61 CCIEs dropped out of Cisco's highly coveted cert program over the last 30 days

For the 3rd month in row, the worldwide CCIE R&S count dropped.

By Brad Reese on Tue, 02/09/10 - 7:43am.

According to Dual CCIE #18532 R&S/Security - George Morton:

"Over the last 30 days we have seen CCIEs drop their highly coveted certifications at a much greater rate than net new CCIEs.

"61 CCIEs dropped out of Cisco's prestigious certification program during the month of January 2010 alone.

"For further clarification, let's do the math together:

"New CCIEs: 54.

"The number of candidates passing the CCIE Lab: 101.

"Existing CCIEs earning a second CCIE or greater: 14.

"Passing: 101 – Net Change from Previous Month: 54 – Net Multiple CCIEs awarded: 14 = Dropping out of the CCIE program as inactive status CCIEs: 61."

Note: According to Cisco, inactive status CCIEs are not included in Cisco's worldwide CCIE count and to regain active status again, they would be required to start over from scratch, by passing both the CCIE Written Test as well as the CCIE Lab Test.

Morton continued, "The Router/Switch CCIE track has had the highest net change and I think this is simply because older CCIEs are dropping out of the program by not sitting for the CCIE Written Test (for a CCIE to remain in active status they are required to pass the written test every two years) at a faster rate than new candidates are passing the CCIE Lab Test.

"The following chart shows the continued slowdown in passing the CCIE Lab as an agenda for IT personnel from late September 2009 to present, keep in mind that CCIEs held by Cisco in suspended status are included in Cisco's worldwide CCIE count:"

Source: Dual CCIE #18532 George Morton

Morton added, "The top CCIE track for January 2010 was CCIE Voice - 48, followed by Security with 46 and the Service Provider with 10. The Router/Switch track was in last place for net new CCIEs. Over the last five months, the Service Provider track has become the most popular with a monthly average of 41 over the September 2009 to February 2010 time frame.

Increase in New CCIEs by Region:

Source: Dual CCIE #18532 George Morton