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Article published in Cisco
World Magazine, November 1999, Vol. 5, No. 11: Do It Yourself'
Group Takes Steps By
Robert Martin
A couple of years ago Joel Barrett, a managing consultant for
Whittman-Hart, a consulting organization in Atlanta, Ga., decided he wanted to
become a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. Like most people his time was
limited, so he took a novel approach to gain the needed expertise — he started
his own study group.
It worked. He and most of the group earned their MCSE certification.
Barrett decided if it worked the first time there was no reason it shouldn't
again, so last year he started the Atlanta Cisco Certification Study Group
(ACCSG).
Good ideas pay off. Barrett and 18 other members of the study group
completed the first cycle of Cisco Systems training, Cisco Certified Network
Administrator.
"The way I figure is, if I can teach what I've learned, then I know
it much better," said Barrett. "I'm a consultant by trade, so getting
up in front of a group not only makes me feel more comfortable in speaking to
large groups of people, it also makes me more comfortable telling someone what
I'm going to do to their system, why we're doing it, and how we're doing it.
That's why I started doing this; to make me feel more comfortable in explaining
things."
The ACCSG, which has a total membership of about 274, now has a second
study group for CCNA while Barrett has moved on to CCNP study. The groups meet
every other week in Atlanta from 6:15 to 8:30 at Information Management Systems
headquarters, a Cisco Certified Training Partner, and the attendees progress at
their own speed. Usually about 25 to 30 people attend the sessions. IMS provides
the location and devices for the members to work on at no charge, and there are
no fees associated with being an ACCSG member.
Barrett stresses that ACCSG is not a training organization, but they do
follow Cisco-recommended requirements for attaining certification and he feels
that they happen to meet in a Cisco authorized training facility is just good
luck on their part. Cisco Press books form the backbone of their studies.
"I always use what Cisco recommends, because if you're going to take
the test you might as well use the products that they're testing from. I'm not a
Cisco instructor; I don't claim to be one. It's a study group and mistakes are
make, and we learn from those things. It's really a great environment because of
that.
"There is no way we could compete with a week-long instructor-led
course, but we're not doing the same thing as an instructor-led course. We're
gaining knowledge by working on the equipment and working out the problems
associated with those scenarios. But we're also gaining a knowledge of each
other's capabilities and we're making friends."
In addition to sponsorship by IMS, Barrett said that without support from
Whittman-Hart, which provided the original meeting place at their office, the
groups never would have gotten off the ground.
As for the future, Barrett isn't certain. "Am I going to continue on
trying to get people to CCIE? I don't know. I think that probably may be a
little too much."
For information concerning the ACCSG, contact Barrett at . |
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