The majority of people who pursue a CCNA certification discover that it is a time-consuming process. A CCNA can take months to complete if you do it entirely on your own. Professional-level Cisco certifications, as well as some specializations (CQS certifications), take longer to complete because there are more exams involved and the overall level of difficulty is higher. Of course, if you can take courses or attend a boot camp, earning certifications can take much less time from start to finish. However, for most people pursuing an Expert-level certification, such courses are only of limited assistance in terms of getting me there faster. There’s simply so much to learn and master in order to pass the CCIE exams (and the upcoming CCDE exams) that you’re in for a long haul either way. Cisco has long stated that the average number of lab exam attempts to achieve a CCIE is between two and three, but my experience from speaking with many candidates over a long period of time suggests that the average is more like four. One joke that makes me laugh is that most candidates only get one letter per attempt. Some of the tracks, particularly Security and Voice, usually necessitate more than four attempts. But how long does it take to earn a CCIE from start to finish? That’s worth a look, especially for candidates at the start of the path, because it can help you set expectations for yourself. Most people who are highly motivated—and let’s keep it at that level because if you’re not highly motivated, you’re unlikely to achieve a CCIE—will track their CCIE journey in years. That is, once you’ve set the CCIE as a goal and have a good enough foundational understanding of what’s required to know how long it will take you to get there, you can expect a long journey. At that point, goal-setting becomes an important part of the CCIE journey. So does project management; any large project must be broken down into smaller segments, organized into stages with well-defined goals and timelines, and tracked to completion. Without both of these abilities, your journey will most likely be longer and more difficult than necessary. Let’s take a look at the CCIE study phases (just for a first CCIE certification, to keep the discussion more well-defined).
Phase 1: Determine what’s involved and consider options. Time required: Months to years; everyone has a different path to get to this point.
Phase 2: Make the commitment. (This is really the culmination of phase 1.)
Phase 3: Prepare for, take, and pass the written exam. Time required: 6 to 18 months.
Phase 4: Prepare for the first lab exam. Time required: 9 to 15 months.
Phase 5: Take the lab exam. Time required: 30 days minimum for scheduling.
Phases 6 and on: Repeat step 5, usually more than once. Time required: 3 to 6 months, on average, per attempt.
As I went through this list, it became clear to me that very few CCIE preparation timelines can be placed within well-defined time frames. In my case, the time elapsed between when I set the goal (just after finishing my CCNP and CCDP) and when I completed the CCIE R&S certification three years ago was 18 months. I also took about 6 weeks off between lab exam attempts. Based on conversations with other CCIEs, I believe both of these are shorter than average, but I know a lot of people who have done it in a lot less time and some who have taken a lot longer. There’s a story about a man who has taken the CCIE lab exam more than 20 times. This is not an urban legend, according to my sources. I have to give this guy a lot of credit for his determination—a key component in the path to CCIE—but I would think that at some point, you’d have to look in the mirror and decide that you’ve spent enough time, energy, and money on it! Next time, I’ll post a few poll questions about preparation phases and timelines to gather more real-world data on how long it takes candidates to complete the CCIE journey. In the meantime, please feel free to comment on the phases I’ve outlined above. Is it possible to cut it? Did you find a way to improve it? What is the difference for dual- or multiple-CCIE holders? What impact did training (or a lack thereof) have on your timeline?
