Cisco have raised the accreditation bar with a new certification - Cisco Certified Architect. As if trying to get my CCIE wasn't enough

"Cisco Certified Architect is highest level of accreditation achievable within the Cisco Career Certification program. It is the pinnacle for individuals wishing to show their formal validation of both design and IT skills in Cisco technologies and infrastructure."

"Candidates wishing to apply to become a Cisco Certified Architect must also hold a valid Cisco Certified Design (CCDE) certification, validating their expert level design and business level skill set."

The examination ($15000 USD) consists of Pre-Board Exam work where the candidate will receive an architectural challenge from the board and must respond accordingly. Upon receipt of the response from the candidate, the board will evaluate the submission against scoring rubrics (prior to the board meeting) and determine what questions should be posed to the candidate. This is followed by the Board Exam where the candidate must present his/her architecture to an “executive team”, respond to technical questions from a “design team”, and respond to a “what-if” change in the original architectural challenge.

sounds intesne! jimmy, will telstra foot the $15,000 USD for you??
Also who writes the exams? Do the board members have the CCA qual?

Blacky wrote:sounds intesne! jimmy, will telstra foot the $15,000 USD for you??
Also who writes the exams? Do the board members have the CCA qual?

I can't see anyone giving me $15k - biggest thing I've designed was only 40 odd routers and they were mostly branch offices. If only they recognised the Microsoft stuff I've done? </sarcasm>

There isn't an exam as such, just the submission designed by Cisco and the board interview. I can't imagine the board members having a CCA, they'd just be technical experts appointed by Cisco. At least to begin with anyway.

Did I mention they go through your resume too?

"Application to the Cisco Certified Architect Program will include the following:

* Successful completion of the Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) Certification.
* A resume of professional work experience to be verified by Cisco.
* A summary of a project in which the candidate acted in the role of an architect or designer"

CCDE isn't exactly easy either. It's the (relatively) new Expert level design certification.

so its a bit like.....the rich get richer! I guess if your at that level then you deserve it. Lets see if we cant find the first aussie to get the qual. Might try and get an interview with him/her. Get a good idea of how hard you need to work to get to that level.