Passed, 3rd attempt
Hi All,
After failing twice (677, 691), I passed the CISSP exam on Feb 11.
I’ve spent a long time lurking on this forum sponging up information from passed/failed threads, and now it’s time to wring out my thoughts/experience with my first post.
The exam:
The test centre is about an hour away. Gave myself 2 hours to get there and arrived an hour early. Sat in the car, drank some green tea and cleared my mind for a half an hour. Entered the test centre 30 minutes early. I was hoping I’d get to start a little early but there was an issue with another test takers credentials, so I ended up starting right on time. I was going at a good pace throughout the first 50 – 60 questions and then it just all slowed to a crawl. I’d get a gimme question here and there, but for the most part I had to think long and hard or flag the remaining questions. It took me about 4 hours total to complete the test and review about 30 - 35 flagged questions. After clicking finish, the TA had me verify my ID and gather my belongings before handing me 2 sheets of paper. The last 2 times I received 2 sheets it was a fail. I left the test centre and let the door close and then looked at the first sheet looking for a score. Thankfully there wasn’t one and the first word was “Congratulations!” Took the toll highway to get home quicker and got wasted with my buddies.
What I used to prepare:
After failing twice I scoured the internet for tips and tricks and eventually found this forum. There is an abundance of information located throughout this forum that definitely helped me sculpt a new, and evidently successful thought process. The pass/fail threads are priceless. Special thanks to havoc64 and the words of wisdom posted here (http://www.techexams.net/forums/isc-sscp-cissp/117111-why-most-them-fail-cissp-exam.html#post1001076) (3rd post down).
(Books used)
I mainly used the new Sybex 7th Edition for my studies and used Eric Conrad 3rd Edition for quick review. Initially when I began my studies I used the Shon Harris book which gave me a great foundation but was to lengthy to read a second time or even sift through. The breakdown of the domains in the Sybex book was excellent. The book kept reiterating important concepts from previous chapters, making it easy not to forget what you read in the first chapter as you read later chapters.
(Tools/practice)
For the first 2 exams I used CCCURE as well as questions from the Shon Harris, Eric Conrad (Elsevier: conrad: CISSP Study Guide Practice Exams), McGraw Hill (https://www.mhprofessional.com/sites/CISSPExams/exam.php?id=AccessControl). The 3rd exam I only used the Sybex practice engine that came with the book and the questions located in the Eric Conrad 3rd Edition book. The Sybex questions are closest to the style and feel of the real exam I felt.
I also utilized the combined notes and sunflower PDF located somewhere in these forums. (sorry I’m tired of searching links lol)
(Video)
I only used the Kelly Handerhan videos on Cybrary.it (https://www.cybrary.it/course/cissp), so I can’t really compare to any other video training. I thought Kelly did an exceptional job at explaining topics in layman’s terms. The section on cryptography is a must watch if you’re having trouble grasping the information in that domain. The training is free and only 15 hours long. After you’ve got a good foundation and understanding of the domains I suggest using these videos as a review. You can speed up the video to 1.60x the speed to cut the total length down to under 10 hours. Oh, and there’s also an app so you can watch the videos on your phone.
That's all the time I have for right now. If there's something I missed or if there's any questions anybody has don't hesitate to reply and i'll do the best I can to respond/help.
After failing twice (677, 691), I passed the CISSP exam on Feb 11.
I’ve spent a long time lurking on this forum sponging up information from passed/failed threads, and now it’s time to wring out my thoughts/experience with my first post.
The exam:
The test centre is about an hour away. Gave myself 2 hours to get there and arrived an hour early. Sat in the car, drank some green tea and cleared my mind for a half an hour. Entered the test centre 30 minutes early. I was hoping I’d get to start a little early but there was an issue with another test takers credentials, so I ended up starting right on time. I was going at a good pace throughout the first 50 – 60 questions and then it just all slowed to a crawl. I’d get a gimme question here and there, but for the most part I had to think long and hard or flag the remaining questions. It took me about 4 hours total to complete the test and review about 30 - 35 flagged questions. After clicking finish, the TA had me verify my ID and gather my belongings before handing me 2 sheets of paper. The last 2 times I received 2 sheets it was a fail. I left the test centre and let the door close and then looked at the first sheet looking for a score. Thankfully there wasn’t one and the first word was “Congratulations!” Took the toll highway to get home quicker and got wasted with my buddies.
