Welcome back!

Well as began typing this I was sitting in the Columbus, Ohio Airport.  I was feeling a little brain dead after this week but not enough that I don’t have all the details of my class in mind.  This was actually a last minute class.  I was scheduled for sometime in March, the same week as my lab, but since the new lab blueprint is out this week was the last class that was being taught on the current version 2.0 blueprint.  Fortunately I did not have a class to teach this week and my company, Ascolta Training was kind enough to allow me to attend.

I know you don’t want to hear the boring details of my travel out to Columbus from Seattle, but I will throw this in; I arrived in Columbus at midnight on Sunday night.  Class started at nine in the morning.  Needless to say, I was pretty tired.  Still I was pumped with excitement (and coffee of course) as I waited outside the classroom door with two or three other students.  When the Instructor arrived, Jared Scrivener,  he greeted us kindly and welcomed us in.

The Office

The Columbus office has two classrooms and a break room.  The break room was stocked with a full assortment of beverages that we could help ourselves to.  The first classroom is filled with Cisco IP phones and the other room was 8 empty desks, nice leather chairs (a huge plus since your butt is in it from 9-am or earlier until as late as 10-pm), and was simple and clean.  Each desk had an Ethernet cable, no computers since you bring your own, and a white board and projector.  It’s pretty much the standard for a training room.

The Material and Lunch

The only part of the week that wasn’t flawless was the arrival of our training material and lunch on the fist day.  Since it was just after a holiday week nobody really cared.  Besides that, we had lecture all day.  We took notes, and day one was off.  Jared treated us to lunch on Monday since it didn’t show up.  The rest of the week they brought lunch in so we only took about 20 to 30 minutes for eating then we were back to lecture on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

The Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday consisted of Lecture until about five in the evening and labs until late.  When I say late I mean that I was working on them at midnight from my hotel room.  This was mostly because I decided to leave the office at 7:30 to workout and eat.  It was intense.  You have to go to this class expecting to put a lot of time and effort into it.  Don’t show up thinking you are gonna see some sights and hit the bars at night.  Some others in the class told me they were there until ten at night before leaving.

The Training

The lecture, Monday through Wednesday, covers a TON of material.  If you are coming to this class you better be ready for it.  Another thing to note is that not all topics can be explained.  YOU HAVE TO DO SOME RESEARCH.  I think the real benefit is the first half of the first day, where you learn priceless test taking strategies.  I’d love to spill the beans on the strategy we were taught but I’ve chosen not to.  This is their business and in support of that…you’re going to have to take the class to get all the details.

Anyhow, Thursday and Friday consisted of full scale mock labs.  I completed the lab on Thursday with a few mistakes but enough points to pass the lab.  (The Mock Lab that is)    On Friday I only did about half of the lab since I was flying out and was kinda brain dead.  I think my last count was at about 46 points.  The Friday lab was a little more difficult than the Thursday lab and the lab that is worked on Monday thru Wednesday, but nothing too difficult that I couldn’t do it.

I can’t speak for IPexpert but keep in mind that this was based on the current 2.0 blueprint so if you sign up for this class the material will be different, based now on the 3.0 blueprint.  Most likely the class will run in the same manner.  Still, if you are concerned, ask them.

The Instructor

Also, before I wrap up I wanted to take a minute to speak a little more about my instructor, Jared Scrivener.  Come on people, 3 CCIEs in such a short amount of time?  This guy knows his stuff.  From VPN to CBAC, AAA to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day….oh wait, Jared you quit right? *

My Overall Feelings

If I had an opportunity I would take a class from IPexpert again.  Over the last few months I have had an opportunity to deal with a number of folks there, Wayne, Matt, Neil, Drew, and Jared specifically.  Their customer service is top notch.  You know its not often that you come across a company that really, i mean “really,” cares about their students.  How many companies have a President and CEOs that interacts directly with the customer on a daily basis, and how many companies offer the wide variety of delivery options that IPexpert does?  Not many.  I’ve noticed that some claim to but wind  up neglecting one or more tracks while focusing on the track that brings them in the most money.  The IPexpert product line is complete.

Now, one more thing.  Am I getting paid to write this?  Nope.  Not a dime.  However, any compensation can be deposited into account number 123DDGSGG6123…..  Just Kidding!  It’s a pleasure to write a review like this.  It sure beats sitting here in the airport , or at home after being ticked off and writing an angry review.

Well thats it.  I have rack time scheduled 24/7 thru mid February and plan on snagging up some more to get my all the way to my lab date.  I have a newfound confidence and I want to keep up this high.  If you are planning on taking CCIE training go check them out on their website at  http://www.ipexpert.com

Thanks IPexpert!  I had a great week.

*Jared told us on Monday that he was quitting and that we should give him a hard time every time he went to smoke.  We did.  All week long. 

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