Took CISSP last month, did not pass. :(

gian_18778

Hi Guys,

After sitting the CISSP exam, and feeling like a fish out of water during the entire exam, I realized that I was not prepared as I should have been. Here's what I did to prepare for exam..

• Took CISSP 5 day boot camp course
• Read CISSP Study Guide 11th Hour
• Studied CISSP Domains Boot Camp notes
• Practiced exam questions from CCCure.org (Paid), leading up to my last week, I was taking 250 questions/night (scoring 78%-83%)

I think my biggest error was an over-reliance on just taking the CCCure practice exams, because the actual CISSP exams I encountered were very different. After coming to this forum and looking who successfully passed the exam, and what materials they used, I realized that I was not prepared.

I plan to take the exam again, hopefully by September, and use some of the materials that have been mentioned. I am also open to any suggestions or questions that any of you may have.

Thanks
Gian

Grafixx01

Hey man, that sucks you didn't pass. I used the Conrad full book to study from, glanced through Shon Harris' book, and used the Conrad 11th hour the last week and ONLY that book for ONLY that week, leading up to taking the test on Thursday. I didn't do any questions, aside form the ones on the CD from Shon Harris' 6th edition and a link that a guy gave me to the McGrawHill website.

I still was only getting like 60% - 70% in all domains prior to taking it. Even had a friend, who is a boot camp instructor, give me a practice test he admins to the people taking his bootcamps. He does this to give them a better understanding and study plan, but he said with me, he can't do that. This was because I essentially scored equal across all domains for the number of questions I got wrong. He said my knowledge is like the exam motto... 1" deep and a mile wide.

That's all I can offer you on advice.

I would stay away from the practice exams, even the SH ones are ONLY questions that you will NOT ever see in the CISSP again.

dustervoice

[QUOTE=gian_18778;858954

• Practiced exam questions from CCCure.org (Paid), leading up to my last week, I was taking 250 questions/night (scoring 78%-83%)

I think my biggest error was an over-reliance on just taking the CCCure practice exams, because the actual CISSP exams I encountered were very different. After coming to this forum and looking who successfully passed the exam, and what materials they used, I realized that I was not prepared.

Gian[/QUOTE]

How different were the questions from cccure? can you comment a bit more without violating NDA ofcourse.

CyberfiSecurity

Honestly, I have never attended boot camp. I do believe that boot camp can provide you a little tip, and understanding certain materials. I do not believe that boot camp prepares for you to pass the exam. CCCure.org practice exam it too technical, for example. What is the bit of ICMP in an IP? It is 1 bit, you will not see that in the actual exam. When taking the practice exam, you are not only measuring your knowledge level. However, you have to study the reason why you get it right or wrong. Therefore, you can think deeper into a materials.

Other practice exam that I think helpful is Transcender. It provides you full explanation why the choices are wrong and right. I would not recommend you to take the exam in September. Try to take it again within 30 days since most of materials are still fresh in your mind. Don't make a mistake like I did, wait for 4 to 8 months to go back; pretty much I had to start from square one.

LionelTeo

Whats your initial score for CCCure? Only that matters, because later questions may means you remember the question-answer pair and not the concept itself.

I would recommend to get CISSP Study Guide by Eric Conrad and Shon Harris Guide. Going through Eric Conrad for strip down version for intense studying and Harris version for deeper understanding of unclear topic to you. Going through Eric Conrad with Highlighters would be very useful in retaining the info. Good luck