Certified in CCIE at the age of 19
The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification was established to help the industry distinguish the top level of Internetworking experts around the world.
These certifications are accepted worldwide as the most prestigious network certifications in the industry. The CCIE community has established a reputation for leading the networking industry in deep technical knowledge, and they are deployed in the toughest network assignments. The expert-level certification program continually updates and reviews its testing tools and methodologies to ensure unprecedented quality, relevance, and value of the program. Through a rigorous CCIE written exam and performance-based CCIE lab, these expert-level certification programs set the standard for networking expertise.
To obtain this certification you must take 2 exams (written and lab).
Written: Exam 90-110 multiple-choice questions within 2 hours. That's your entrance ticket to the real test. Lab: 8.5-hour practical exam divided into 3 sections. Tshooting: 2 hours to resolve 10 network incident tickets. Diagnosis: 0.5 hours to answer 3 questions based on emails with fault symptoms. Configuration: 6 hours to configure a complex network of about 40 network computers.
Those who dare to take the CCIE lab pass 1 out of 10 and statistically pass to the 3rd or 4th attempt. The information provided is to give a reference of what it means to have a CCIE certification, and the effort required to obtain it.
During my classes I tell students about the case of a friend and colleague in network projects and SPOTO who achieved this certification at 19 years of age. And sometimes they have answered me with "Oh, yes, the legend of FIME", hence the name of this post and also as a recognition.
Joel Humberto Gauna was a good student of 4th semester of Electronics and Communications Engineer without previous knowledge in Cisco, when he found out about Cisco and its certifications, after thinking about it, he decided not to enroll in 5th semester and decided to dedicate himself "full time" To study Cisco.
After studying the first month, he took and passed his CCNA certification exam.
Over the course of the next 3 months, he studied and took the 4 exams that were required to become CCNP certified.
After 6 months, he returned to the Faculty in the 5th semester and in parallel began working with a company that supported him to present and pass both CCIE exams in 7 months, at the first attempt.
He went through the 3 levels of certification in just 13 months, with effort and dedication at the age of 19, and at the time he was the youngest CCIE in the world. Years later, a young man from India obtained his CCIE at the age of 18.
Upon knowing these facts, some questions came to my mind which I asked him.
-What is more important, intelligence or discipline to achieve that feat?
The answer was a list of things that he believed were most important.
1 - Taking the "risk" of making the decision. 2 - That you like networks and technology (without taste, discipline or intelligence will serve you). 3 - Discipline to study every day full time. 4 - Intelligence, but nothing out of the ordinary, just having good logic.
-Who recommended you do this?
-Really nobody, it was a mix of taste and luck. I have always liked technology, and my luck was to come across Cisco and its certifications. It could also be something else related to technology.
He is currently working in the design, planning and deployment of projects as a consultant. And part of the project team "Vision 2018" of SPOTO, where we seek to diversify training to various technologies and manufacturers at all levels.
In SPOTO we hope that these kinds of stories help to motivate young people to join the new generations of IT professionals.
Unfortunately our culture helps us postpone projects and abandon them, but we see exceptions in these cases that we hope will be more every day so that they become the rule and not the exception.