"How long did you prepare for the CCIE RS lab exam" is a valid question which most of the CCIE RS prospects do ask while planning for their CCIE pursuit. The truth is that this lab exam follows after passing the CCIE RS written exam. Once an individual passes the written exam, they are eligible to take CCIE RS lab exam in order to get CCIE certified.
However, Cisco requires the individuals to attempt the CCIE RS lab exam within eighteen months of passing their written exam. If they fail in the first attempt, they can reattempt within the next twelve months. Those who can't make any luck passing the lab within three years of passing the written exam will have to retake both written as well as the lab exam.
The candidates usually make mistakes after passing the written exam by setting expectations from them which usually lead them losing money and marks in their lab exam. So initially, the time for preparing for the CCIE lab exam should be at least nine to fifteen months which allows an individual to get good hands-on practice. The individual should immediately start preparing for their lab exam right after passing their written exam.
They should check available jobs in their immediate vicinity to make sure that they could access some real network to test out their skills using real-time environment. Apart from this, using Cisco 360 and investing in INE's video course can be a good investment.
The individuals should also seek help from other CCIE experts; this can be done by joining CCIE communities where nerds offer expert advice. So if you have plans becoming a CCIE expert and you have extraordinary skills, then you can project three years or less to qualify as a CCIE expert. In this three years time frame, you will also be able to complete your CCNA and CCNP in your first year. Rest you can easily manage your time and resources reaching to CCIE certification.
Remember, passing out the CCIE written exam means that you have achieved half milestone of your CCIE pursuit because it represents your posse’s knowledge. This means that you are now eligible to test your skills through lab exam and prove that you also have good hands-on practice. Passing the lab exam means that you have experience too.
The CCIE lab exam fee is nearly around 1600 USD for all CCIE tracks so giving at least nine to fifteen months time for preparing gives the individual an ample time frame to go through practicing the lab and build relevant skills which Cisco usually test in CCIE professionals.
Those who spend at least three years doing CCNA, then CCNP and then CCIE written find CCIE lab exam easier because they are consistently coming up in a uniform pattern. However, a few candidates to fail in the lab exam in their first attempt. This may happen due to many reasons so it is recommended not to rush to the lab exam until the individuals have a full hands-on lab.
Besides all another factor, if someone fails in the first attempt then they can take some time reviewing their mistakes because getting failed in lab exam cost you a lot of money and time which really hurts. These individuals should focus more on the skills they lack and it would be more appropriate if they could start an institute to make up their weak points.
The Cisco also allows failed candidates to request for the reread and reassessments; if the fail student applies for review then they require to pay a fee which can be refunded if the fail status is changed into a pass, otherwise no refunds.