Gcia pass!!!

j.petrovj.petrov Member Posts: 282
Just passed the GCIA this morning! The test was incredibly difficult. I scored an 82%, which was slightly higher than my second practice test score, which was a 78%. I did feel like the real exam was a lot harder though. At my highest point early on in the test I was at a 92% and was feeling good. Steadily my score when down to 80, then back up to 85 then to the final score of 82%.

All things considered I think the test was very fair. I had no experience in this space prior to taking the SEC503 class. I studied hard for another month and a half after the class. The material was extremely challenging during the class and for the first week of self-stufy. I was finally able to put the pieces together during the second week of studying. I used the class books, and the IDS book by Judy Novak and Stephen Northcutt, which helped fill in some gaps... do not use the snort info as its dated!

I indexed all books and made tabs on them all for quick reference. I also brought in various **** sheets to help with hex/decimal/binary conversions -> thanks for the **** sheet @josh.armentrout1. For those of you taking the test, make sure you are keeping track of your time, its too tempting to want to hunt down every answer you are pretty sure is correct, Just go with your instincts.

When I get around to another SANS class I will probably do SEC504 to round out my knowledge a little more, then I'll look into a specific field some more. I do enjoy incident response though...

Comments

  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    Congrats on the pass! 504 is still my favorite class ever.
  • NetworkNewbNetworkNewb Member Posts: 3,298 ■■■■■■■■■□
  • josh.armentrout1josh.armentrout1 Member Posts: 36 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Awesome job man! Glad that document helped you out.
  • j.petrovj.petrov Member Posts: 282
    cyberguypr who was your instructor for 504?
  • E Double UE Double U Member Posts: 2,228 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Congrats!

    I'm taking SEC504 in two weeks and the instructor is John Strand.
    Alphabet soup from (ISC)2, ISACA, GIAC, EC-Council, Microsoft, ITIL, Cisco, Scrum, CompTIA, AWS
  • j.petrovj.petrov Member Posts: 282
    E Double U wrote: »
    Congrats!

    I'm taking SEC504 in two weeks and the instructor is John Strand.
    I hear he is great! Enjoy!!
  • LR0926LR0926 Member Posts: 28 ■□□□□□□□□□
  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    Instructor was this guy: Jonathan Ham
  • JoJoCal19JoJoCal19 Mod Posts: 2,835 Mod
    Congrats on the pass!!!
    Have: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, eJPT, GCIA, GSEC, CCSP, CCSK, AWS CSAA, AWS CCP, OCI Foundations Associate, ITIL-F, MS Cyber Security - USF, BSBA - UF, MSISA - WGU
    Currently Working On: Python, OSCP Prep
    Next Up:​ OSCP
    Studying:​ Code Academy (Python), Bash Scripting, Virtual Hacking Lab Coursework
  • j.petrovj.petrov Member Posts: 282
    For anyone interested in SEC503 (GCIA), look to take this with Mike Poor. He was awesome.. Great mix of learning with funny stories.
  • darkuserdarkuser Member Posts: 620 ■■■□□□□□□□
    "I blame mike poor" for your pass
    rm -rf /
  • Mike-MikeMike-Mike Member Posts: 1,860
    do you all pay out of pocket for this? or do you get your employer to cover it?
    Currently Working On

    CWTS, then WireShark
  • JoJoCal19JoJoCal19 Mod Posts: 2,835 Mod
    I got accepted to facilitate SEC503 (GCIA) at SANS Virginia Beach in August and my work is covering the $900 facilitator fee. I'm looking forward to the class since Mike Poor is teaching it.
    Have: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, eJPT, GCIA, GSEC, CCSP, CCSK, AWS CSAA, AWS CCP, OCI Foundations Associate, ITIL-F, MS Cyber Security - USF, BSBA - UF, MSISA - WGU
    Currently Working On: Python, OSCP Prep
    Next Up:​ OSCP
    Studying:​ Code Academy (Python), Bash Scripting, Virtual Hacking Lab Coursework
  • darkuserdarkuser Member Posts: 620 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I'm a sec504 mentor and I'm working on GCIA now
    rm -rf /
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