I have heard it said that there are 10 steps to success.  Step 1, come up with a plan.  Step 2, make sure your plan works.  Steps 3-10, work your plan.

When trying to achieve something as difficult as the CCIE, it’s important to have a plan from the beginning.  Having a plan allows you to focus your efforts.  Rather than waking up and studying whatever strikes your fancy that day, having a plan allows you to know what to study, when to study, and how to study on a daily basis.  The end result is that your efforts are more effective over the long run.

I will be updating this soon with my SP plan

Goals

• Average 15 hours of studying per week
• Pass the written exam by March 2010
• Pass the lab exam by the end of 2010

If there are changes announced for the SP track that will take effect before the end of 2010, I may accelerate my schedule to try and get the lab in before the changes occur.

Study Materials

• Internetwork Expert- Workbooks vol1-2, Advnaced Technologies Class, Bootcmap
• IP Expert- Workbooks vol1-2, Lab Mentoring Guide
• Nabik’s workbook (possibility.  Slated to come out before end of 2009)

In addition to the workbooks/videos listed above, here are the books that I will be using.  I won’t be reading all of these cover to cover.  Only the chapters that apply to the written/lab exam blueprints.

• Routing TCP/IP vol1-2
• Internet Routing Architectures
• MPLS Fundamentals
• Definitive MPLS Network Designs
• QoS for IP/MPLS Networks
• MPLS Configuration on Cisco IOS Software
• MPLS and VPN Architectures vol1-2
• Traffic Engineering with MPLS
• Layer 2 VPN Architectures
• IOS-XR Fundamentals
• Interdomain Multicast Routing
• MPLS-Enabled Applications

Study Methods

My study plan for the written exam is as follows.  I will be studying material based on the written blueprint.  I am tackling each major section of the blueprint one at a time.  For each sub-topic, I am reading about it from an authoritative book (in a few cases, 2 books) and taking notes.  I am also watching any associated videos from INE’s Advanced Technologies class.  I will also do any associated volume 1 workbook labs from both INE and IPX.  I’ll update my notes as needed after watching the videos and doing the labs and then move on to the next topic.  I’ll review my notes from time to time to keep things fresh as needed.  Once I’ve gone through the entire blueprint, I’ll probably take about 2 weeks for review and then take the written exam.  I’m not going to worry about the lab or do any volume 2-3 workbook labs until I’ve passed the written exam.