I've worked in networking for about two years, including roles with a telecom carrier and an ISP and systems integrator. I studied computer networking in college, so earning a CCIE-level certification had always been one of my goals.

I first heard about WOLF-LAB through a recommendation from a more experienced engineer. I also sat in on classes from several other training providers before making a decision. Zhao's teaching style at WOLF-LAB felt like the best fit for me, and the organization's pass rate and overall technical strength also stood out. That was why I decided to enroll.

The learning environment during the CCNP portion was excellent. The live classes were engaging and funny, and the instructor answered questions carefully and patiently. Recordings were available afterward, so I could go back and review anything I missed.

At the end of each chapter, the instructor also gave us a comprehensive lab that covered the key topics from that section. Those labs helped me reinforce what I'd learned, put it into practice, and identify any gaps in my understanding.

For the CCIE portion, I completed one round of the foundation course with Jin and organized all of my notes before beginning my CCIE lab preparation.

The preparation process was tough. When I first started working on DOO 1, I read through all the tasks, organized them, and then studied the solution to each one. Once I understood how each task should be approached, I began practicing on the lab racks.

In the beginning, I often couldn't finish the CLI portion in three hours. I had to stop and think about which commands to enter for almost every task. Even with a four-hour session, I sometimes couldn't complete everything.

That difficult period was also when I improved the fastest. I learned how to troubleshoot instead of simply repeating commands. Whenever I described an issue in the study group, the instructors helped me work through it. As I put in more practice, I became much more efficient. Eventually, I could finish the CLI portion in about an hour and a half while still maintaining a high level of accuracy.

The lab racks were consistently stable, and I rarely experienced serious latency. If an unexpected issue came up, the instructors handled it quickly so it wouldn't interfere with the quality of my practice.

Once I was comfortable with DOO 3, I started rotating through all three DOO versions. When I could finish each version in about two and a half hours, I scheduled the lab exam.

Ten days before the exam, Yang opened access to the Design practice material. The Design questions could change, and the instructors kept us updated in the group and revised the answer sets in the system when needed. During the final three days, they also reviewed the reports from my rack sessions and reminded me about details that were easy to miss.

Two days before the exam, I checked into a hotel recommended by Yue. I followed a set schedule each day: I reviewed four Design sets, completed one rack session, and practiced the CLI portion of each DOO set separately. On the day before the exam, I focused on resting and getting enough sleep.

After the exam, my result email took much longer to arrive than everyone else's. Another candidate at the same testing center received a passing email at around 9 p.m., but mine didn't arrive until 6 a.m. the next morning. I logged into the system as soon as I saw it and found out that I'd passed. It was a nervous wait, but everything worked out in the end.

Finally, I'd like to thank all the instructors for the work they put in and thank WOLF-LAB for helping me pass the CCIE EI exam.