Passed CISSP this morning, lots of details inside
joshmadakor
Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
in SSCP
I used about 3.5 hours of the total 6
I was unsure or guessed on 67 of the 250 total questions (flagged them)
My background is about 6 years full-time in State govt IT operations with the certs/degree listed under my name. I found the quality of the test and questions to be very high and thought out. There were a few things that appeared on the exam that I have never seen or heard of before. There were probably about 20-30 "gimme" questions, but the rest made me work. I can't say that I enjoyed the study or test experience because they were grueling and nerve-wracking.
Now...on to my study methods! (there is a summary at the bottom of this post):
Anki:
I heavily utilized Anki for much of my studying. Anki is a spaced repetition software that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material. I felt using Anki was necessary because there is such a large amount of information. I created 2129 custom flash cards in Anki based on the materials below and reviewed them daily for the first 2 months of my preparation (averaging about 200-300 cards daily). Note: I have used Anki to study Japanese and I find it is the best possible way (for me) to memorize large amounts of information as efficiently/quickly as possible.
Transcender(CISSP 2012) 984 questions / 1040 flashcards:
I started my studies with this. I did each question at least two times, and used the explanations to the answers to create flash cards in Anki: FOR EXAMPLE. I also went through the Transcender flash cards once and added anything I was unfamiliar with to my Anki deck.
Transcender(CISSP 2015) 886 questions / 894 flashcards:
I stopped inserting things into Anki at this point and just drilled questions to get a feel for the CISSP state-of-mind. For example I focused on learning things like: how should a CEO think, who is responsible for what, what takes precedence over what, what are the duties of x, y, and z roles.
CCCure.org 2012/2015 ~1600 questions(?):
I ran through each of these questions once, and reviewed the questions I got wrong. There are a LOT of repeats between the 2012 and 2015 exams in both CCCure and Transcender. Not necessarily a bad thing, but just saying.
Shon Harris AIO (6th Edition) 468 questions:
I did NOT read this like a novel, and I would never recommend anyone to so. I went through the end review of each chapter and created flash cards in Anki for anything I was unfamiliar with. I also did the same for the practice questions at the end of each chapter as well as the final long test at the end of the book.
2015 CBK 4th Edition:
I made the mistake of buying this. I do not consider this a valid resource.
Study summary:
Timeline: 98 days
Resrouces: Anki, Transcender 2012/2015, CCCure.org, AIO 6th Edition
Flash cards unique: 4063 (Anki custom = 2129 + Transcender Flash)
Flash cards total: ~15495 (Anki custom = 13561)
Practice questions unique: 3938
Practice questions total: ~5000
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer!
Edit: Someone requested my Anki deck, so I'll just post it here in case anyone else wants it. Bear in mind it's not comprehensive and contains only items that I handpicked. If you use it, make sure its only as a supplement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_FkihCKT7uzalJKMjVZdGFPTXc/view?usp=sharing
I was unsure or guessed on 67 of the 250 total questions (flagged them)
My background is about 6 years full-time in State govt IT operations with the certs/degree listed under my name. I found the quality of the test and questions to be very high and thought out. There were a few things that appeared on the exam that I have never seen or heard of before. There were probably about 20-30 "gimme" questions, but the rest made me work. I can't say that I enjoyed the study or test experience because they were grueling and nerve-wracking.
Now...on to my study methods! (there is a summary at the bottom of this post):
Anki:
I heavily utilized Anki for much of my studying. Anki is a spaced repetition software that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material. I felt using Anki was necessary because there is such a large amount of information. I created 2129 custom flash cards in Anki based on the materials below and reviewed them daily for the first 2 months of my preparation (averaging about 200-300 cards daily). Note: I have used Anki to study Japanese and I find it is the best possible way (for me) to memorize large amounts of information as efficiently/quickly as possible.
Transcender(CISSP 2012) 984 questions / 1040 flashcards:
I started my studies with this. I did each question at least two times, and used the explanations to the answers to create flash cards in Anki: FOR EXAMPLE. I also went through the Transcender flash cards once and added anything I was unfamiliar with to my Anki deck.
Transcender(CISSP 2015) 886 questions / 894 flashcards:
I stopped inserting things into Anki at this point and just drilled questions to get a feel for the CISSP state-of-mind. For example I focused on learning things like: how should a CEO think, who is responsible for what, what takes precedence over what, what are the duties of x, y, and z roles.
CCCure.org 2012/2015 ~1600 questions(?):
I ran through each of these questions once, and reviewed the questions I got wrong. There are a LOT of repeats between the 2012 and 2015 exams in both CCCure and Transcender. Not necessarily a bad thing, but just saying.
Shon Harris AIO (6th Edition) 468 questions:
I did NOT read this like a novel, and I would never recommend anyone to so. I went through the end review of each chapter and created flash cards in Anki for anything I was unfamiliar with. I also did the same for the practice questions at the end of each chapter as well as the final long test at the end of the book.
