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Introduction

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you do next? Cisco recommends that before you take the lab, you take the
Cisco Internetwork Design (CID) exam (640-025) and the Cisco-authorized
course called Installing and Maintaining Cisco Routers (IMCR). By the way,
no Prometric test for IMCR exists at the time of this writing, and Cisco rec-
ommends a

minimum

of two years of on-the-job experience before taking

the CCIE lab. After jumping those hurdles, you then have to pass the CCIE-
R/S Exam Qualification (350-001) before taking the actual lab.

How Do You Become a CCIE?

To become a CCIE, Cisco recommends you do the following:

Attend all the recommended courses at an authorized Cisco training
center and pony up around $15,000$20,000, depending on your
corporate discount.

Pass the Drake/Prometric exam ($200 per exam--so hopefully, you'll
pass it the first time).

Pass the one-day, hands-on lab at Cisco. This costs $1,000 per lab, and
many people fail two or more times. (Some never make it through!)
Also, there are a limited number of places to take the lab: San Jose,
California; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Sydney,
Australia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Tokyo, Japan; and Brussels, Belgium.
This means that you might just need to add travel costs to that $1,000.
Cisco has added new sites lately for the CCIE lab; it is best to check
the Cisco website for the most current information.

Cisco has changed the CCIE lab from a two-day to a one-day lab. Please see

www.cisco.com

for the latest information.

What Skills Do You Need to Become a CCIE?

The CCIE Routing and Switching exam includes the advanced technical
skills that are required to maintain optimum network performance and reli-
ability, as well as advanced skills in supporting diverse networks that use
disparate technologies. CCIEs just don't have problems getting jobs; these
experts are basically inundated with offers to work for six-figure salaries.
But that's because it isn't easy to attain the level of capability that is mandatory

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