Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)

Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)

 
You’ve become a CCNP, and now you fix your sights on getting your Cisco
Certified Internetwork Expert CCIE in Routing and Switching—what do
you do next? Cisco recommends that before you take the lab, you take test
640-025: Cisco Internetwork Design (CID) and the Cisco-authorized course
called Installing and Maintaining Cisco Routers (IMCR). By the way, no
Prometric test for IMCR exists at the time of this writing, and Cisco recom-
mends a minimum of two years of on-the-job experience before taking the
CCIE lab. After jumping those hurdles, you then have to pass the CCIE-R/S
Exam Qualification (exam 350-001) before taking the actual lab.
How Do You Become a CCIE?
To become a CCIE, Cisco recommends you do the following:
   1. Attend all the recommended courses at an authorized Cisco training
       center and pony up around $15,000–$20,000, depending on your cor-
       porate discount.
   2. Pass the Drake/Prometric exam ($200 per exam—so hopefully, you’ll
       pass it the first time).
   3. Pass the two-day, hands-on lab at Cisco. This costs $1,000 per lab,
       which many people fail two or more times. (Some never make it through!) Also, because you can take the                
       exam only in San Jose, California; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Sydney, Australia;Halifax, Nova 
      Scotia; Tokyo, Japan; or Brussels, Belgium, you might just need to add travel costs to that $1,000. Cisco has 
      added new sites lately for the CCIE lab; it is best to check the Cisco Web site for the most current 
      information.