What I used to prepare:
After failing twice I scoured the internet for tips and tricks and eventually found this forum. There is an abundance of information located throughout this forum that definitely helped me sculpt a new, and evidently successful thought process. The pass/fail threads are priceless. Special thanks to havoc64 and the words of wisdom posted here (http://www.techexams.net/forums/isc-sscp-cissp/117111-why-most-them-fail-cissp-exam.html#post1001076) (3rd post down).
(Books used)
I mainly used the new Sybex 7th Edition for my studies and used Eric Conrad 3rd Edition for quick review. Initially when I began my studies I used the Shon Harris book which gave me a great foundation but was to lengthy to read a second time or even sift through. The breakdown of the domains in the Sybex book was excellent. The book kept reiterating important concepts from previous chapters, making it easy not to forget what you read in the first chapter as you read later chapters.
For the first 2 exams I used CCCURE as well as questions from the Shon Harris, Eric Conrad (Elsevier: conrad: CISSP Study Guide Practice Exams), McGraw Hill (https://www.mhprofessional.com/sites/CISSPExams/exam.php?id=AccessControl). The 3rd exam I only used the Sybex practice engine that came with the book and the questions located in the Eric Conrad 3rd Edition book. The Sybex questions are closest to the style and feel of the real exam I felt.
I also utilized the combined notes and sunflower PDF located somewhere in these forums. (sorry I’m tired of searching links lol)
(Video)
I only used the Kelly Handerhan videos on Cybrary.it (https://www.cybrary.it/course/cissp), so I can’t really compare to any other video training. I thought Kelly did an exceptional job at explaining topics in layman’s terms. The section on cryptography is a must watch if you’re having trouble grasping the information in that domain. The training is free and only 15 hours long. After you’ve got a good foundation and understanding of the domains I suggest using these videos as a review. You can speed up the video to 1.60x the speed to cut the total length down to under 10 hours. Oh, and there’s also an app so you can watch the videos on your phone.
That's all the time I have for right now. If there's something I missed or if there's any questions anybody has don't hesitate to reply and i'll do the best I can to respond/help.
Comments
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CLICK
Member Posts: 88 ■■■□□□□□□□
GREAT JOB puttar !!! funny but my first 2 attempts were exactly the same scores as well 677 and 691, i hope to post my same PASS post by the 23rd. I know there are lots of folks still on the journey and i hope they get encouraged by your post and countless others as well...
Enjoy your PASS and all the best for your future certs
cheers !!! -
Terminator X
Member Posts: 60 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats!-Tact is for those not witty enough to be sarcastic-
~Unknown -
havoc64
Member Posts: 213 ■■□□□□□□□□
Hi All,
After failing twice (677, 691), I passed the CISSP exam on Feb 11.
I’ve spent a long time lurking on this forum sponging up information from passed/failed threads, and now it’s time to wring out my thoughts/experience with my first post.
What I used to prepare:
After failing twice I scoured the internet for tips and tricks and eventually found this forum. There is an abundance of information located throughout this forum that definitely helped me sculpt a new, and evidently successful thought process. The pass/fail threads are priceless. Special thanks to havoc64 and the words of wisdom posted here (http://www.techexams.net/forums/isc-sscp-cissp/117111-why-most-them-fail-cissp-exam.html#post1001076) (3rd post down).That's all the time I have for right now. If there's something I missed or if there's any questions anybody has don't hesitate to reply and i'll do the best I can to respond/help.
CONGRATS!...and you are More than Welcome...I am just so glad that you made it!
If you ever get to Kansas let me know..I'll buy the first round!...
