As mentioned in the previous blog post, the team at CollabCert will be hosting a webinar to discuss CollabCert and CCIE Collab v2. This event will take place on Thursday October 25 2018 at Noon San Jose time (PDT / UTC-7h). If you cannot make it then do not worry we will be posting the event on this blog within a few days.
To register for the webinar please click here to sign up.
Look forward to seeing you all.
Vik
My journey started back in October 2016. I had just failed to clear the CCIE Collaboration Written exam in order to re-certify my Cisco credentials. This had been a biennial occurrence since 2004 when I had first passed the CCIE Voice lab exam.
In case you are unaware of what happens to an active CCIE after the recertification deadline has passed – Cisco doesn’t waste any time in telling you that your CCIE goes into the SUSPEND status. This is a snippet from the email I received a few hours after the deadline has passed:
“Our records show that your recertification deadline was October 4 2016 and your CCIE now has a Suspended status. If you have suspended status for more than one year, you will be required to take an the CCIE written exam and the corresponding CCIE lab/practical exam to restore active CCIE status.”
I found myself visiting the Person VUE website organizing the logistics of re-sitting the Written exam when it suddenly occurred to me- what happens if I don’t re-certify? Surely the CCIE Collab blueprint is due a massive upgrade. What if I accidentally on purpose forget to re-certify? Wouldn’t it be so beneficial to both me and my customers if I had the opportunity to go through the entire process myself?
My skills were out of date and surely this was a great way to give myself a refresher and also stay up to date with changes that were about to happen behind the scenes. Enough talk Vik- time to Walk the Walk.
I still had a year grace period remaining in case I wanted to reverse my decision should common sense prevail. I had a year to simply pass any Written exam and re-certify. Nothing lost nothing gained.
In the 365 days that followed I questioned myself- was this necessary? Was I being stupid? I talked it over with several previous customers with whom I had built up a friendship and opinion was divided.
Continue reading The journey to become the first person (I think!) to pass CCIE Collaboration version 2
Thanks to Daniel for the following testimonial. Some very good advice for any CCE wannabes out there. We believe the follow-up after class, assessment & grading, ongoing feedback and mentorship to our students is what sets us apart and is the reason why CollabCert students do so well.
I am going to start by saying that I was hesitating about taking the class with Vik, all of the folks that I know who have passed the test and have taken the class were strongly recommending it but there was a financial aspect to it as well. In the end I decided to give it a try hoping that it would give me the final touches I needed to pass.
I got real serious about studying about 4 or 5 months prior to the class, Continue reading Student Testimonial- Daniel Chaves CCIE# 57565
It’s been a great few weeks for our CCIE Collab students sitting the Lab. Here are some of our passing students from recent classes. Huge congrats!
Please see our latest testimonials here.
Thanks to Aaron for the following testimonial:
As you can read from the many testimonials, Vik is the real deal. Continue reading CCIE Collab- Fall 2017 Passes
As we all hold our breath in anticipation of a new blueprint update for the CCIE Collaboration track, plenty of people have had great success on CCIE Collab v1 in the first two months of 2017. Here are some of our passing students from class. Huge congrats!
Please see our latest testimonials here.
CollabCert is happy to announce another group of successful engineers who recently passed the CCIE Collaboration Lab Exam
Congratulations to all of you!
Here is what David Lam had to say:
“I had been on this CCIE Voice/Collaboration journey on and off for 4 years and I even attempted the Voice Lab in 2013 but it was fruitless. Continue reading More Successful CCIE Collaboration Engineers!
I would like first to say thank you for all your help. As soon as I found out about CollabCert I knew this was the place to help me achieve my CCIE dreams. In the past when I was studying for the CCIE Voice track I thought I was on the right track. I took the lab and I thought for sure I passed as soon as I walked out, only later to find out I wasn’t close. It’s very disappointing when this happens time and time again.
The first week of attending CollabCert I was able to find out not only the correct way to study but also shortcuts and tricks to help me attain my CCIE. Once I started the second week of the boot camp you really see the value in the program. Never before was I given feedback on a completed lab before this class. This allowed me to not only see my errors but give me confidence once I was able to complete the lab with a passing grade from Vik. This would have been a great class if it all ended here, but it didn’t. Continue reading Student Testimonial – Aaron Hagerman – CCIE # 53815
The staff at CollabCert would like to congratulate the following engineers who conquered the CCIE Collaboration Lab Exam in December 2015.
Make 2016 the year you gain the CCIE Collaboration certification . Contact us today to find out how we can help you!
The staff at CollabCert would like to congratulate the following engineers who have just conquered the CCIE Collaboration Lab Exam.
Eliot stated:
This has been a 2+ year journey for me back when it was still the CCIE Voice. I failed that exam once and I procrastinated while the exam was changed last year to CCIE Collaboration.
