I have a CCNP certification now. I got it a few weeks ago.

It was a very hard certification. The CCNP requires one prerequisite exam and then then three different CCNP-level exams consisting of a mixture of multiple-choice and practical tasks (configure and/or troubleshoot a router, switch, etc.) Comparatively, the Microsoft ones were a lot easier though harder than they once were.

Next week I am going after my Red Hat Certified Engineer certification. This one will be the most difficult of all as it’s all practical, all hands on. There are no multiple choice questions and only two hours to complete what I understand is many tasks.

I’ve been studying 8-10 hours a day for a few weeks now.

I feel pretty confident. I’ve learned more in a shorter time than any other time in my life, though I’ve used Linux for years so it’s not foreign to me.

But now I can set up in minutes – all without consulting anything online — services and capabilities that once took me hours to configure.

So I’m ready.

I think.