--Mike -
Mike7
Member Posts: 1,112 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thanks for the write up.
Congrats and welcome to the ISC2 family. -
impelse
Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■□□□□□□
CongratsStop RDP Brute Force Attack with our RDP Firewall : http://www.thehost1.com
It is your personal IPS to stop the attack. -
puttar
Member Posts: 12 ■□□□□□□□□□
Thank you! I remember reading your post just because of the coincidental scores. I think you wrote that you may have thought more like a tech than a manager the first two times. I too thought like a tech the first two times. Its hard to find a concrete definition of thinking like a manager, and believe me I looked lol. But I think the cybrary videos do an awesome job at not necessarily giving you a definition, but giving you little tips that help you differentiate between a tech and an advisor. This helped me a lot. One other thing that helped me was slowing down and comprehending. The first two times the wording and english in the questions bent my brain by the 50th question. This time I felt I methodically broke down the questions and only felt mentally fatigued when I was at the review stage. Anyhow I went back and read your post and you look to be setting yourself up for a pass and I look forward to your pass post by the 23rd.
Good Luck!! -
puttar
Member Posts: 12 ■□□□□□□□□□
GREAT JOB puttar!!! funny but my first 2 attempts were exactly the same scores as well 677 and 691, i hope to post my same PASS post by the 23rd. I know there are lots of folks still on the journey and i hope they get encouraged by your post and countless others as well...
Enjoy your PASS and all the best for your future certs cheers !!!
Thank you! I remember reading your post just because of the coincidental scores. I think you wrote that you may have thought more like a tech than a manager the first two times. I too thought like a tech the first two times. Its hard to find a concrete definition of thinking like a manager, and believe me I looked lol. But I think the cybrary videos do an awesome job at not necessarily giving you a definition, but giving you little tips that help you differentiate between a tech and an advisor. This helped me a lot. One other thing that helped me was slowing down and comprehending. The first two times the wording and english in the questions bent my brain by the 50th question. This time I felt I methodically broke down the questions and only felt mentally fatigued when I was at the review stage. Anyhow I went back and read your post and you look to be setting yourself up for a pass and I look forward to your pass post by the 23rd.
Good Luck!! -
CLICK
Member Posts: 88 ■■■□□□□□□□
Thank you! I remember reading your post just because of the coincidental scores. I think you wrote that you may have thought more like a tech than a manager the first two times. I too thought like a tech the first two times. Its hard to find a concrete definition of thinking like a manager, and believe me I looked lol. But I think the cybrary videos do an awesome job at not necessarily giving you a definition, but giving you little tips that help you differentiate between a tech and an advisor. This helped me a lot. One other thing that helped me was slowing down and comprehending. The first two times the wording and english in the questions bent my brain by the 50th question. This time I felt I methodically broke down the questions and only felt mentally fatigued when I was at the review stage. Anyhow I went back and read your post and you look to be setting yourself up for a pass and I look forward to your pass post by the 23rd.
Good Luck!!
Thanks Bro.. yep, thanks for the tip, as you said, pausing, reading, digesting and comprehending was what i surely lacked the first 2 times which is what i'll be looking out for this time around.. can't wait to get this over with too...i'll surely keep everyone posted.. once again BIG Congrats and a job well done. -
bpenn
Member Posts: 499
I know the feeling - failing an exam twice. But that just makes that passing score all the sweeter. Congrats!!"If your dreams dont scare you - they ain't big enough" - Life of Dillon
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arussnfl
Member Posts: 9 ■■■□□□□□□□
I kind of feel compelled to post to this also. My first score was a 612 second score was a 678, Kind of makes me feel that I am not CISSP material.
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clarkincnet
Member Posts: 256 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats!Give a hacker an exploit, and they will have access for a day, BUT teach them to phish, and they will have access for the rest of their lives!
Have: CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CGEIT, ITIL-F -
chagla
Member Posts: 6 ■□□□□□□□□□
ur almost there. i got 647 in my first try. i will give it another shot in about 6 to 8 months.