I first met Vik in 2013 at one of his earlier boot camps. Within the first day you can immediately tell that not only does he know his stuff well, but he also has the amazing ability to teach it to others in a way that’s so easy to digest. I remember he told us a story about how he locked himself in his basement one weekend in order to figure out how to truly understand one of the more challenging topics on the blueprint and teach it to his students. That’s how dedicated he is.
Based on my earlier experiences with his bootcamps, I felt CollabCert provided the right training solution for me without question, to get over the hump. I echo all the other testimonials that speak to the high quality of the videos, workbooks, and even the blog posts. However, I also want to emphasize the incredible customer service you can expect from Vik & Mike.
They both worked with me to ease some concerns I had with the product offering in the beginning stages of my journey. There were no canned email responses. They both responded to me directly. I was even surprised they recognized me by first name at a social event they hosted at the most recent Cisco Live in San Diego. This showed me that they truly cared about their customers’ success and were not just looking to make a quick buck.
To sum it all up, Vik is truly one of the experts at his craft, but more importantly he understands & knows how to teach it to others very well. If you want to have a better chance of passing your exam while truly becoming a Collaboration expert, go with CollabCert.
Eliot Ngwa – CCIE #49877
There is plenty of room for you on this prestigious list. Contact us today to find out how we can help you!
Our students who have sat through the CollabCert bootcamp are on a roll!
The staff at CollabCert would like to congratulate the following engineers who have just conquered the CCIE Collaboration Lab Exam.
Eric stated:
It was three years ago that I decided to go for my CCIE, but to truly make the commitment to studying after the written exam was ten months ago. I spoke to Vik about his teaching style at CollabCert and also looked at some of his materials and I truly believed I saw light at the end of the tunnel. I stuck to my guns, studied hard and finally on August 18th 2015 (my second attempt) I passed my CCIE Collaboration lab.
I used Vik’s bootcamp as well as his willingness to grade my practice exams and give me feedback. There’s quite simply no one else out there who can or will do that and I truly believe that was the difference maker. I would have improved on attempt #2 but I don’t think I would have passed. Vik gave us a deep dive back into the concepts but also gave us feedback on our practice labs.
I cannot recommend CollabCert enough, I felt lost prior to using CollabCert, but upon using Vik’s materials I knew I was on a faster more focused path to success. Thank you Vik for helping and making the experience fun at the same time.
Eric Williamson CCIE #49880
Sanjay stated:
My quest restarted in late 2014 in reviewing which Collaboration training provider I should choose . I had met Vik before at another provider and decided to stick with him on his new venture as for me the quality and ability of trainer is paramount. I’m based in the UK and went initially for the LMS + workbook package using the VPN router/switch configs provided and my local phones. Working remotely, the response speed was fast – better than I expected – no waiting for CLI to respond or UCM webpages to load !
The Collaboration blueprint is huge – the workbook sections and associated training videos allow you to just focus in and around the technologies you might expect to find in the lab. With the daylong rack sessions, I was able work on my own place and get to grips with technologies I had not seen before like EMCC or my little experience with video. With hindsight, doing as much prep by working through the workbook exercises several times was key to getting the most out of the bootcamp.
I signed up for the 2 week bootcamp. With the assistance of Mike Down, I was able to find a great deal at a knock down price at a top hotel walking distance from the training centre which was so good after a long day on the racks. You have your own pod and the lab work is broken down into sections where you’re able to work at your own pace getting the individual attention of Vik when needed. The first week I learnt so much in what to look out for, how better to test and verify my work and learning to pay more attention to the detail. Being able to work well into the evening and a few hours at the weekend also helped a lot in ironing out the weak spots.
The second week focus shifted more on mentoring, learning how to adapt and practice a strategy for you own approach for the real exam. Adapting Viks approach , tuning and time keeping was crucial for my real attempt.
The bootcamp turned out to be very rewarding experience not only for its content but also learning from the experiences of the other students, also in discounting all the misinformation picked up from various forums in the general discussions ! Vik is also a very sociable chap, the few times spent after hours at the local watering hole just made the trip very enjoyable.
I passed at the second attempt. Vik continued to mentor and support with updates to videos/lab exercises . I took both attempts in Brussels where in my experience they also seem to have a very good proctor !
I have always been a contractor and financed my own training – the Collabcert package has been by far the best investment I have made.
Thank you Vik and Mike for helping to achieve my CCIE Collaboration Certification.
Sanjay Patel – CCIE #49778
Shaminder stated:
Thank you Vik for all your help! You gave the final push I needed for cross the line.
Shaminder Singh Dara – CCIE #24792
Are you serious about obtaining your Collaboration CCIE? Come sit a 5 or 10 day CCIE Collaboration training course with the industry’s best and most popular instructor, Vik Malhi.
Contact us today!
