ABOUT CCIE?

CCIE is a great certification that pays extremely well. There is a private consultant in the province I live in that makes $1200/day and is smoking busy. The certifaction is very hard. The pass rate for CCIE is approximately 20%, that means 80% fail.... You have to write a written exam, if you pass, you go to San Jose, CA or Dalhousie, NS(Nova Scotia, Canada) and you are given a bunch of stuff and told set it up this way and in this amount of time. You can have books for refernce, but if you have to look you will fail. Now if you pass that, The next day you come back and they give you network back, but all broken. Engineers take and put bad cables, bad routers, change settings, etc. and you have to fix it in a certain amount of time. IF you pass that, you are a CCIE. Now not to discourage you, but it is a certification that takes some serious brain power and some serious devotion to get into. Not exactly your entry level certification.

Only the most dedicated can hope to achieve the CCIE certification. If your dedication is less than total at any time--forget it! If you do have the dedication, it may take you several months to years to grasp all that is necessary to pass all of the tests and retain the required knowledge. I have a close friend who is an expert in many networking areas (including TCP/IP) and he is still having difficulties retaining and learning all that is needed. The starting salary is still around $100,000 and will probably be there for quite a while. Expect to travel a lot!!! If a company hires you, the will use and abuse you to the best of their ability and contract you out at the least convienent times. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your decision...

CCIE certification is like trying to add a 5000 lb roof to house whose foundation is built in the sand. You are on the right track in choosing Cisco
certification. You have to take small steps before you can run..
Start with CCNA certification,that's what I did.
I know a few CCIE's, one in N.Y. works as Independant Contractor and rates are 2K a day! He's been CCIE for some years however. I also know another CCIE earning well above 100K with <2 years CCIE certification.
Just remember that to achieve this level of certification will require as others mentioned "DRIVE & DEDICATION". Remain focused on your goal which is also happens to be mine and probably many others. I hope to begin exam testing for CCNP within 3 months.
Good Luck!

I suggest you start with an indepth course in an operating system "Windows 95/98" so you know how it works, then you attend a course in introduction to networking, the best in my opinion would be Novell's "Networking Technologies" where you have to know every little detail in the book.
All that will get you ready to begin your CCNA certification. I speak from experience, and not trying to discourage you. I have achieved my CNE "Certified Novell Engineer" certification in 9 weeks which consistsof 6 tests, and took me 7 weeks only to get the CCNA certification.
Remember, work hard, have a lot of hands on, and if you get the CCIE status in less than 2 years you are really good.

Think of it this way, the CCIE certification is the "Holy Grail" of networking certifications (right now anyway). I've been in the computer field for 19 years. And I've been involved with Networking for the last 12 years. I have my CNE certification, I'm about to test out for my MCSE, I have a degree with a focus in Network Engineering, I'm a journeyman as specified by the Department of Labor in the ADP field, and am actively studying for my CCNA. With all that, I still am not ready for theCCIE. This particular certification requires a frame of reference greater than any other network certification. I agree with everyone else who has addressed this question. And my humble suggestion would be for you to start with an Introduction toMicrocomputers course (taught at any Community College). Then proceed to Introduction to Windows followed by an Introduction to Networks/Networking and proceed very slowly from there until you get to Networking Essentials or Introduction to Networking Protocols. This w

Having read the suggestions, I agree with the recommendations of working throught the Cisco certification process step by step. Speaking from experience as one who has taken several Cisco tests, Cisco tests are not the easiest to pass. But dont become discuraged, get the Cisco Certified Networking Associate first, and work you way up year by year. If you are working while taking the courses, you will find you will be kept quite busy.
R/S
Frank

Cisco has what is called The Cisco Networking Academy in place at the community college level in various places. Check their website for a location near you and enroll in a one year course for the entry level certification, the CCNA. This then leadsto the CCNP which can ready you for the CCIE. This is the least expensive way to go.

If you have little or no IT skills and experience, then forget the CCIE. Start at the bottom with something like the A+. All IT starts with hardware basics. After that, then go for a CNE or MCSE, something that is more intermediate. Then try a CCNA which will get you started into the router side of IT.

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