Failed Exam

ColoradoRick

Earlier this year, I passed my CompTIA Security + exam so decided to jump right into prepping for the CISSP exam.

My company offered the CISSP Skillsoft course so I went through that and also went through the Shon Harris book and made CD's of her audio lessons to listen in the car while driving.

Since I'm a retired vet, I have post-911 GI Bill money available so I found a bootcamp by Training Camp but the VA would only pay the 90% if I traveled to Bushkill, PA. My employer offered to pay most of the cost that the my GI Bill did not pay so I figured why not?

Lots of positive and negative about the Training Camp folks but my instructor was excellent and I studied from 8 am to midnight the entire week of the boot camp.

I just tested Saturday but feel like I rushed myself (finished in 4 hours) and I got a 691. To quote Larry the Cable Guy, "Can you believe that?"

I've heard that with the new exam, the failure rate is much higher...my local ISSA president told me he doesn't know anyone who passed the first time with the new exam. In my class, about half of them were 2nd testers and we had a 70% pass rate. (One was taking his test for the 2nd time but didn't pass...I think I felt worst for him than myself!)

Thankfully, my work is still going to reimburse me but I'll have to pay the $599 for the retest. (Unless I can find a discounted voucher.)


Hopefully, I can test within a few months...I really want that CISSP!

TheFORCE

You need to be mentally prepared the same way you are when studying. Take some more practice tests and re-focus on your weak areas. You probably missed it by 1 or 2 questions.

kiki162

I went the same route you did and went up to Bushkill. The biggest thing to remember that they don't tell you in the class is to use multiple sources for studying. Including testing engines, and other CISSP books separate from the official training books they give you. You'll get it, some of us on this board have taken in 2 or 3 times before we passed.

tonglebeak

A huge factor is taking off your government hat, and putting on your private sector managers hat, especially when you're not a manager. Also, I found that studying from multiple sources only hurt my confidence instead of helping it. Nothing makes you feel like you're going to fail more than seeing conflicting information from multiple sources. In any event, experience is probably a key factor. Not to toot my own horn, but I passed the test on the first try within 2 and a half hours - 3 hours, so it can be done.

g33k3r

Hang in there you can do it!! Can you share what resources the training included? Which portions were the most effective? What areas did you find were more challenging to you that you'll need to focus more on for the re-take?

tonglebeak

Can you share what resources you used since you seem to like focusing on a single resource?

E Double U

691...you'll nail it on the 2nd attempt!

Clockcrawler

Hang in there and get back on the horse ASAP. I did the same with trainingcamp in Orlando in May and ended up with a 681. Schedule your retest and then work on practice tests all you can stand and then more, more, more. CCCure Quizzer really helped me and studying the weak areas. I passed the 2nd time, but honestly thought I failed it too right up until the guy handed me the exam summary with "Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have passed..." on it. The second time seemed tougher than the first time.

You can do it! You are almost there and it is a GREAT feeling of accomplishment after the anguish and sacrifice.

All the best!

Hunter85

I guess it is all about the unscored test questions, everybody seems to fail around the same score (690 ish)

I cant imagine how you feel but maybe you should try focusing on the subjects which you were unsure during the exam.

ColoradoRick

Thanks, everyone! I work with a Network Instrusion expert who just got his PhD in CS and he tested a month before me and got a 640...so we're going to be encouraging each other.

In my prep, I read and studied the Shon Harris from front to back and the Training Camp had their own little manual (not very good, we didn't even use it) and we went through the ISC2 CISSP CBK (which has the new 8 Domains).

Something I wish I would've done more of before the test was to take LONGER self-tests. I took a few 100-question tests a few days before testing and feel like that really prepped me to endure the 250-question test.

gespenstern

Great news, actually.

Robicus

There's not terribly too much I can add, but I would place emphasis on the practice tests. In my opinion, a lot of this test is sheer mental endurance. You're on the right track: hammer practice tests and focus on building up stamina. The few weeks leading up to my test date, I was taking at least 1 full practice test per week.

Stay positive, and persevere!

kukku

Sorry to hear..do more practice exams..next time for sure...All the best with your preparation..