Passed CISSP last week - still stunned
First time poster, long time lurker.....
Pleased to say that I passed the CISSP exam last week. I appreciate this forum and all the tips and advice available on it. My journey to CISSP began in 2011, but for various reasons (valid and otherwise) I did not schedule it then. Finally mustered up some confidence late last year and got it scheduled. Scheduling it was an incredible motivator...although, the desire to do better for my family and myself was the primary force behind my desire to get it done.
Study materials used:
1. Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition - this definitely helped me.
2. Eric Conrad's CISSP Study Guide (including 11th Hour Study Guide) - 11th Hour Study Guide helped solidify what I learned from the ISC CISSP CBK
3. Sunflower PDF
4. CBT Nuggets - I started out using this for some of the topics that I was not familiar with
5. Shon Harris Practice Exams - very good due to the amount of scenario-based questions (the amount of scenario-based questions was high and, as everyone has been saying, there always seemed to be two very similar answers)
6. McGraw-Hill Practice Exams - same as above, but not enough scenario-based questions
Exam:
Without a doubt, the most challenging exam I've ever taken. Questions I received covered nearly every topic evenly. The sheer amount of scenario-based questions is what made it difficult to me. For those types of questions that I did not know off the top of my head, I took a managerial approach ("What would be in the best interest of the business?", etc.) to narrow down my choices. My I.T. and managerial experience did help somewhat. I took a break once an hour during the five hours I was there. I really thought I failed, especially after the proctor turned the paper face down and slid it to me. But I noticed she had a smile on her face which I thought was strange as I'm thinking to myself "why is she smiling if I failed?"
When I turned the paper over and saw "Congratulations....", I nearly jumped through the roof. It took me some time to calm down while I was there. I got home, told my wife and she nearly jumped through the roof, too. Just over a week later and I'm still feeling good. Endorsement form has been submitted and I'm trying my best to be patient for six weeks. It's difficult, but I'm taking the time to learn more with OJT, etc..
Again, this forum was extremely helpful and I'm glad I joined....for those of you on the fence about taking the exam, schedule it, study, and get it done. The only way you're guaranteed to fail is if you never try.
Pleased to say that I passed the CISSP exam last week. I appreciate this forum and all the tips and advice available on it. My journey to CISSP began in 2011, but for various reasons (valid and otherwise) I did not schedule it then. Finally mustered up some confidence late last year and got it scheduled. Scheduling it was an incredible motivator...although, the desire to do better for my family and myself was the primary force behind my desire to get it done.
Study materials used:
1. Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition - this definitely helped me.
2. Eric Conrad's CISSP Study Guide (including 11th Hour Study Guide) - 11th Hour Study Guide helped solidify what I learned from the ISC CISSP CBK
3. Sunflower PDF
4. CBT Nuggets - I started out using this for some of the topics that I was not familiar with
5. Shon Harris Practice Exams - very good due to the amount of scenario-based questions (the amount of scenario-based questions was high and, as everyone has been saying, there always seemed to be two very similar answers)
6. McGraw-Hill Practice Exams - same as above, but not enough scenario-based questions
Exam:
Without a doubt, the most challenging exam I've ever taken. Questions I received covered nearly every topic evenly. The sheer amount of scenario-based questions is what made it difficult to me. For those types of questions that I did not know off the top of my head, I took a managerial approach ("What would be in the best interest of the business?", etc.) to narrow down my choices. My I.T. and managerial experience did help somewhat. I took a break once an hour during the five hours I was there. I really thought I failed, especially after the proctor turned the paper face down and slid it to me. But I noticed she had a smile on her face which I thought was strange as I'm thinking to myself "why is she smiling if I failed?"
When I turned the paper over and saw "Congratulations....", I nearly jumped through the roof. It took me some time to calm down while I was there. I got home, told my wife and she nearly jumped through the roof, too. Just over a week later and I'm still feeling good. Endorsement form has been submitted and I'm trying my best to be patient for six weeks. It's difficult, but I'm taking the time to learn more with OJT, etc..
Again, this forum was extremely helpful and I'm glad I joined....for those of you on the fence about taking the exam, schedule it, study, and get it done. The only way you're guaranteed to fail is if you never try.
Comments
PMP-September