Passed CISSP Exam Today (4/14/15) Relief!
RiverLiver
Member Posts: 14 ■■■□□□□□□□
in SSCP
Passed! Total relief. Never have 6 hours in my life gone by so fast. Good to get my life back now.
I had done a bunch of 250 question practice exams over the last few months and I was averaging
about 4 hours to complete so I went in thinking it would take that long and I'd have 2 hours buffer.
Well, today it took me all of 5 hours just to complete all 250 questions (With two short breaks).
I had marked about 35 questions for review (taking some advice that I've heard here that if you're
not 100% sure then it doesn't hurt to mark it for review; better safe than sorry) I spent that time
going over the flagged ones and I know this is against best advice here but I probably changed my
answer on at least 15 of them(!) Some were so obvious like I was thinking one thing and checked
the exact opposite answer like I thought it was a NOT question and it wasn't.
I still had a few left to review as I watched the timer tick down to zero but I wasn't worried.
The proctor rushed me outta there and after one final palm scan she said 'you can pick up your
printout at the front desk' It was face down so I flipped it over hoping there would be a giant font
CONGRATULATIONS but instead I had to actually search the damn thing to find the words I was
hoping for.
My thoughts on the exam: Overall the questions were more comparable to the Total Tester and MH
than either cccure or most of the ones in Shon's AIO or practice exam book. All of those practice
exams definitely helped with not just the content but the ability to take exams... It's just that
the real exam is different. It often (not always) leaves you with two reasonably good answers and
that's where the whole 'think like a manager' thing comes in I think. And that doesn't just mean find
the best business-school answer, I looked at it as thinking of which one of these answers upholds the
core security principles of CIA. Think strategically rather than tactically. Big picture vs quick fix.
Most of the questions that I flagged were in the first 150 questions. After that I was really confident
and by the time I got back to the flagged ones I was in a different frame of mind, like I knew I had this
figured out now. This really is the big-boy test in every way compared to the practice exams.
I've been in Enterprise Systems for about 20 years overall and InfoSec (Tivoli IAM) for about 5 and that
experience definitely helped on the exam. Not sure I could have passed from just book learning and
you have to have 5 years experience to qualify for the CISSP and that's reflected in the exam.
Study materials were pretty much the standard stuff, Shon Harris books, Eric Conrad books, CISSP
for Dummies, Shon mp3s, Total Tester, cccure, MH exams (never did use CBT nuggets or Transcender)
So just hours and hours and hours of reading, practice exams and Google searches for just about anything
and everything. I built a giant notes document but as time went on I started just making smaller more
specific notes docs. I went through 2 laser printer cartridges and a box of computer paper over the last
couple of months.
I have to say this: The thing that really put me over the top was Cybrary and the CISSP presentation
by Kelly Handerhan. I had planned on spending this last weekend cramming for the exam by reading and
taking tests but instead spent it watching Kelly's course. This is must-see material. And watching it this
close to the exam was perfect. She really stressed the concepts and her advice on what to expect from
the exam was invaluable and in my experience right on the mark.
Final shutout goes to everyone here for all great info and sharing.
I know I'll continue to check in.
Oh, and one more thing:
Jrrg oxfn wr hyhubrqh wdnlqj wkh qhz hadp irupdw!
(Couldn't resist. Hail Caesar!)
I had done a bunch of 250 question practice exams over the last few months and I was averaging
about 4 hours to complete so I went in thinking it would take that long and I'd have 2 hours buffer.
Well, today it took me all of 5 hours just to complete all 250 questions (With two short breaks).
I had marked about 35 questions for review (taking some advice that I've heard here that if you're
not 100% sure then it doesn't hurt to mark it for review; better safe than sorry) I spent that time
going over the flagged ones and I know this is against best advice here but I probably changed my
answer on at least 15 of them(!) Some were so obvious like I was thinking one thing and checked
the exact opposite answer like I thought it was a NOT question and it wasn't.
I still had a few left to review as I watched the timer tick down to zero but I wasn't worried.
The proctor rushed me outta there and after one final palm scan she said 'you can pick up your
printout at the front desk' It was face down so I flipped it over hoping there would be a giant font
CONGRATULATIONS but instead I had to actually search the damn thing to find the words I was
hoping for.
My thoughts on the exam: Overall the questions were more comparable to the Total Tester and MH
than either cccure or most of the ones in Shon's AIO or practice exam book. All of those practice
exams definitely helped with not just the content but the ability to take exams... It's just that
the real exam is different. It often (not always) leaves you with two reasonably good answers and
that's where the whole 'think like a manager' thing comes in I think. And that doesn't just mean find
the best business-school answer, I looked at it as thinking of which one of these answers upholds the
core security principles of CIA. Think strategically rather than tactically. Big picture vs quick fix.
Most of the questions that I flagged were in the first 150 questions. After that I was really confident
and by the time I got back to the flagged ones I was in a different frame of mind, like I knew I had this
figured out now. This really is the big-boy test in every way compared to the practice exams.
I've been in Enterprise Systems for about 20 years overall and InfoSec (Tivoli IAM) for about 5 and that
experience definitely helped on the exam. Not sure I could have passed from just book learning and
you have to have 5 years experience to qualify for the CISSP and that's reflected in the exam.
Study materials were pretty much the standard stuff, Shon Harris books, Eric Conrad books, CISSP
for Dummies, Shon mp3s, Total Tester, cccure, MH exams (never did use CBT nuggets or Transcender)
So just hours and hours and hours of reading, practice exams and Google searches for just about anything
and everything. I built a giant notes document but as time went on I started just making smaller more
specific notes docs. I went through 2 laser printer cartridges and a box of computer paper over the last
couple of months.
I have to say this: The thing that really put me over the top was Cybrary and the CISSP presentation
by Kelly Handerhan. I had planned on spending this last weekend cramming for the exam by reading and
taking tests but instead spent it watching Kelly's course. This is must-see material. And watching it this
close to the exam was perfect. She really stressed the concepts and her advice on what to expect from
the exam was invaluable and in my experience right on the mark.
Final shutout goes to everyone here for all great info and sharing.
I know I'll continue to check in.Oh, and one more thing:
Jrrg oxfn wr hyhubrqh wdnlqj wkh qhz hadp irupdw!
(Couldn't resist. Hail Caesar!)