Interesting statement…but one that’s direct from Cisco. In October, CCIE R&S undergoes a “real world” revision to make the skills more applicable to day-to-day jobs. Interesting quote from Maurilio Gorito (he was my proctor “back in the day”):

Q: Will it be harder to pass when the new exams go live?

A – MG: Since the focus of CCIE R&S certification has shifted to job readiness, candidates with less job experience may find the exams more difficult . On the other hand, some candidates may find the written exam easier since it is less focused on equipment specs and more on the real-world job tasks of networking experts.

I went from knowing practically zero about networking to snatching my CCNA after a month and a half of using CBT nuggets,todd lammle’s 6th edition/fast pass and even cisco press. I passed that on May 15th. I am about to do my BSCI and this stuff gets scary, especially those route maps – can we say WHOA! I am still coming to terms with them…..

I guess you REALLY gonna have to know what you are doing. I got laid off from work on May 15th (same day I took my exam, But my last day was may 14th haha~) so I had to buy a new lab.

10 routers (half are 3640’s, the rest are 2620’s, 2522 for FR and an access server) 6 switches (3550’s and getting the 3560’s….soon pricey!) so I have been living and breathing cisco day and night.

I hope this really pays off when I go for my lab next year, im thinking around the end of 2010. I think that the troubleshooting section is a great addition as that’s really what it’s about. The interview questions are whatever. If you know your stuff then that’s great – as long as they don’t ask me about ipx or appletalk or decnet (I know ZERO about those, since not covered on exams) i’ll be fine.