Passed CISSP Exam 12/16/14! (with no formal Cyber Sec exp)
Happy Friday Everyone!
Now that the week is coming to anend, I finally have time to post some feedback about my CISSP exam experience. I'll break this post into sections so you can skip the boring stuff if you wantto.
About Me: 25 female| No Kids| BS in Cyber Security|Prior military service (as a police officer). I hated being a cop and IT in theNavy was not open so I decided to get out and pursue it in the civilian world.
Study Schedule:
Materials:
· Eric Conrad CISSP study guide
· Shon Harris CISSP (Red Cover-Older book)
· CBK Book
· Various Practice Questions (Exam-Cram, Shon Harristest engine, McGraw Hill test engine and skillset.com).
Breakdown.
I started in the beginning of October and studied for 2.5months. Honestly I felt over-prepared at this point but I did not have themoney to pay for the exam so I had to wait (and study).
Watched Shon Harris’ videos on safaribooksonline.com
Read Eric’s book cover to cover.
I attempted to read Shon's book afterwards but it was too verbose for me so I picked up the CBK book after the first 2 chapters. (Honestly,I feel that if you can read and understand the CBK book, you will have noproblem understanding the questions).
Went through 50-100 practice questions per day, everyday.
After that, I took a 250 question test in Shon Harris book(the old one with the red cover). I identified my weak domains and worked myway from least knowledgeable to the best.
At this point I was tired of studying. I finally got enough money and scheduled the exam the day before I took it (I was tired of lookingat the material and wanted to get it over with)
Exam Experience:
Honesty, I felt the exam was fairly easy. I passed through all250 questions in a little less than 2 hours (even with my bathroom break) andmarked 40-50 Qs for review. I felt confident that I had passed. The questionsdid not seem all that tricky. You just have to pay attention to what it’sactually asking you (don’t add to the scenario in your head). All in all, I completed the exam in 3 hours and 30 mins changing very few answers.Tip: If you have never seen a term in the CBK book or Shon’sbook before, it’s probably just there to throw you off.
I retained a lot of information and I think I am going to create a course (with help from other certified people) for those wishing to pursue the certification. I’ll let you guys know if I decide to follow through.
Now that the week is coming to anend, I finally have time to post some feedback about my CISSP exam experience. I'll break this post into sections so you can skip the boring stuff if you wantto. About Me: 25 female| No Kids| BS in Cyber Security|Prior military service (as a police officer). I hated being a cop and IT in theNavy was not open so I decided to get out and pursue it in the civilian world.
Study Schedule:
Materials:
· Eric Conrad CISSP study guide
· Shon Harris CISSP (Red Cover-Older book)
· CBK Book
· Various Practice Questions (Exam-Cram, Shon Harristest engine, McGraw Hill test engine and skillset.com).
Breakdown.
I started in the beginning of October and studied for 2.5months. Honestly I felt over-prepared at this point but I did not have themoney to pay for the exam so I had to wait (and study).
Watched Shon Harris’ videos on safaribooksonline.com
Read Eric’s book cover to cover.
I attempted to read Shon's book afterwards but it was too verbose for me so I picked up the CBK book after the first 2 chapters. (Honestly,I feel that if you can read and understand the CBK book, you will have noproblem understanding the questions).
Went through 50-100 practice questions per day, everyday.
After that, I took a 250 question test in Shon Harris book(the old one with the red cover). I identified my weak domains and worked myway from least knowledgeable to the best.
At this point I was tired of studying. I finally got enough money and scheduled the exam the day before I took it (I was tired of lookingat the material and wanted to get it over with)
Exam Experience:
Honesty, I felt the exam was fairly easy. I passed through all250 questions in a little less than 2 hours (even with my bathroom break) andmarked 40-50 Qs for review. I felt confident that I had passed. The questionsdid not seem all that tricky. You just have to pay attention to what it’sactually asking you (don’t add to the scenario in your head). All in all, I completed the exam in 3 hours and 30 mins changing very few answers.Tip: If you have never seen a term in the CBK book or Shon’sbook before, it’s probably just there to throw you off.
I retained a lot of information and I think I am going to create a course (with help from other certified people) for those wishing to pursue the certification. I’ll let you guys know if I decide to follow through.
Comments
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zxbane
Member Posts: 740 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats, I assume you will be in Associate status until you get the required experience? -
Robicus
Member Posts: 144 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congratulations on the pass, and thanks for sharing the well organized study tips!
Shout out to the prior service-- ex-Navy CTR here.
Cheers,What's Next? eLearnSecurity's eCIR
MSISE, CISSP, GSE (#202), GSEC, GCIA, GCIH, GPEN, GMON, GCFE, GCCC, GCPM, eJPT, AWS CCP -
gina2525
Registered Users Posts: 5 ■■■□□□□□□□
Yes, it's in Associate status right now. Hopefully I have enough physical security experience to help me meet the requirement. -
chopsticks
Member Posts: 389
Hi gina, may I ask where to obtain the CBK book? Thanks. And congrads to your passing the exam! -
gina2525
Registered Users Posts: 5 ■■■□□□□□□□
@Chopsticks, I got it from amazon but here's the link to the book https://www.isc2.org/official-isc2-textbooks.aspx
