto the next question. This would be in line with the other Cisco certification exams that already do this. They also mention that the score report will now report your score as a scaled score on a scale from 300 to 1000 just like the other exams.
-RP
Oct 11 2008 7:13PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
certifications,
university,
mcse,
Information Technology,
CCNA,
ccie,
ccnp,
mcp,
mcts,
college,
certify,
vendor certifications,
experience,
work placement,
co-op programs,
post secondary education,
volunteer work,
paper MCSE,
IT employment
So you’ve graduated from university or college and you’re ready to go out into the world and nail that first awesome IT job. You and your family and friends all know how good you are. You’re the resident computer whiz and you think to yourself “People would be crazy not to hire me!”. So you go out into the world and you find that you get little to no bites on your resumes.
One of the reasons is because everyone and their dog thinks they know IT but unfortunately it’s getting increasingly harder for employers to tell the difference between a wannabe and the real deal. As someone who has been regularly engaged in the hiring process over the course of my career, I can tell you about two things that stand out on a resume for an IT prospect - experience, and certifications.
One without the other just doesn’t cut it. You can have all the experience in the world but if you don’t have the certs then people will wonder how good that experience actually is. You can have a billion and one certs, but if you don’t have the experience with actual projects people are going to think you’re all flash and no substance. The “paper MCSE” comes to mind here.
So how do you get both of these? Well if you are having problems finding work, what you should do is during your education get enrolled in a good co-op program (combination of study and work) where your school places you in a company to learn the trade for a few months of the year. This way you graduate with both experience and theory.
The other way is to volunteer at many organizations that need volunteer IT help. This is a great way to get experience and do something good for your community. This also looks great on resumes. This will also help you when you go to write your certification exams because some experience in the real world will always help you pass those exams.
I always hear people make fun of certifications, but those are usually the people who don’t have the kahonas to go and write them and feel like they have to put them down to legitimize themselves. Instead ignore those naysayers and go out and get that experience and those certifications. Together that will put you a cut above the rest!
-RP
