My plan is to do the CCIE two years from now. I plan on doing the written in late 2010 or early 2011 and after that prepare for about a year for the lab. Many people do like 1/3 reading and 2/3 labs but I think I will be closer to 50/50. My goal is to know the theory so well that doing the labs is not that difficult since it’s just an extension of the theory. We will see if my plan holds up 🙂 I also now have an OK from work to go for it, which is nice. Right now I have too much work to do any studying there but we will see what happens later on. At least I know I will get the support I need. I’ve done about 50 hours of reading so far and I think I will need at least 300 hours reading and some basic labs on that before taking the written. Doing the whole preparation will probably take more than 1000 hours.
CCIE – 2 years from now
Sounds about right. I’d wish you luck, but you really need motivation and time. I can’t help you much with either of those, but to say I’ll be following you and see how you go.
Thanks Greg, motivation is not an issue, at least not for now although time is a scarce resource since I have a family to take care of. I do what I can to free up time but this is also why I’m not rushing into anything. I am a big fan of your site and also listen to the packetpushers, very nice job with both. Glad you found my site. I really like your posts on network design and Visio drawings, I’m doing a redesign at work right now and have used some of your tips to produce good drawings and documentation. Thanks for everything you bring to the community.