Passed CISSP Yesterday -- WooHoo!!

teancum144teancum144 Member Posts: 229 ■■■□□□□□□□
in SSCP
There've been so many excellent writeups about passing the CISSP, so I will keep this brief. I read over 750 pages of the Shon Harris book and over 900 pages of the Official Guide (OG). I attended the 5-day ISC2 seminar and obtained their workbook and flash cards. I didn't end up using the workbook at all, but I did use the flash cards. I didn't take any practice exams. I did complete practice questions at the end of each chapter (for the chapters I read). I did skim two of the OG chapters I didn't read.

The test had many easy questions, many medium-difficulty questions, a few hard questions, and a few memorization questions. My primary challenge was trying to avoid misinterpreting the intent of the questions. I used the comment feature to comment on a few of the questions where the intent was unclear. Because I didn't spend time memorizing, I'm sure I missed a number of those questions. Most questions were fairly easy to narrow down to two of the four answers. I finished the exam in about 5 hours and 40 minutes. After completing my review, I had about 8 minutes left. I didn't feel rushed (very happy about that).

Overall, I believe the following helped me pass the exam:
  • Studying for and passing the Network+exam
  • Studying for and passing the Security+exam
  • The Official Guide book
  • The AIO book
  • My 11+ years experience in IT Audit
  • Researching technical security topics for IT audi issues
  • Reading books about the Linux operating system and other technical topics
In other words, my cumulative knowledge and experience helped me discern the correct answers. I believe it would be very difficult to pass this exam without experience (from book study alone). On the flip side, I believe it would be very difficult to pass this exam without book study (from experience alone).

Overall, I'm pleased that I took the time to study for and pass the CISSP. It forced me to learn things about a wide variety of security-related topics that I would have never otherwise taken the time to learn.
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Comments

  • Spin LockSpin Lock Member Posts: 142
    Congrats on passing! And thanks for sharing the impressions of the exam. Your breakdown of questions by level of difficulty was especially useful. Thanks for that.
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  • nawanisnawanis Member Posts: 20 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congrats !! Nice break up of exam questions.
    Thanks for sharing
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  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    Congrats!
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  • papadocpapadoc Member Posts: 154
    Congrats.

    7 hours, 40 minutes though? Isn't that past the time limit?
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  • impelseimpelse Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats
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    It is your personal IPS to stop the attack.

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  • teancum144teancum144 Member Posts: 229 ■■■□□□□□□□
    papadoc wrote: »
    7 hours, 40 minutes though? Isn't that past the time limit?
    Sorry, I meant 5 hours and 40 minutes. I fixed the typo. Thanks!
    If you like my comments or questions, you can show appreciation by clicking on the reputation badge/star icon near the lower left of my post. :D
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  • teancum144teancum144 Member Posts: 229 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Thanks all! Now, I'm pursuing the LPIC-1/Linux+ certification.
    If you like my comments or questions, you can show appreciation by clicking on the reputation badge/star icon near the lower left of my post. :D
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  • teancum144teancum144 Member Posts: 229 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Just got word this morning that my CISSP application/endorsement was accepted. So, I'm officially a CISSP -- yay! Here's info on my certification timeline:
    • 9/30/13: started studying for the exam (ouch! too long, I know).
    • 11/13/14: Passed the exam.
    • 12/29/14: My endorser submitted (via email) my endorsement to ISC2
    • 12/29/14: Received email from ISC2 confirming receipt of my endorsement.
    • 2/3/15: Received email from ISC2 confirming acceptance of my application/endorsement.
    Thanks again to all who helped mentor me. This site is a fantastic resource.
    If you like my comments or questions, you can show appreciation by clicking on the reputation badge/star icon near the lower left of my post. :D
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  • dustervoicedustervoice Member Posts: 877 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats ... update us when you get the cert in the mail... i'm still waiting on mine.:D
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  • mjsinhsvmjsinhsv Member Posts: 167
    Congrats !
    The resources on this site definitley helped me pass the test as well.
    Passing that damn test was probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life. One of the most rewarding as well.
    My hat is off to those folks who can just read the books and pass without having any experience.

    The Linux+ isn't that difficult once you have tackled the CISSP.
    When you pass the Linux+ , you can register for the LPIC and get that one free.
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  • CyberscumCyberscum Member Posts: 795 ■■■■■□□□□□
    teancum144 wrote: »
    Just got word this morning that my CISSP application/endorsement was accepted. So, I'm officially a CISSP -- yay! Here's info on my certification timeline:
    • 9/30/13: started studying for the exam (ouch! too long, I know).
    • 11/13/14: Passed the exam.
    • 12/29/14: My endorser submitted (via email) my endorsement to ISC2
    • 12/29/14: Received email from ISC2 confirming receipt of my endorsement.
    • 2/3/14: Received email from ISC2 confirming acceptance of my application/endorsement.
    Thanks again to all who helped mentor me. This site is a fantastic resource.


    You passed the test in 11/14 after you were already certified in 2/14? huh
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  • ccnpninjaccnpninja Member Posts: 1,010 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats!
    my blog:https://keyboardbanger.com
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  • teancum144teancum144 Member Posts: 229 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Cyberscum wrote: »
    You passed the test in 11/14 after you were already certified in 2/14? huh
    Haha, sorry -- I just fixed the error. I can't seem to get out of 2014. icon_wink.gif
    If you like my comments or questions, you can show appreciation by clicking on the reputation badge/star icon near the lower left of my post. :D
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