Third time was the charm...CISSP Passed 9/11/2014

hobly71

Hi everyone,

I'm relieved to share that I passed the CISSP exam (3^rd time) on Thursday. It was an arduous 10 month journey with ups and downs but I kept at it to the end. Following are my study items and grades.


Brief Career Summary: IT focused for the past 26 years.

Short Version Synopsis:

MGT414 SANS +S Training Program for the CISSP Certification Exam in Class Course (6 days 11hrs a day course) with Ted Demopoulos (excellent class and great instructor)

MGT414 SANS +S Training Program for the CISSP Certification Exam On-Demand Course with Dr. Eric Cole (Awesome Course)

MGT414 SANS +S Training Program for the CISSP Certification Exam on MP3 with Dr. Eric Cole

CISSP Study Guide | 2e by Eric Conrad (Syngress)

CCCure.org Test and Paid Version

Transcender’s CISSP Exam questions (Pass Guarantee or your money back) but returned (with no issues)

Sunflower CISSP Summary V1.1

CISSP Combined Notes (downloaded from this website - pdf file - thanks Trottet2099!!)

All-in-one-CISSP from Shon Harris just for references that required more information.





Detailed Version:
Started studying in Nov 2013

• Stopped reading and watching anything about current security issues in the news. Need to think ISC2 way of thinking. (Drinking the Kool-Aid)
• MGT414 SANS +S Training Program for the CISSP Certification Exam in Class Course (6 days 11hrs a day course) with Ted Demopoulos (excellent class and great instructor)
• CISSP Study Guide | 2e by Eric Conrad (Syngress)
• Created my own flashcards
• CCCure.org Free questions only
• Reviewed all of my notes (150 pages)
• Exam January 2014 failed with 684 (700 was a pass)

Talked to the instructor about the exam; he recommended I take the exam again because I only failed by 4 questions.

• Reread the top 5 most challenging domains from the CISSP Study Guide by Eric Conrad and took notes.
• Purchased Transcender’s CISSP Exam questions (Pass Guarantee or your money back)
• Did every questions in each of the domains in the Transcender’s CISSP and did one of the 250 questions and received 80%
• Review all of my new 125 page notes.
• Reviewed my flashcards from first attempt
• I pushed ahead with the review and the studying for this exam despite being sick with the flu 12 hours before the exam;
• Exam March 2014 failed with 688 (700 was a pass)

At this time, I was ready to quit and throw in the towel.Talked to my boss at work and he said no problem but it would be ready good for you to get it.
I talked to my instructor again, he again recommended giving it one last try because this time, I failed by 3 questions. (Getting closer)

• Talked to Transcender’s and received a full money back for the questions I purchased.
• This time I reread, a different top 5 most challenging domains for me for the CISSP Study Guide by Eric Conrad and took notes.
• Purchased the full version of CCCure.org questions.
• Also talked to SANS and they give me SANS MGT414 SANS +S Training Program for the CISSP Certification Exam On-Demand Course with Dr. Eric Cole (Awesome Course)
• Also had the MP3’s for the classes and played them in the car all of the domains, to and from work, every day. (4 months)
• Watched the videos and did the quizzes with the video and then started on the questions from CCCure.org.
• Month and half of just questions every day. Mon-Friday, avg 3 hours per night and weekends avg 6 hours per night. (About 50 to 75 questions a night.)
• Reviewed my flashcards from first attempt
• Booked the exam about 3 weeks before the exam occurred.

The week before the exam started to have anxiety attacks and called my instructor again. He calmed me down again and said that you know this stuff you will get in the high 90’s because you know everything to know for the exam. Felt more confident after our conversation and decided it would be worth one more attempt.

• After the call I reviewed the Sunflower CISSP Summary V1.1 and also reviewed the combined CISSP notes (downloaded from this website) , my own flashcards and reviewed all of my 100+ pages of notes again . Also used the All-in-one-CISSP from Shon Harris just for references to items needing more information for.

I chose to stay in a local motel close to the exam site the night before the exam. Did the exam for the third time on September 11, 2014 and Passed. Sadly they don't tell you how much you pass by, as that would have been great information!

Now back to my life that was on "hiatus" for almost a year.

P.S. I’m not affiliated with SANS in anyway, just thought it might help other to share my experience.

Spin Lock

Congratulations on passing! Glad to see you didn't give up after getting so close the first two times. I can only imagine how discouraging it must have been to get that close on the first two tries but not pass. I respect the fact you persevered - to me, that's a more important quality to have than the ability to pass on the first try.

Thanks for sharing your preparation tips. SANS classes have excellent reputations.

One thing I am curious about is, what did you do differently on the 3rd try that allowed you to pass? It sounds like you went into the 2nd try with a good understanding of the technical concepts. So what did you do on the 3rd try that helped? Did you "think like a manager"? Did you stick with your first answers on questions you were unsure about? Did you manage your time better?

hobly71

Hi Spin Lock,

Thanks for your question...I'd like to think it's the fact that I reviewed & absorbed the information from EACH attempt. I do know that it was making sure I dedicated 2-3 hours every evening to study; making detailed notes with word definitions (which was a stumbling block for me in the first two attempts - words that had such similar spelling or meaning would trip me up because I wasn't reading the questions deeply enough); recognizing that they are trying to trick me with double negative wording; and expecting me to reply with what I would do in my current position as opposed to what I "should" reply (definitely have to think from a different "managers" perspective). The On Demand video review was probably the most valuable tool for me...listening/watching is preferable to reading for me, I think I retained more information that way.

I worked through every question slowly making a notation of which ones I'm not sure of for review; I then spent the last 30-40 mins going over those "review" questions. I didn't change many of my first instinct answers; of the 30 or so review questions, I think I only changed 3.

Staying close to the exam site (as opposed to tackling rush hour traffic and being anxious about traffic jams) helped too...I had complete quiet (no kids, no pets, no wife) and could get up, out and there in less than 10 mins. That was a factor in my first two attempts because it was winter and I stressed getting there. I spent a lot of time also reviewing forums of other people who had done the exam; it was oddly comforting to know I wasn't the only one who took multiple attempts.

I think it was just a combination of efforts and confidence knowing what to expect - no surprises the third time around!

tprice5

Happy for ya, man. +1 all day.

Spin Lock

Thanks Hobly for the detailed response to my question. Posts like yours really help those of us preparing for the exam!

voodoo26

congrats on pass

redterrorz

congrats on pass! it scares me when I read these. I've been lucky to pass every exam on the 1st try so far... but that's now saying much as I don't have much.