Author Interview: Wendell Odom

You can't take the CCIE Routing and Switching lab exam until you pass the written exam. Find out exactly what's involved and how you ace this important test.

Published 5/10/2006
By Anne Martinez

GoCertify: What certification does your book cover?

Wendell Odom: Cisco offers several different CCIE certifications - currently, CCIE Routing and Switching, CCIE Voice, CCIE Security, CCIE Service Provider, and CCIE Storage. My book covers CCIE Routing and Switching, specifically the written exam. The book is also somewhat useful for the CCIE Service Provider written exam.

CCIE Routing & Switching Official Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition by Wendell Odom Read a sample chapter (pdf) Buy it now

GoCertify: Why did you write this book?

Wendell Odom: Both for the challenge and because of the need for a new edition. The book was in need of a major update, as the CCIE Routing and Switching written exam had been updated several times since the first edition of the book (written by Anthony Bruno) had been written. Also, writing this book was both a significant technical challenge and a writing challenge - fitting all the topics into a single volume, covered to the appropriate depth, required quite a lot of effort.

GoCertify: What demand is there for this certification (why is it valuable to have)?

Wendell Odom: CCIE is the most prestigious networking certification today. While you don't have to have a CCIE certification to be considered a highly technical engineer, having a CCIE certification causes your current management, your clients, and prospective employers to assume that you have deep technical skills. Many job search sites regularly list job offerings that require a CCIE certification, and Cisco resellers must have a number of CCIEs on staff, making CCIEs more valuable in the job marketplace.

GoCertify: What kind of jobs would someone with this certification qualify for?

Wendell Odom: CCIEs typically have the same general types of jobs as people with CCNA and CCNP certifications, but generally with larger and more complex networks, and with more technical responsibility. For example, a CCIE might be the last person in the problem escalation flow, or the lead architect of a large network, or in charge of prototyping and building standardized configurations to be used by the rest of a large corporate network. Also, CCIEs often work for vendors and Cisco resellers, often as sales engineers.

GoCertify: What are the requirements to earn this designation?

Wendell Odom: There are no prerequisites for taking any of the CCIE written exams. You must take and pass a CCIE written exam before you can schedule the associated CCIE lab exam. However, most people first get one of the Cisco professional level certifications, like CCNP, before embarking on their study to get a CCIE certification.

GoCertify: How much on-the-job experience should a candidate have before pursuing this certification?

Wendell Odom: Typically, 3-5 years in a job that focuses solely on networking would be appropriate.

GoCertify: What is the most compelling information included in the book?

Wendell Odom: That's a difficult question to answer in an 1000-plus page book! If I had to pick a category of topic, I'd say the routing protocol coverage, as that is the most important category of topic on the exam. However, the most compelling feature is probably the key topics feature, which notes every key fact, table, diagram, or list that hits the most important topics that might be on the exam. Most CCIE candidates already know a lot, and the key topics feature lets them zero in on facts or details they have forgotten, or hadn't happened across before.

GoCertify: What is the best way to prepare for the exam?

Wendell Odom: Because the CCIE Routing and Switching written exam covers such a broad spectrum of topics, you need to use a strategy that helps you discover where you are weak, and focus on those topics. Specifically for the CCIE Routing and Switching written exam, the best way to study is to review any notes, course materials, and books that you already used to study for other related Cisco certifications. Then, using a broader resource, like my book, to discover the topics that you need top study more, and areas that you need to start learning the topic from the beginning. For topics about which you need to learn a lot, you might also consider separate books or online resources to learn more background information about those topics. You should also use as many practice question sources as possible - my book includes an exam engine with over 500 sample questions, and the Cisco Press CCIE Routing and Switching Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack (CCIE Self-Study) product has a large number of practice questions as well.

GoCertify: What is the most challenging part of earning this certification and how does your book help address this?

Wendell Odom: The most challenging part of the CCIE Routing and Switching written exam is to master the topics about which you have little or no experience. The book uses chapter pre-quizzes, called "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes, that help the readers identify their weak areas. The book also digs deep into each topic, covers the necessary depth on each topic. Additionally, the book notes the most important items in each chapter with a "key topics" designation, allowing the reader to easily review the most important topics as exam day approaches. These features combine to help the readers avoid wasting time on what they know, get deep quickly on what they don't already know, and help them cram before the exam.

GoCertify: What other advice do you have for someone pursing this certification?

Wendell Odom: Take the written exam early, and then focus on the CCIE lab exam. While both exams cover the same general technologies, the written exam focuses on protocols and theory, with some configuration, whereas the lab focuses completely on configuration. Focusing on the theory and protocols can make the lab exam preparation process go more smoothly, and it allows the candidate to forget about some of the theory, and make a little more room to remember more about configuration.