2015 CBK 4th Edition:
I made the mistake of buying this. I do not consider this a valid resource.
Study summary:
Timeline: 98 days
Resrouces: Anki, Transcender 2012/2015, CCCure.org, AIO 6th Edition
Flash cards unique: 4063 (Anki custom = 2129 + Transcender Flash)
Flash cards total: ~15495 (Anki custom = 13561)
Practice questions unique: 3938
Practice questions total: ~5000
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer!
Edit: Someone requested my Anki deck, so I'll just post it here in case anyone else wants it. Bear in mind it's not comprehensive and contains only items that I handpicked. If you use it, make sure its only as a supplement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_FkihCKT7uzalJKMjVZdGFPTXc/view?usp=sharing
WGU B.S. Information Technology (Completed January 2013)
Comments
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cyberguypr
Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
Congrats on the pass! I am repping you because I loved that Amazon review of the OIG
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joshmadakor
Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thank you! and thanks for the rep, hahahacyberguypr wrote: »Congrats on the pass! I am repping you because I loved that Amazon review of the OIGWGU B.S. Information Technology (Completed January 2013) -
John-John
Member Posts: 33 ■■■□□□□□□□
Thanks for the advice on the new book you saved me some money. And thanks for this Anki tool, I had never heard of it before.Goals for 2019: CISSP[x] CCNA-SEC [x] CEH[x]
Goals for 2020: OSCP [] eCPPT[] eNDP[] -
Domenico
Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
Contratulations and thanks a lot for the useful info !
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kiapharm
Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
HI Congrats on passing!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing your flash cards!!!!!! I have been using CISSP for Dummies to study. I am taking the test in July! Crossing fingers that I will pass on the first time!
Congrats to you again! -
joshmadakor
Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
Everyone, thanks for all the congrats and no problem for the Anki stuff.
@Kiapharm - Good luck! After getting a general understanding of all the domains, I found the most useful thing was to drill quality practice questions as much as you can.WGU B.S. Information Technology (Completed January 2013) -
!nf0s3cure
Member Posts: 161 ■■□□□□□□□□
Thanks for sharing your efforts with the community. Congratulations on passing the exam. Your review on Amazon was good too. Lets hope the authors read it.
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BAR004
Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
Congrats on passing..I'm going through ISC2 online training right now hope to take the test in Dec. Thanks for the training suggestions... I have all those books... so I will use them for sure... I'm also going to try the Anki tool... Which do you prefer Transcender or CCCure.org? Thinking of using one of them but not sure which..
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joshmadakor
Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thank youCongrats on passing..I'm going through ISC2 online training right now hope to take the test in Dec. Thanks for the training suggestions... I have all those books... so I will use them for sure... I'm also going to try the Anki tool... Which do you prefer Transcender or CCCure.org? Thinking of using one of them but not sure which..
I would recommend both to be honest. Transcender is a little bit better because it is more standardized and the explanations are more consistent. However, the CCCure format matches the format of the real exam more, not to mention it is much cheaper. Hope this helps!WGU B.S. Information Technology (Completed January 2013) -
gespenstern
Member Posts: 1,243 ■■■■■■■■□□
Gz and thanks for detailed description. I've heard about Anki before and now I feel that I need to check it out.
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!nf0s3cure
Member Posts: 161 ■■□□□□□□□□
Yep, Anki seems a good product to have by your side. I had never heard of it before. Thanks for pointing it out.
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bubble2005
Member Posts: 210 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats, also purchase transcender and save yourself the headache.Think Big Stay Focus: In the midst of all situations, think positive.:thumbup: -
g33k3r
Member Posts: 249 ■■□□□□□□□□
Congrats and thanks for sharing your flash cards and prep strategy! I may have missed this, but it looks like you didn't ready any study guide books from cover to cover and focused on practice questions to build your flash cards as your "study guide". I am close to finishing the Eric Conrad study guide which I can follow for the most part, but committing it to memory for the exam will take a different method such as flash cards and practice questions I am guessing. Considering I will need to pay for my study materials, what additional resources would you recommend? I've already completed watching the Cybrary videos which were great but take a long time to get through.
Thanks! -
francigra
Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hi Joshmadakor,
Contratulations and thanks a lot for the useful info!!!
I would like prepare for cissp exam, could you please share your anki dec?
many thanks in advance -
User2097
Member Posts: 41 ■■□□□□□□□□
Congrats and keep up the future studies for new certs!Cert Goals: CISSP-ISSAP (May 2016) | CISM (2016) | GSEC (2016) | OSCP (2017)
College: MBA Project Management (2012) | Bachelors IT Management (2010)
Experience: Cyber Security, Information Assurance, and IT Management Officer -
SecurityGuy05
Member Posts: 5 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hello joshmadakor! I across your thread, thanks for the anki tip! I just downloaded it and am creating my own flashcards. I also wanted to see if you could share your cards as well. Thank you.
