kesuki's Journal: Self improvement, a friendly wager?

Who wants to make a bet?
Edit: I really want to take and pass the CCIE
cert, to prove to myself how talented and capable I am, But I really don't want to split my time between a entry level job and study to raise cash for the fee... The bet is just to make things more interesting...

I bet I can pass the CCIE exam before december of this year. yeah, thats right, the TOP certification cisco has there are only 4,666 CCIE's in the states, and on average they clear 90-120 grand per year before taxes..

The only prerequisite for CCIE is passing a test/lab (which costs money of course) but since i know what i need to learn how to do... i will need to undergo several months of training, all of which i can do on my own, with the most valuable tool we call the internet... for free, thanks to places like google, wiki, the wayback machine etc...

So the terms of the wager (unless you can think of better ones) are simple, anyone who wants to take me up on this comments on how much they're willing to cough up on the wager. you can comment anon, no worries... and if enough people wager enough to cover exam costs $300 for the written, followed by a $1250 'lab' test. then the bet is on (if $300 is donated I will begin preperation for the written test, and if not enough is donated for the lab by the time i've passed it, I will simply write a new JE asking for more people to place a bet).. If you 'win' the bet and i didn't pass the exam by said deadline (assuming that the tests can all be scheduled and there is no waiting list for testing , any thing like that will give me an 'extention' on the deadline, but only as long as it wasn't my fault) everyone who wagered gets to make any 'reasonable' request of me that is lawful for me to do I will do it. with one caveat if said request involves expenditure of additional funds they agree to cover said expenses*. If i 'win' i don't 'have' to do anything for the money i recieved, however i will give priority consideration to job offers from the top bidders prior to searching over the 'general' internet..

Why not just earn the cash myself? That's just plain boring, live a little, make life exciting and dangerous once in a while ^_-. Win or loose It's sure to be intersting if enough people sign on for enough $

I have a paypal account, set to my e mail which is myslashdotusername (think about it) And Two Yes Any Help Oh Opps ./ Crummy Ouch Man... If you can't figure that out... think it out a bit... or just ask on aim ;)

*= unless I fail miserably on the written test, in which case any money collected over the $300 will either be refunded, or used to cover costs associated with filling people's requests

which CCIE?

[Em Emalb]

Security, Routing/Switching, Voice, Service Provider?

I think there's one other one, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

I'm headed this direction too, not routing switching though, going the Voice route.

It's a toughie.

Good luck.

Re:which CCIE?

[kesuki]

Security or service provider, haven't decided 100%

I might go both...

Re:which CCIE?

[kesuki]

sorry double reply.. I want a good challenge ^_^ In prperation for the exam (if i go security) i'm thinking of building a freebsd web/mail/ftp etc server (out of one of my beaters) set it up as a server for that one network booting protocol that was part of PC98... and set it up so my windows box can thin client into it, to admin it... oh and i'm gonna set up a chroot jail, post the root password to the box with my ip address and challenge /. to 'break' my server when i feel ready If i can make it for >=

Re:which CCIE?

[Em Emalb]

There is a guy here at work who has a triple CCIE, routing/switching/service provider/security. He is currently working on the lab (passed the written) for the Voice IE.

He's insane. I asked him which was the easiest of the three he's taken and he said the routing switching was probably the hardest, followed by service provider then security.

He did say they were all really challenging though. He spent an average of 30 hours a week for 6 months straight studying for the security lab. Fun fun fun.

Good luck

Re:which CCIE?

[kesuki]

man i should warn you i never studied for a test in my life and half the time (in classes i sat up and payed attention to) i still couldn't get below a 97%
on tests.

Re:which CCIE?

[Em Emalb]

hope you pass. You need to study for this test.

Seriously.

There's a reason there's only a few thousand worldwide...

Re:which CCIE?

[kesuki]

I need to learn... not study, there is a difference.

When i learn something i never forget it, like ever.

I may be scatterbrained at times, but i remember so much stuff... I don't make the claim that i'm a genius lightly. My IQ should be anywhere in the 170-220 range it's not because I've never applied myself... I was in stealth mode ^_-

Studying isn't enough

[networkJockey]

I've had work associates attempt the CCIE's, and neither pasted on the first try. Studying does you some good when taking the written test, but physical doing is was will get you through the labs. You just have to be used to handling hardware and knowing the potential problems that may arise in an action. All in all...the labs have been seen to take an average of 2.5 attempts to pass. I wish you luck on your struggle to the top.

Re:Studying isn't enough

[kesuki]

Well, i have 12 ethernet cards, 3 dumb switches, a linksys router :/ but i've used freeBSD and i've set up a coaxial LAN as well as real ethernet... i crimp my own cables, weither straight through or cross over... I will accept donations of hardware ^_- if anyone thinks i need more than that...