Update.

‘Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth’

-Mike Tyson

It’s been a while…

So, I’ve been deep into the study mode to get my CCNP. And it wasn’t a walk in the park either.

When I sat for the ENCOR exam, the very first lab felt like Mike Tyson’s quote. I did the labs. I studied. I practiced. And yet. The panic set in, the time management became more uncertain and I started to rush. I rushed through the labs and went through the multiple choice questions. In the end I finished with 30 minutes to spare. But… Unsuccessful.

I was devastated. My confidence shook. It was a bit tough to push myself out of the rut and re-focus my efforts.

I went back to the labs and made sure I knew how to do what I missed at the exam. I practiced the labs multiple times, until I didn’t need any notes to make the configurations. I revisited my notes and focused on the areas I was weak in. Two weeks later, I took the ENCOR again. This time I felt more prepared. The labs were flowing, the configs were working. The multiple choice questions were not bad either. In the end, I got the coveted 4-letter word that starts with a “P” – PASS. What a relief. But more work was ahead.

Now, onto the specialization… I went with Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks (ENSLD) as it’s the most relevant to my day job and I really wanted to learn the “why” more than “how”.

The exam day came and Mike was right once again. ENSLD is an interesting exam in a sense that there’s not a ton of practice material compared to ENCOR or ENARSI. So the questions and the format were much more challenging than I anticipated. But 90 minutes later, I’ve got my “P-word” and complete the requirements for the CCNP Enterprise certification. What a joy! What a relief.

So, what’s the point of this post?

For me it’s to share my journey and be honest about the setbacks. Also, to use this post as a reset and get back into writing and posting. But most importantly, to encourage those who are in the process to push through the obstacles and not lose motivation. You’ve got this!!!