Whooop! Today is a good day. I just realized that I have passed the CCDE (Cisco Certified Design Expert). It's one though motherf#¤# of an exam.
I passed on my second attempt. I remember saying to people after the first attempt, that I would rather do another CCIE. During the exam they constantly mind fuck you into thinking that everything you're doing is wrong. You rarely get a feeling of success during those eight agonizing hours. During the CCIE labs you can at least verify most of your results in routing tables etc.
After my first attempt I thought it went fairly ok. I was pretty sure I hadn't passed, but at least I felt I had done a fair job, because others had told me that you're supposed to feel screwed over. I failed miserably the first time. My scores were low to be honest.
On the second attempt I experienced the exact same feeling. Very little felt right. I remember creating several designs only to see them presented later on in a completely different way. Knowing that I did a horrible job the last time, this time I was absolutely sure I didn't pass, so you can imagine my surprise when I received a letter saying that I had passed. I even have a colleague who passed as well, and he didn't even finish the last 5-10 questions due to lack of time. His surprise was even bigger than mine.
So, to anyone out there trying for the CCDE practical: Apparently you're not supposed to feel confident when you leave the exam. In fact I haven't met a single person during my two attempts that came out from the testing room saying "Damn, that went quite ok. I think I have a shot at this". But then again only a very small handful passes each time, even though anywhere from 60 to perhaps 120 people worldwide are taking the exam simultaneously.
If you're prepping for the test then these are my suggestions
- Read all the books on the recommended list and then read them again
- 5-10 years of design experience does help
- Know your routing protocols inside out
- Take a CCDE practical prepping course from pronetexperts.com or similar
- Try the exam and expect to fail. The lessons learned from trying are valuable
- Expect to feel like you're inside a tumble dryer for eight hours. Very little will make sense. Just go with the flow
- Try not to overanalyze their questions. If you begin thinking "which commands would I use to implement this", then you're taking it too far and you might end up with the wrong answer. I wonder if it's even a hindrance to come from an implementing background like the CCIE... j/k :-)
I wish you good luck!