Hey guys,
I have had many requests on how I have prepared for the exam so let
me share with everyone.
1.) First and foremost for all of the exams I used the Sybex study
guides by Joseph M. Soricelli and Harry Reynolds. I did not take any
shortcuts by going straight for the JNCIS. I think it is a good idea
to start off with the JNCIA. All of the Sybex books are out of print
and you can buy them used on Amazon for a very steep price :) I would
suggest just obtaining the free copies of these study guides on
Juniper's web site which can be found at this link.
http://www.juniper.net/training/certification/books.html
2.) After reading the JNCIA book I also read a friends copy of the
CJNR training manuel and took notes on it as well. After reading over
the notes I took the practice exams that came with the Sybex book. On
any topics that I was weak on I very quickly glanced over that
chapter again. This process took maybe three or four months and then
I took the exam and passed it on the first attempt.
3.) Took maybe a month off from studying and then read the JNCIS
book. I also read a friends copy of the AJNR training manuel and took
notes on it as well. After reading over the notes I took the practice
exams that came with the Sybex book. On any topics that I was weak on
I very quickly glanced over that chapter again. This process maybe
took three or four months and then I took the exam and passed it on
the first attempt.
4.) Took maybe another month or so off from studying and then read
the JNCIP Sybex book and made sure to practice each and every
scenario. This process took about 4 months and I highly recommend
going through all of these labs. Doing so will truly build up all of
the skills that you need to take this exam. I then got my work to
approve and pay for a JNCIP bootcamp which was taught by Rick
Schenderlein. At the time Rick was with IPath and he is now currently
joined up with Doug Marschke at ietraining.net. That was really key
for me to fine tune all of the skills I have learned. The bootcamp
provided tons of hands on timed lab scenarios. Rick did a good job
with clarifying any remaining misconceptions I have had up to that
point. He really goes above and beyond in taking you under his wing
and making sure that when you leave the bootcamp you are truly
ready. After that Bootcamp I passed the JNCIP exam on the first try.
5.) This time I got a little lazy and took about 3 or maybe 4 months
off. I started back up going through the JNCIE Sybex book and made
sure that I completed all of the tasks. I took extensive notes and
reviewed these notes and also re practiced configurations that I had
in my notes. This process probably took me about 7 months. After that
I had my work pay for the JNCIE bootcamp. I still used Rick
Schenderlein who is currently with ietraining.net. For anyone looking
to take any type of Juniper related bootcamp or training these are
the guys I would recommend. Once again Rick did a superb in the
training. Unfortunately for me after taking the training I took the
exam soon after the bootcamp and barely missed it. Rick went above
and beyond and and helped me out by giving me additional practice
scenarios to help me get right back on track. Took the exam again a
month later and finally passed.
This whole process took me a little over two years and had helped me
out so much. I have improved my Junos skills tremendously by forcing
myself to go through this process. It certainly was not easy for me
or my family. But after it is all said and done there is no better
feeling. Also another question I get asked allot is which exam is
harder the JNCIE or the CCIE. That is a very difficult question to
answer. I think all in all the JNCIE is a harder exam partly because
you have to pass two grueling 8 hour practical labs. Also IMO the
JNCIE goes much deeper into the technology and provides more
difficult real world scenarios. The CCIE was also difficult and
seemed to provide difficult tasks that where not necessarily real
world situations. These where more like tricky things that you would
never do in a production environment that force you to think on your
feet to complete them. It was also hard for me to learn some of the
CCIE stuff because at the time it had a bunch of crap that I really
did not want to learn like ISDN and EIGRP that I had to force myself
to pickup only to pass the test. And for the JNCIE there really
wasn't a topic that it covered that was not interesting to me so it
made it more fun to learn.
On Jul 18, 2008, at 8:23 AM, Mike Flanagan wrote:
> Hello,
>
> It comes with great pleasure to announce to the world that I have
> finally passed the JNCIE-M exam yesterday. It was my second
> attempt, the first time was in San Jose and this last time I took
> it in Herndon. Both facilities are top notch and both proctors
> David Williams in San Jose and Mark Postma in Herndon where very
> helpful and fair. I am sure I annoyed them both with millions of
> questions on clarifying tasks but they where great about it ;)
> There where many people that I must thank for making this possible
> because withought them obtaining this certification would only be a
> dream of mine. First off and most importantly to my lovely wife
> Diana for putting up with all of the late study nights. I know it
> was not easy and I do not deserve her but I am so thankful that god
> has blessed me with this lovely person. Thank you Bill Spurlock for
> all of your help and support you have always come through when
> needed and I appreciate that so much. Thank you so much Rick
> Schenderlein from ietraining.net. Rick has gone far above and
> beyond what most training vendors would do to ensure my success.
> For those who have not had the pleasure of going to one of there
> bootcamps I highly recommend it. I do not care how seasoned a
> network engineer you are, you will be guaranteed to learn a ton of
> information. Bar none these guys provide the best Juniper training
> available. Also a big shout out to my two study partners "both who
> beat me to the JNCIE ;)" Eural Authement and Tim Irwin. It has been
> a blast studying with these guys. Look forward to working with you
> guys on the JNCIE-ER exam starting next week ;) And last but
> certainly not least thank you to Ariff Primji. He was the
> inspiration that made me actually believe that it was possible for
> me to achieve this goal. If it was not for Ariff's inspiration I
> probably would not have even begun the journey for the JNCIE yet if
> ever.
>
>
> Mike Flanagan
>
>
> P.S. Before I forgot thanks to all of the Group Study members on
> this list who have helped me as well. There are two many people to
> name here but thank you all so much. Also thank you Harry for the
> amazing book!!! And to everyone on there way to the JNCIE do not
> give up or accept defeat. You only fail when you stop trying.
Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=9&i=5738&t=5738
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