CCIE: Is it really all about numbers???
One of our competitors likes to say:
“It’s simple. You are trying to obtain your CCIE number and xxx is all about CCIE numbers.”
I disagree completely. Becoming a CCIE is NOT all about CCIE numbers. It’s about learning. It’s about experiencing. It’s about YOU BECOMING an EXPERT! Too many training companies focus on quantity and NOT quality. Companies like to say, “We have the fastest growing list of CCIE’s.” That’s great. So to them, their customers are just numbers. I absolutely hate this type of thinking and approach. This is what separates CCBOOTCAMP from our CCIE competition. We focus on the student. We do NOT just like to shove workbooks down people’s throats and hoping that their “lab rat” experience works out well and it gets them through the CCIE lab exam.
I work closely with all of my sales staff, support staff, and instructors to make sure that we provide our students with the best experience possible. What does this mean you ask? This means that we make sure you get the right package from the start. We HATE just selling rack time and workbooks. Sure, it’s a quick and easy buck, but that’s NOT what CCBOOTCAMP is about. We want to make sure our instructors interact with you on a personal level and spend the time necessary to make sure you UNDERSTAND what you are doing and WHY you are doing it - when you do a lab. When I studied for my CCIE lab exam, all I had was a workbook and a rack. I didn’t have an instructor to guide me. What I found out, during my studying, was that I could type the commands that would delivery the proper and correct configuration, but I really, and truly did NOT understand what I was doing! Sure, I even passed my CCIE R&S lab exam. I never configured OSPF or BGP in a production environment prior to the lab exam. I read a few books, did a few labs, and knew enough to pass the lab. If I had to do anything related to OSPF or BGP in a production environment that varied from the CCIE lab, I was screwed! Fortunately, since then, I’ve gotten some production experience with OSPF and a little BGP.
I want our students to LEARN and UNDERSTAND what they are doing. I do not want them to become the same type of engineer I was when I passed my lab exam. I want our students to know what they are doing and why they are doing it. Sure, getting a CCIE # is great, but if you haven’t got the slightest clue of what you’re actually doing and why, are you really an expert? I don’t think so!
Sure, we have a large “hall of fame” that my sales staff posted. But I actually, personally, know quite a few of them! My staff has interacted with the majority of them. Our success stories aren’t just success stories that purchased a workbook off our website and studied. These are engineers we have worked with who have succeeded by learning.
Can a lot of people get a workbook, memorize some scenarios and pass the lab exam? Definitely. Does that make that person an expert? Probably not. I encourage our instructors to work closely with our students to make sure they understand the technologies they are configuring. We DO NOT teach to the test - we actually teach you the technologies and how they interact with each other. It’s quite a different approach than our competition, but I’m sure you’ll agree, it makes sense!
I take pride in the methodology that I personally put together. It is a very well thought out program that combines self paced learning with instructor led training. Feel free to check out one of my methodologies if you have time:
http://www.ccbootcamp.com/about-ccbootcamp/approach-and-methodology.html
The majority of my instructors are regularly working on live deployments and customer networks. It allows our instructors to bring a high level of customer understanding and experience into our CCIE classes. CCBOOTCAMP is not only an authorized Cisco training company, but we are also a Cisco Premier Partner with Advanced Unified Communications specialization. We actually PRACTICE in the channel what we PREACH. It’s something none of our competition does. I think it’s another huge benefit to attending one of our CCIE boot camps. When an instructor can bring a recent real-world situation into the classroom, it makes the student experience and understanding “hit home.”
Getting a CCIE is NOT all about just getting a number. It’s about YOU learning and understanding.
Don’t just get your CCIE #, LEARN IT and become a true expert!
Brad Ellis
CCIE#5796 (R&S / Security)
CCSI# 30482
CEO / President
CCBOOTCAMP - A Cisco Sponsored Organization (SO)
YES! We take Cisco Learning Credits!
Training And Remote Racks: http://www.ccbootcamp.com
Tags: Brad Ellis, ccbootcamp, ccie, cisco, training
. 16 Oct 08 | CEO CCIE | Comment (1)