Passed CISSP in Daly City
cyber_fan_monterey
Member Posts: 20 ■□□□□□□□□□
in SSCP
Yes I passed the CISSP!
I should have written this thread earlier but after passing the exam I made myself so overwhelmed with the endorsement process and started an exhaustive job searching period (still searching!...) so finally I decided to share my CISSP experience now.
I decided to take the exam on June 23rd and took it on Oct.1st. I made a study plan for roughly three months and started reading the Shon Harris (RIP) book. I red it from cover to cover highlighting. It sometimes becomes so wordy and technically deep but I think it will be an important asset for an absolute starter. At this point I supported the readings with a dry erase board to write and draw the graphs, schemas etc., cardboard and various sizes of post-its to create a visual effect at home. I planned to read SH book twice or more but after the first read I switched over to Eric Conrad Study Guide and read that once too. They have different points of views for the same topics so it became little fuzzy. I recommend to read the same source twice- either Shon Harris or Eric Conrad. You know they say that Eric explains things expecting you to have a basic knowledge. If you are at absolute zero go with Shon Harris. Anyways I am not going to start arguing that...
Also had a subscription to freepracticetests.org website. I can't argue how accurate the questions are but it sometimes gives you a false feeling that you know nothing so this may motivate you to study more (be careful it may also make you hate studying). Later I discovered Transcender and I think I should have gone with it at the first time. You should have at least two exam simulations from Transcender right before the exam. (Transcender ISC2 CISSP Exam | CISSP Certification Training Products)
Created a lot of tables for each domain based on the Shon Harris book contents. I printed out those tables on 60''x40'' paper boards colorful. This was my study buddy's idea and worked like a charm.
Watched the detailed explanation videos of Shon Harris. These videos are sometimes going even deeper than the book but they also give a nice point of view. If you have extra $400-500 definitely try.
Relaxed right before the exam day. Because I could not find a nice hotel in SF area (that night prices were up to $300 for a fair room) I started driving 5am on the exam morning. Terrible idea! Got stuck in the traffic in Gilroy 6am and stressed out too much. Somehow it cleared and I made it on time. You don't want any stress on the exam day so plan everything ahead.
For the exam: I didn't spend more than 30 sec for a question for the first round. After 150 questions I had almost 100 unanswered. It sounds scary but this strategy helped me focus more and see every possible scenario about the options. I took 3-4 breaks not to get exhausted. I finally finished the exam when there was 3 minutes left.
For the people living in the bay area I definitely recommend the Pearson Center at Daly City. It is so quiet, staff is helpful and equipment is new. They even recommended me to use earplugs and it helped so much.
Resources I used:
1. AIO Shon Harris
2. CISSP guide Eric Conrad
3. 11th hour Eric Conrad
4. CISSP Practice Tests Shon Harris
Final Important advice:
1. Find a CISSP test taker around your area. It is SOO helpful to have someone motivating you and keep you in track.
2. Purchase the exam immediately!
I should have written this thread earlier but after passing the exam I made myself so overwhelmed with the endorsement process and started an exhaustive job searching period (still searching!...) so finally I decided to share my CISSP experience now.
I decided to take the exam on June 23rd and took it on Oct.1st. I made a study plan for roughly three months and started reading the Shon Harris (RIP) book. I red it from cover to cover highlighting. It sometimes becomes so wordy and technically deep but I think it will be an important asset for an absolute starter. At this point I supported the readings with a dry erase board to write and draw the graphs, schemas etc., cardboard and various sizes of post-its to create a visual effect at home. I planned to read SH book twice or more but after the first read I switched over to Eric Conrad Study Guide and read that once too. They have different points of views for the same topics so it became little fuzzy. I recommend to read the same source twice- either Shon Harris or Eric Conrad. You know they say that Eric explains things expecting you to have a basic knowledge. If you are at absolute zero go with Shon Harris. Anyways I am not going to start arguing that...
Also had a subscription to freepracticetests.org website. I can't argue how accurate the questions are but it sometimes gives you a false feeling that you know nothing so this may motivate you to study more (be careful it may also make you hate studying). Later I discovered Transcender and I think I should have gone with it at the first time. You should have at least two exam simulations from Transcender right before the exam. (Transcender ISC2 CISSP Exam | CISSP Certification Training Products)
Created a lot of tables for each domain based on the Shon Harris book contents. I printed out those tables on 60''x40'' paper boards colorful. This was my study buddy's idea and worked like a charm.
Watched the detailed explanation videos of Shon Harris. These videos are sometimes going even deeper than the book but they also give a nice point of view. If you have extra $400-500 definitely try.
Relaxed right before the exam day. Because I could not find a nice hotel in SF area (that night prices were up to $300 for a fair room) I started driving 5am on the exam morning. Terrible idea! Got stuck in the traffic in Gilroy 6am and stressed out too much. Somehow it cleared and I made it on time. You don't want any stress on the exam day so plan everything ahead.
For the exam: I didn't spend more than 30 sec for a question for the first round. After 150 questions I had almost 100 unanswered. It sounds scary but this strategy helped me focus more and see every possible scenario about the options. I took 3-4 breaks not to get exhausted. I finally finished the exam when there was 3 minutes left.
For the people living in the bay area I definitely recommend the Pearson Center at Daly City. It is so quiet, staff is helpful and equipment is new. They even recommended me to use earplugs and it helped so much.
Resources I used:
1. AIO Shon Harris
2. CISSP guide Eric Conrad
3. 11th hour Eric Conrad
4. CISSP Practice Tests Shon Harris
Final Important advice:
1. Find a CISSP test taker around your area. It is SOO helpful to have someone motivating you and keep you in track.
2. Purchase the exam immediately!
MSc in Information Technology Management
Focus in IT Security
Focus in IT Security
Comments
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Spin Lock
Member Posts: 142
Monterey to Daly City is a looong drive! That would wear me out even without running into traffic. I'm assuming you checked test centers in San Jose, Santa Cruz, Salinas, etc. but everything was booked? Glad you made it and congrats on passing. -
cyber_fan_monterey
Member Posts: 20 ■□□□□□□□□□
Yes I checked every possible ones. There were no available in Salinas. San Jose ones didn't have good reviews on yelp because of noise dirt etc.. Daly city was the best looking. You know it is a 6 hours test. You should be calm
MSc in Information Technology Management
Focus in IT Security -
impelse
Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■□□□□□□
congrats, I've procrastinated this exam until I bought it for December, now I am study a lot. Thanks for your sharing.Stop RDP Brute Force Attack with our RDP Firewall : http://www.thehost1.com
It is your personal IPS to stop the attack. -
cyber_fan_monterey
Member Posts: 20 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hey sure! Good luck for the exam.congrats, I've procrastinated this exam until I bought it for December, now I am study a lot. Thanks for your sharing.MSc in Information Technology Management
Focus in IT Security