What You Really Need to Know to Pass the CISSP

Hi everyone,

I am incredibly happy to say that I survived the gauntlet and that I passed the exam this morning. In keeping with tradition, I wanted to aggregate my thoughts and pass on some tips from my own perspective. But before I do that, I want to take a moment to thank the TE community for the incredible support, and to give special thanks to papadoc, justjen, jonwinterburn, and Khaos1911.

What did I do to prepare for the exam (well, too much, but keep reading!)?

Here are the materials that I used throughout my study adventures, which encompassed approximately 200 hours over 5-6 months.

Shon Harris All-in-One 6th Edition
Shon Harris Practice Exams, Second Edition
Shon Harris Videos (on Safari Books)
Shon Harris MP3s
Eric Conrad CISSP Study Guide, Second Edition
Eric Conrad Eleventh Hour, Second Edition
Darril Gibson CISSP Rapid Review
CISSP Practice Questions Exam Cram, Third Edition
CISSP For Dummies, Fourth Edition
Cybrary's CISSP Video Course
IT TV Pro's CISSP Video Course
CBT's CISSP Videos (Keith Barker)
Youtube videos/Wikipedia
Paid CCCure Subscription
Transcender
MH Quizzes
Combined Notes
Sunflower
Tons of notes (both electronic and handwritten)

Sounds like overkill, right? Right. I respect the heck out of the this certification (even more-so now), and I really wanted to do this the right way. It was very beneficial going through all of these resources, but, from a pure test-taking/prep perspective, you don't need to rely on nearly as many resources.

Here is What I Recommend People Use:

Eric Conrad CISSP Study Guide, Second Edition
Cybrary Videos
MH Quizzes
Shon Harris AIO only for supplemental knowledge

Seriously-- that's it. Notice that I didn't even mention the 11th Hour: I was disappointed when I cracked open the 11th Hour and found that it was almost exactly the same as the full book, minus the extra detailed examples and such. You don't need both, so go with the more robust one, the full 2nd edition.

Recipe for Success

1. Read the Conrad Book
2. Watch the Cybrary Videos (while referring back to Conrad's book in tandem)
3. Take all of the MH Quizzes and note progress
4. Refer to AIO or other resources for reinforced understanding on your weaker subjects

Test Day Success

I was surprised to see how dauntingly easy, yet uncomfortably hard this was. It is true-- there's times where I was rocking n' rolling, and other times I was like, "Wtf?". Here are my tips.

- Go through all of the questions (or at least the first 125)
- Take a break: drink water, eat a light snack, and stretch
- Go over all questions again
- Don't over think things
- The manager perspective we all hear is correct, but more importantly, imagine yourself in the test question writers' shoes: What are they really trying to convey? What is the main point they want you to key on? Which answer best aligns with that?
- Be confident, trust your training, and have fun
- Smile

Cheers,

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Comments

Spin Lock

Congrats on passing Robicus, and great write-up. You went into the exam well prepared. Not surprised at all you passed.

successrealm

Will be using most of this, just can't do the Shon Harris book. Good to hear.
Congrats!

Khaos1911

Congrats!

Cyberscum

successrealm wrote: »

Will be using most of this, just can't do the Shon Harris book. Good to hear.
Congrats!

Disagree; Many have only used the Harris book, including myself. That book has more than enough info to pass....And I do mean MORE than enough.

Congrats OP

seigex

I think he means he himself just can't do the Shon Harris book. I can understand where he comes from, I could handle 1.5 chapters of that book before I was bored to death and my mind was wondering.

successrealm

Cyberscum wrote: »

Disagree; Many have only used the Harris book, including myself. That book has more than enough info to pass....And I do mean MORE than enough.

Congrats OP

Yeah, MORE than enough, and precisely as seigex described, I just couldn't read it.

I am a voracious reader, and have been all my life, but I truly wanted to stick a fork in my eye and jump off the nearest bridge after looking over that book.

Chuzpah

Awesome! Congrats on the pass Robicus. I passed today too!

zme783

Congratulations!!!

RiverLiver

Congrats! Great tips!

justjen

Great job on the write-up - and Congratulations!

kjun14

Congrats on the pass and thanks for the tips!

Archon

Congrats, thanks for the summary.

The Shon Harris AIO book is not the nicest of reads. I purchased it and only got 30 pages in. I have turned to:

Eric Conrad CISSP Study Guide, Second Edition
Eric Conrad Eleventh Hour, Second Edition
CISSP For Dummies, Fourth Edition
Cybrary's CISSP Video Course
CBT's CISSP Videos (Keith Barker)
Sunflower
HW test questions

I have the official ISC2 guide but haven't read that yet.

Robicus

Thanks everyone!

Just a question on endorsement:

My e-mail from ISC2 states that I'm responsible for 1) sending in the endorsement form and 2) submitting my resume; however: on the endorsement form itself, it instructs the endorser to send in the form.

So, can I send it all in or does my endorser need to?
Thanks!

justjen

Not a definitive answer, but I discussed with my endorser, and he will be sending it in, on my behalf. The form appears newer as the instructions for the endorser near the top of page 4 reference "two out of eight domains", and I suspect the email just hasn't been updated.

ETA: He will submit the complete package (form, resume and GIAC certification information) for me.

Robicus

Thanks! My endorser e-mailed everything in.

Timeline:
4/14: Passed
4/17: Submitted Endorsement

We'll see how long this takes!

Robertf969

Took exactly thirty days from the day my endorsement was submitted by my endorser. Congrats.

Robicus

Thanks for the info, Robert! I received the e-mail this morning stating that ISC2 received my endorsement package. It's funny: the e-mail states that because of high volume, it could take up to 8 weeks. When did you pass and submit your CISSP? Has the automated e-mail always said 8 weeks, or is this new because of all the people who took and pass the exam right before the domain refresh?

E Double U

28-March - Passed exam
30-March - Submitted endorsement package
31-March - Rcvd email that package was placed in queue to be reviewed. Please allow 8 weeks.

Hopefully the process is complete before I begin the SEC504 course on May 18 so I can get the CPEs.

Robertf969

13-February - Passed
16-February - Endorsement Submitted
16-March - Endorsement Complete (Although it might have been sitting in my email since that Friday since it went to my work email I would have to check)

It's probably backed up due to a flood of people taking the exam right before the exam update that just happened. I think my email said expect an answer in 4-6 weeks.

beads

If you were to actually talk to Eric Conrad, he'd tell you he's a quiz junkie as well. Same for myself. I love quiz books. So my primary reading media was actually quiz books and a bunch of Internet reading. The only correct answer is the one that works for you.

Then again, Shon's book was about the only thing material out there at the time. The other book by the other guys I liked even less. (*Ahem*) Now there is all kinds of related materials for the CISSP student to learn from.

- b/eads