Eric Stewart: Running Off At The Mouth

I’m quite the lazy person and quite the procrastinator. As such, I left my CCNP recertification to the last minute, and ended up failing the exam (with a score that, three years ago, would have been passing). I would argue that there were some screwed up tickets on 300-135, and my second attempt resulted in a better score … but yet another failure (by 12 points out of 1000). My weak areas were supposedly Layer 2 (I would really like to sit down with a test writer and ask them “What the fuck?!” because, while I am certainly more of a Layer 3 guy, it’s not like I don’t know Layer 2) and VPN (yes, well, that one I’ll cop to).

But, in all honesty, my part of the failure (because I strongly feel that there’s some fault to be had in the higher score requirements than previously, as well as some questionable questions) are down to not being aware of what had changed; not being aware of new material on the blueprint.

So, I have to start all over again at the CCNA.

I daresay I probably could pass any combination of CCNA level exams without much work. But I’m not letting my ego run too amuck; I’m actually trying to study. My study method, however, involves offering the opportunity for others to learn with me.

I stream on Twitch generally Sun-Fri, 5:30pm-7:00pm Eastern US (and randomly during the day on Saturday and Sunday), working my way through the CCNA Blueprint using some books to check that I’m covering what should be expected on the exam as well as utilizing my work-built iNE CCIE lab equipment when a live example or lab work would be appropriate. There’s also a fair bit of Googling going on (usually ending up on a Cisco page or Wikipedia) when confronted with a concept.

It’s also not a “hard” schedule (yet, anyway).

I’ve had a question or two, and maybe actually the odd viewer. For the most part, I’m still starting out, and there have been days (particularly after rough day at work, or if something work related starts cutting into my stream time) where I haven’t even bothered to look at any study material. But if you’re a CCNA wanna-be and think you might be able to learn with a lecturer that’s also attempting to learn, hop on my Twitch during the scheduled times. Since it’s not like there’s a lot of people watching at this point, I have no problem going off on tangents or talking about concepts that are not related to the current focus. If it’s between 5:30pm and 7:00pm and I’m not there … then I’m probably not going to be there for the night.

So … that’s where I’m at right now … trying to start all over and re-earn my certifications.