Chuck, I think your numbers are way off. Even if we forget the overhead for lab
equipment, electricity, etc. I believe that the staff and hours to support the CCIE
exam
is substantial (there's more than just a lab proctor or two behind the scenes - what
about people who do training, write exams, etc.). Cisco SEs spend many hours each week
presenting free CCIE prep seminars to Cisco resellers. And so on.
On a cost accounting basis, I wouldn't be surprised if Cisco is actually losing money.
I
have been told by several Cisco SEs (and I assume they were just repeating the party
line) that Cisco needs CCIEs (and other certified Cisco professionals) to design and
service Cisco equipment pure and simple. They don't have near enough employees to
handle
the huge demand. One even told me that Cisco would love to have thousands and thousands
of CCIEs out there but it simply is not possible to lower the standards.
-Jonathan
Chuck Larrieu wrote:
> >> I was told Cisco was trying to reduce the problem, but not how they were
> going to achieve their goal. (I wish them luck)<<
>
> some cruel and unusual thoughts come to mind.
>
> 1) Set some arbitrary standard such that people who fail day one by more
> than so many points have a 90 day wait for retest, rather than 30 days. Or
> you have to at least made it into day 2 to be able to retest within 30 days.
> Some such thing
>
> 2) Limit the number of times one may attempt the lab in any 12 month period.
>
> 3) Increase the price charged for each lab attempt. E.g. 1K for first
> attempt, 2K for 2nd, 5K for third
>
> I say this half jokingly, but half seriously. I talk to a lot of people who
> take the lab, both those who have passed and those who have not.
> The old rule of economics holds true - people act according to their
> perceived best interest. If someone else is footing the bill, and there is
> no disincentive for failure, then people will act accordingly. They will
> book themselves and make attempts even when they know they have no hope of
> passing. They will schedule attempt after attempt because there is no reason
> not to, especially if someone else pays, and especially if there is no
> penalty for failure.
>
> To be frank, I don't see any incentive for Cisco to do anything to change
> things on the demand side. They might add more racks, or more lab locations.
> But do the numbers some time. Cisco is booking something like 25 - 30 people
> a week in San Jose alone. That's 25-30 K per week in revenue, or at least
> 1.3 million a year. So they pay a couple of lab proctors 150K each. The rest
> is pure profit. ( yes, I know from an accounting standpoint there are
> several other cost factors ) So the incentive from Cisco's standpoint is do
> figure out ways to add revenue, rather than limit testing attempts.
>
> I look for Cisco to announce a bit more capacity, either in terms of adding
> another location or adding more racks at existing locations. Or both. There
> is a ton of money to be made in the certification game, and as the entity
> that controls the rules and the market, Cisco certainly enjoys the lion's
> share of that revenue.
>
> Chuck
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2000 9:04 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Backlog for CCIE Lab (RTP at least)
>
> I am a little behind on my mail, so please forgive me if this has been
> answered.
>
> I called to schedule my lab on Dec 21. The next date available was June
> 11-12 at RTP. SIX MONTH BACKLOG...WOW!!!
>
> I did not ask about other test centers, but would imagine similar bookings.
> I was told Cisco was trying to reduce the problem, but not how they were
> going to achieve their goal. (I wish them luck)
>
> Jon Burns
> CCNP, CCDP, Lab Candidate
> Now, I just need to get a job! ;-)
>
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