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August 24, 2004

More Old News

Something that may have slipped your notice (from PACKET First Quarter 2004)....

CCIE Program Celebrates 10 Successful Years

Ten years ago 31 networking pioneers agreed to take part in an emerging certification program to prove their ability to configure, test, and troubleshoot real-world networking equipment. These 31 individuals became the first to earn the elite CCIE expert-level networking certification from Cisco, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

Wow. It makes you really appreciate how truly new the networking field is compared to other fields. Yes, there was networking before the CCIE. That's why they were able to attain the certification ten years ago. They already had knowledge and experience of networking at the EXPERT level.

But, one of the best-known and well-respected certifications is ONLY 10 years old! I remember when I first started in the field. I remember hearing about the CCIE and being in awe of someone who could pass such a rigorous test. I didn't know that the program was only 2-3 years old at the time.

Unfortunately, I can't find a listing of the original 31. I think that would be very beneficial/interesting to know about them. Another nugget from the site: Less than 3% of Cisco Certified Professionals become CCIE certified. I wonder how many of them attempt it, but never attain the credential? Cisco is pretty close-mouthed about CCIE test stats. Statistics on worldwide CCIEs and the number in private employ (not employed by Cisco) are available, but the exam statistics are a well-guarded secret.

I've heard the written exam described as "humbling"... by a few really good network engineers who took and failed it. It seems that passing the written test on the first shot is rare. But, once you pass that hurdle, all that's left is the lab exam. Yeah...right. "Most candidates will attempt the lab 2-3 times..." Jeez. The written test is $300 a crack. Multiply that times at least two. The lab exam costs $1250 - plus the price of travel and lodging. And you're going to probably have to fork that out 2 or 3 times...

Of course, there are only 11,275 CCIEs...with only 4,563 of them in North America. Approximately 8,300 of those 11,275 are employed by private enterprise (not by Cisco).

Common folklore has it that all CCIEs earn over 6 figures. Hmmm... may very well be worth it. The prestige alone is alluring...

Posted by BlueWolf on August 24, 2004 05:42 PM