On Saturday immediately following Christmas, Santa Clause, who looks remarkably similar to my mailman presented me with a shiney white envelope from Vue, among other things (likely bills or some other such nonsense). Where I live, it is a long way down the driveway to the house - a trip made even longer by the anticipation and anxiety welling up inside me. A nearly a month late and near constant clicking on the refresh button the last several days, I had to fight just to keep from flinging the remainder of the post to the wind. The fact that several highly skilled engineers had already posted less than stellar news on the Cisco Learning Network just the night before.
After finally making it to the house, filled with my wife's guests, I ever so quietly and calmly slid my shakey hands down the length of the envelope's lid and tried to lean against the counter to steady the paper so I could actually focus on it long enough to read the only word I could actually see clearly while in this state: CONGRATULATIONS! After the trembling stopped, I found my way to the second page to find my score report which was conspicously missing anything that remotely resembled a score or a report, but did contain a number. From the beginning of the beta program it was decided that there would be a new numbering scheme for CCDEs, but it was not announced what it would be.
Well that question was now answered: 20080001. 1? 1? Really? Its been nearly two weeks since that day, and I still have trouble with that. First let me say that Cisco only invited the best to the beta program. 200 people took the beta written. 60 were invited to the beta practical, of which 42 (ish) attended. And out of those, I got the first number? All I can say is wow! So far only 3 people have acknowledged reciept of a CCDE number, and from the rumor mill, that is all that passed. 7% Ouch. I have to feel humbled here, because there are bigger names than mine that attended. Some people doing the things I had dreamed, but they didn't pass. Don't get me wrong: I am very excited, and proud of what is truely a once in a lifetime experience!
If you ever get the chance to participate in a beta program from Cisco, no matter what it is - DO IT!
To all of my peers that took this exam: You all passed in my eyes. Congratulations for helping to make an important new certification for the Cisco community. I hope you all attend the next exam on Feb 11, 2009. I expect to hear about the next CCDEs soon! A special congradulations goes out to the other beta participants that passed.
Michael Morris CCDE#20080002
Reinhold Fisher CCDE#20080003
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