This post is number 3 in a series of 4 posts about my FCX Journey. This post leads with my prior history leading up to taking the FCX written exam, and my experience with the FCX written exam and some advice for it.
Other posts in this series can be found here:
Post 1 – About the FCX
Post 2 – FCX Study Tracker
Post 4a- Lab Exam Part 1
Post 4b- Lab Exam Part 2

Background

For anyone trying to get an expert level certification, their journey will differ greatly based on their current circumstances and their overall background. To put context on the rest of my post, I felt it was prudent to share where I am coming from very briefly. For those who are wanting to only know about the FCX exam you can jump to the section called “Changing Course – Aiming for the NSE8”.

I started in IT in 2009 with my own IT business in regional NSW, then quickly moving into support roles within the education sector. Throughout this time, I mainly worked with Windows Desktop and Server systems, along with my initial exposure to networking with the HPE Comware line of products. I found I really enjoyed the networking side of things, so I started working on my CCNA which allowed me to move on to another job within the state Government with more networking responsibilities using Cisco hardware. It was in this job in 2012 that I was first exposed to network security and firewalls as I was made responsible for the organisations Cisco PIX firewalls, and Barracuda web proxies. As I was getting the hang of these appliances, the organisation I was a part of got absorbed by a larger Government department – which led to me having to move on to a new role.

I picked up a role working for a food manufacturer and was introduced to the world of industrial networking. Over the next almost 6 years working for that company, I increased my skills in enterprise and industrial networking (picking up my CCNP along the way), and further developed my skill sets in other areas including:

• VMWare Data Centre Virtualisation
• Check Point Firewalls
• McAfee Endpoint Protection and App Control
• Cisco Wireless
• Riverbed WAN Acceleration
• Microsoft Cloud products

At the beginning of 2019 my role was moved offshore and I relocated to Canberra for work and began to work in large enterprise environments. Without intention, my experience between 2009 and 2019 had been building out a robust skill set in most of Fortinet’s key product areas. Honestly, at this point I had never heard of Fortinet.

Move into Consulting

The move in 2019 was also a move from being the in-house IT support role, to one of a consultant – helping clients implement innovative solutions and improve their networks. This was a bit of a change in that I was expected to be the subject matter expert in a number of technologies that I hadn’t touched before, including Aruba Wired and Wireless technologies, AWS and VMWare Horizon – it was also my first introduction to Fortinet. I remember getting thrown into a job where I had to review the implementation of 30-odd Fortinet firewalls, going through their config to ensure they had been deployed to best practice, and reviewing their ruleset. I was happy to find that the interface intuitive, and the documentation easy to follow. It was like drinking from a firehose, but I enjoyed the experience of working with these firewalls compared with other vendor products.

Early on in my career, I had read an article saying that the highest paying IT certification was the CCIE. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do at that point, but it was part of the reason I started down the path of getting my CCNA and CCNP, and in 2020 I decided it was time to start working toward the CCIE. It was something that I had kept in my mind as an eventual goal but had never had the chance to properly work toward it.

Over the next 2 years (and the pandemic) I threw what spare time I had into studying for the CCIE R&S/Enterprise Infrastructure. I found parts of the experience enjoyable – going through the CBTNuggets training material, working my way with Narbik Kocharians textbooks and labs, and engaging with other people working toward the same goal. Studying for the certification was a valuable process and I found my skill set increasing overall – not just with Cisco but with other vendors. Which was fortunate, as none of the clients I was working within were deploying Cisco products, and a lot of my work was ripping it out and replacing it with Aruba or Fortinet or working with complimentary technologies such as F5 ADC’s.

In 2022 I felt I was ready to sit the CCIE lab, but faced a challenge I wasn’t expecting – the testing center in Sydney hadn’t opened up yet, and so began the process of regularly checking if the center had opened up. Once it did open there were limited spots due to COVID restrictions, which meant that competition for available spots was tough. I was checking twice daily, and finally in April I was able to book a slot in September. At this point I threw myself into heavy labbing to prepare myself for the exam.

In August, I received a notice to say that my exam had been cancelled as they needed to “complete maintenance” on the lab that weekend. I wasn’t offered an alternate date and went back to checking the booking app twice daily. Over the next month I was able to book a date in October twice, but each time the exam was cancelled without explanation. To be blunt it was demoralizing, and I decided to change course and study some other vendor certs in the meantime. To come back to the CCIE lab once the center in Sydney was back at full capacity.

