Hey guys,
Just wanted to post here: I've passed the SSCP today! I'm going to share my experience as well...
What did I use to study?
1) Textbook - I used the All in One (AIO) SSCP Exam Guide, by Darril Gibson, McGrawHill. I was already familiar with 90% of the subject, as it all came up in my Diploma (7 years ago), as well as my Degree module (few months ago).
2) Videos - I used two sources of videos. The first, was the SSCP Webcast series, located at
https://www.brighttalk.com/channel/7115. These videos were dull and only vaguely informative, but it helped me realized that I had some gaps in my knowledge.
I also used Professor Messer's Security+ SY0-401 Youtube videos to revise on cryptography.
3) SSCP Flashcards - Located at
SSCP Test Questions flashcards | Quizlet,
these were not very useful and most of it weren't relevant to the SSCP exam, but hey, it gets your mind thinking!
4) J D Murray's blog - I read it and reconsidered doing the SSCP exam. Was it worth it? Is it a hassle to maintain it? Needless to say, I cast my doubts aside and went ahead for the exam.
Is this exam a waste of my money and time?
It really depends. Are you using this to advance your career, or to enhance your knowledge?
Career wise, I doubt employers or HR people will even recognize the SSCP.
Knowledge wise, the contents of the certification helped open my eyes a little more about IT Security.
IT Security isn't only about configuring a PIX or ASA firewall; but about protecting the whole organization. Be it a Disaster Recovery Plan, or an Business Continuity Plan, and even policies and Acceptable Terms of Usage.
Who do you think should take this exam?
ISC2 got it right: you'll need at least one year of experience to truly understand the impact and purpose of the exam contents.
What am I going on to next?
Well, I've got a taste of the management side of IT Security; but I personally feel that I need to get back to the technical side. I'm aiming for the CCENT by the end of this year.
What do I expect from this certificate?
Nothing, really. Sure, some might say that the ROI of this certificate is zero and that it was a waste of $250 USD.
For me, it's the knowledge. It's the feeling of "really? BCP, DRP, Incident handling, conducting user training to change user behavior? This is what the future holds? Not just sitting at a screen and glaring at audit trails all day long? I'm totally up for it."
Have a great time everyone, and I hope my post was enlightening for anyone who reads this!
