Anyone who’s been around my site for a while knows my aspirations of becoming a CCIE have gone on for a long time. I love this field, and thoroughly enjoy studying it. I must say though, things can change very fast- not only in this field we all know and love- but in life. It’s hard to say what road I’ll be heading down, and while I hope it’s in the direction of attaining the CCIE, it’s impossible to know. All I can do is do my best every day that passes, and hope for the best.

This comes because I’ve recently spoke to a guy who had been after the CCIE for a while, and after hearing about the high number of 4.0 failures since the inception of the new version on October 18th- he decided to alter his path. I can’t blame him. This particular individual was making just short of what the average CCIE salary is, and doesn’t stand a whole lot to gain when you consider the amount of work required for the CCIE. In his case, the return on investment (ROI) just wasn’t worth it. Naturally, after hearing his story, I can’t help but think “man, maybe I was wrong“, after my opinionated post about the 4.0 possibly being easier.

All I’m saying is- evaluate your reasons for going after the CCIE. A  gentleman I knew at one time was ex-special forces. This guy and I were talking one time about SFAS- the highly elite (and difficult) Army Special Forces Assessment- the first step to becoming Army Special forces. The pass rate at that course is something like 25% the first time through..very similar to the CCIE lab..although highly demanding in different ways. Anyways, he told me in reference to school: “You better have one good reason you’re there, because when it comes down to the wire, that one reason is what’s going to push you through..if you don’t have a good reason, you’ll fall out with the rest”. What’s your reason? Is it enough? I am not trying to dissuade anyone from going after the CCIE- on the contrary, I am saying, GO FOR IT!..but in a targeted manner, with your eye on the prize, and realize what it will take long before you embark on this journey.