Changing Course – Aiming for the NSE8

Throughout my previous studies I had been doing a lot of work with Aruba and Fortinet equipment, and during my employers “Certember” event in 2021 I had gotten the NSE4 and NSE7 Fortinet certifications and I found the subject matter interesting – enough that I decided to sit the NSE5 (FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer) exams as well. By the time I had decided to postpone my CCIE studies I realized that I wanted to “complete the set” of Fortinet certifications and get the NSE6 and NSE8 certifications as well. This approach had the advantage of allowing me to cover most of the recommended training materials for the NSE8 prior to beginning to go for it in earnest. And I sat and passed my final NSE6 exam in December 2022.

While studying for the NSE6 I was advised by some friends within Fortinet that the NSE8 exam was changing from being an on-site only exam in either Florida USA, or in France, to being an online lab exam. This cemented my resolve to get the cert as it removed a lot of obstacles to achieving the certification.

Written Exam

For the written exam I studied for the 811 version, with the 812 version being released shortly after I passed. As such some of the details I outline may be different for the current FCX written exam – make sure you read the latest version of the FCX handbook prior to commencing your own studies. That being said, a lot of the tips I outline should still be helpful as its the same process and advice I have followed myself for just about every Pearson Vue exam I have ever sat.

My prior studies with the NSE1-7 certifications put me in an advantageous position for tackling this exam. I wasn’t starting from scratch and I only had to focus on the courses I hadn’t completed previously such as the FortiDDoS and FortiGate 6000/7000 courses. A side note on this – the way that these products work is honestly fascinating, it’s worth diving into the technical details just for that in my opinion.

Aside from completing those courses, I read the tech-tips that Fortinet offer for the products listed on the exam as I figured they would help solidify my understanding of the products. This approach also paid dividends when taking the lab exam later on as some of the information I gained through the tech tips ended up being pertinent to solving tasks within the lab exam.

Ultimately I was able to use that combined knowledge to extrapolate a lot of the answers to the questions, and I passed the written exam on February 10^th, 2023.

The written exam for the FCX is a multiple choice proctored exam through Pearson Vue, so if you have done a previous exam through them (And I suspect you have, if you are looking to take the FCX) then the experience will be very familiar. However, the jump in difficulty between the NSE7 / FCSS exams and the NSE8 / FCX Written is significant and should not be underestimated.

My advice for the written exam is:

• Read the study guides for the courses that are recommended as prep in the FCX Handbook
  • Whenever you come across a piece of information you think would make a good exam question, write it down.
  • For those pieces of information you have written down, create ANKI flashcards for them, and use it as practice to help the information stick.
    
• As you go through the courses listed in the FCX handbook, where possible lab the concepts to help reinforce them.
  
• Do the same for the FortiTips that you read on products.
  
• Use the practice questions on training.fortinet.com sparingly. Personally I used it early to give me an idea of where I was starting from, and then again once I felt I was ready for the exam. This ensures that your skill set is being appropriately measured, rather than just your familiarity with those particular practice questions.
  
• Use a study tracker to record your progress. With an exam this big its easy to lose focus, and a study tracker can help you keep that focus. For an example of one, I have published the one I used here:
  https://fcxstudy.group/study-resources/

The time taken to study for the written is going to vary widely based on your prior experience, current circumstances and what sort of learner you are. I had completed most of the recommended courses in the 18 months prior to taking the written and had 6 weeks of focused study (20-30 hours a week of study) before the exam date.

What do you get from passing the NSE8 Written?

Officially, you get a badge on Credly to indicate that you have passed the written – which you should definitely share on LinkedIn.
From a personal standpoint, the written forces you to study a broad selection of the Fortinet portfolio from multiple different “towers”. In my experience this opens your eyes to different problem scenarios, and different approaches to solving the same issues.

It also has the side effect of you knowing a Forti-way of solving just about every IT Security problem.

The next post

My next post will be my final post about my FCX journey, but it will also be the longest. Studying for the lab exam requires a different approach to studying for a Pearson Vue exam and the skills being assessed are vastly different. As such the final post will go in-depth on both the technical and non-technical considerations of the exam to best help you prepare.