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Just finished 4 certs in 4 months
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sammen89
Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
Awesome!
How long did you study a day? What is your typical study session like?
Maybe averaged 60-90 mins a day. I have a really clean and streamlined office (with little distractions), put on headphones, set a timer, and study (read) without distraction.
(I have a job, wife, and I'm working on my Masters Degree.... it can be done with focus and good study habits) -
Optionssammen89
Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
Wow, that's quite a bit of work! I don't think I could ever push brain **** myself that hard to do so much in such a short amount of time. I have done some cert testing of brain **** my own, and with the level of detail they go into in the questions, I'd never feel confident going brain **** into a cert test with only one month at best of studying the material.
I wouldn't call it a brain ****.
I live and breathe security/technology so most of these concepts/skills are within reach anyways, I just wanted something on paper to validate I have these skills/knowledge-sets..... Knowledge of Industrial Control Systems (GICSP), Knowledge of Hacking Tools and Techniques (CEH), Knowledge of Computer Forensics (CHFI), and knowledge of web security (CIW Web Security Associate).
Every certification has added value either through some combination of
- Actual Higher Pay
- Better Opportunities
- Deeper Skills
- Respect among those junior/senior to me... and management -
Optionssammen89
Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
Congrats OP.
Not meaning to be negative in any way, but i'll be 100% honest with my thoughts. How much have you actually taken from it? There's a part of me that wonders how much you've actually learned. For me, when I pass an exam/cert, I like to have got as much as possible from it. If I was to get 4 certs in 4 months, i'd probably gain very little knowledge overall, because i'd only be concerned with getting answers correct to pass, rather than understand the underlying concepts.
Valid Question. I actually avoided studying practice exams since that would leave gaps in my knowledge ("study just for the exam"). Minus the CIW exam, I read a book cover-to-cover for each cert and googled deeper as needed.
My routine was
1. Go home after work (6pm, I work late often), spend an hour or two with the wife over dinner
2. Close my office door, put on headphones, and just read with laser focus for 60-90 mins. (8 - 9:30ish)
3. Do something else and go to bed...
In times where I felt my brain couldn't read, I'd turn on videos, and casually watch that while folding clothes or tidying up the house.
This was aided by a great foundation set with my Computer Science (Bachelors/some-graduate-work) background, rigorous work exposure, and SSCP/Net+/Sec+ knowledge. -
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si20
Member Posts: 543 ■■■■■□□□□□
Congrats OP.
Not meaning to be negative in any way, but i'll be 100% honest with my thoughts. How much have you actually taken from it? There's a part of me that wonders how much you've actually learned. For me, when I pass an exam/cert, I like to have got as much as possible from it. If I was to get 4 certs in 4 months, i'd probably gain very little knowledge overall, because i'd only be concerned with getting answers correct to pass, rather than understand the underlying concepts.
Someone has gave me a negative feedback based on this post. I'm totally and utterly confused why. I said "congrats OP" and I was asking the OP how much he has taken from the exams. Whoever neg repped me has to be a pretty sad individual - I was asking the OP a question and congratulating him. -
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iBrokeIT
Member Posts: 1,318 ■■■■■■■■■□
Not meaning to be negative in any way, but i'll be 100% honest with my thoughts.
....
I'm totally and utterly confused why. I said "congrats OP"
If you have to qualify your question like that it is definitely going to come off as a backhanded compliment to some people2019: GPEN | GCFE | GXPN | GICSP | CySA+
2020: GCIP | GCIA
2021: GRID | GDSA | Pentest+
2022: GMON | GDAT
2023: GREM | GSE | GCFA
WGU BS IT-NA | SANS Grad Cert: PT&EH | SANS Grad Cert: ICS Security | SANS Grad Cert: Cyber Defense Ops | SANS Grad Cert: Incident Response -
OptionsChaseBenfield
Member Posts: 13 ■□□□□□□□□□
Congrats. Impressive. How many years experience do you have?
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Optionssi20
Member Posts: 543 ■■■■■□□□□□
If you have to qualify your question like that it is definitely going to come off as a backhanded compliment to some people
People are totally misinterpreting the comment then... -
Optionssougat
Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
Is the GICSP done as a self study or did you take the course? If self study, which material did you use?
