Passed CISSP 6/2/2016 (Detailed post with study tips)
mailtoprithi
Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
in SSCP
Hello All
I passed the CISSP exam today in my first attempt. What a grueling 6 hours today with a creepy feeling that I was not doing well, only to see a "Congratulations" note as I stepped out of the test center. I have done several certifications in the past and even the PMP certification was a breeze to me. This security certification had me on my toes since the day I started studying, but it is all worth the investment of energy and time. I should say it was an year long journey and more rigorous towards the last two months. I started studying last year and then kept postponing due to other priorities, then the exam format changed, had to wait for the official study guides to be released, took up studying again this year from scratch as a new year resolution, again took a 2 month break between March and April, and started to study more seriously from May.
My main source of studies were the following:
1) CISSP Study Guide by Eric Conard - I read this first to help me get a good feel about the topics. But this book alone is not not sufficient for the exam.
2) AIO - Shon Harris. I read this cover to cover, but requires a lot of patience. This book covered most of the topics needed for the exam.
3) Sybex - Glimpsed through this once to fill in gaps and took the chapter quizzes. Filled in the gaps with incorrect answers. I was only scoring 70% on most chapters after glimpsing through the contents and reading 1 and 2 thoroughly. It was a little discouraging.
4) Official Guide - Did the chapter quizzes only. Was scoring 75% to 80% in most domains.
5) CCCure - Tried quizzes here and filled in more gaps. The exam questions were pretty close to CCCure from my experience. I was scoring only 70% initially and after consistently studing and attempting only UNATTEMPTED questions everytime, I hit a 89% mark toward the exam date.
6) Transcender - Very tough and confusing (sometimes incorrect too) questions, but helped me to train my brain to read obscure sentences and stay. I was only scoring 68 to 75% on these tests. I did not take a 250 question set exam, but instead took domain quizzes. My objective was to assess my weakest domain, but I guess with this product, pretty much I was weak in all the domains
... But, it helped me immensely to fill my gaps.
Below are my scores from mock tests in the order I attempted. Hope this will help people who are scoring similar to mine assess where they stand.
CISSP for Dummies Mock Exam
78%
Eric 1
82%
Eric 2
70%
MH1
81%
MH2
65%
CCCure - Round 1 (200 questions each time)
85%, 75%, 83%, 78%, 81%
Tanscender (all domains)
68 - 75%
Total Tester
84%, 82%
Sybex 1
77%, 70%, 76%, 77%
CCCure - round 2
89%, 81%, 89%, 80%
As it has been said here many times, this is a management exam. You will not see questions that are direct or technical. The concepts must be understood in order to get the answers nailed down. More than one answer will seem correct on the actual exam. The sample tests should help you identify your gaps and study better, but the actual exam, in my opinion, was more close to Sybex and CCCure.
The exam is far more tactical. So, use the results from your mock tests to fill in your gaps. In the actual exam, every single question looked familiar to me and there were no surprises with regards to the content. However, reading the questions, digesting the information and identifying the correct choice was the main challenge. The resources I have listed pretty much cover the vast range of topics you must be familiar with.
Best,
Prithi Narasimhan
I passed the CISSP exam today in my first attempt. What a grueling 6 hours today with a creepy feeling that I was not doing well, only to see a "Congratulations" note as I stepped out of the test center. I have done several certifications in the past and even the PMP certification was a breeze to me. This security certification had me on my toes since the day I started studying, but it is all worth the investment of energy and time. I should say it was an year long journey and more rigorous towards the last two months. I started studying last year and then kept postponing due to other priorities, then the exam format changed, had to wait for the official study guides to be released, took up studying again this year from scratch as a new year resolution, again took a 2 month break between March and April, and started to study more seriously from May.
My main source of studies were the following:
1) CISSP Study Guide by Eric Conard - I read this first to help me get a good feel about the topics. But this book alone is not not sufficient for the exam.
2) AIO - Shon Harris. I read this cover to cover, but requires a lot of patience. This book covered most of the topics needed for the exam.
3) Sybex - Glimpsed through this once to fill in gaps and took the chapter quizzes. Filled in the gaps with incorrect answers. I was only scoring 70% on most chapters after glimpsing through the contents and reading 1 and 2 thoroughly. It was a little discouraging.
4) Official Guide - Did the chapter quizzes only. Was scoring 75% to 80% in most domains.
5) CCCure - Tried quizzes here and filled in more gaps. The exam questions were pretty close to CCCure from my experience. I was scoring only 70% initially and after consistently studing and attempting only UNATTEMPTED questions everytime, I hit a 89% mark toward the exam date.
6) Transcender - Very tough and confusing (sometimes incorrect too) questions, but helped me to train my brain to read obscure sentences and stay. I was only scoring 68 to 75% on these tests. I did not take a 250 question set exam, but instead took domain quizzes. My objective was to assess my weakest domain, but I guess with this product, pretty much I was weak in all the domains
... But, it helped me immensely to fill my gaps.Below are my scores from mock tests in the order I attempted. Hope this will help people who are scoring similar to mine assess where they stand.
CISSP for Dummies Mock Exam
78%
Eric 1
82%
Eric 2
70%
MH1
81%
MH2
65%
CCCure - Round 1 (200 questions each time)
85%, 75%, 83%, 78%, 81%
Tanscender (all domains)
68 - 75%
Total Tester
84%, 82%
Sybex 1
77%, 70%, 76%, 77%
CCCure - round 2
89%, 81%, 89%, 80%
As it has been said here many times, this is a management exam. You will not see questions that are direct or technical. The concepts must be understood in order to get the answers nailed down. More than one answer will seem correct on the actual exam. The sample tests should help you identify your gaps and study better, but the actual exam, in my opinion, was more close to Sybex and CCCure.
The exam is far more tactical. So, use the results from your mock tests to fill in your gaps. In the actual exam, every single question looked familiar to me and there were no surprises with regards to the content. However, reading the questions, digesting the information and identifying the correct choice was the main challenge. The resources I have listed pretty much cover the vast range of topics you must be familiar with.
Best,
Prithi Narasimhan
Comments
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zme783
Member Posts: 43 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congratulations Prithi!
I am due this Saturday!
Scoring between 77 to 84% in CCCure practice tests and using Skillport material as well, where I using that for drag and drop, nw diag related questions.
The average is between 77 to 84% in both practice tests.
Anything that I need to check on, please do guide me.
Best Regards,
Ahmed -
mailtoprithi
Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hi Ahmed
Your score seem to be fine. As long as you understand the concepts and fill your gaps, you should be fine. Hopefully, you did not get too acquainted with CCCure questions and you are only attempting a fresh set of questions each time you are taking the quiz.
Have a manager's mindset. Understand the question and pay careful attention to details like which is the first best choice, which is NOT a choice, etc. I tried to map the question to an example I could relate to and think what I would do in that given situation.
All through my practice tests and in the exam, I had this very uneasy feeling that I was going to fail. I posted a couple of posts requesting for sample test scores from fellow members to help assess myself. Although I could have been happier with a 85% and above in the practice tests, the real exam was far more "tactical" than I could have imagined. I was finishing the practice tests in 2 hours, but I sat through for the entire duration of the actual exam today. It was that intense.
So, just assimilate your ideas and go for it. You will crack it in a calmer mental state. You have worked so hard and are almost to the big day. Best of luck and visualize you will post your success story here
Best of luck.
Prithi -
zme783
Member Posts: 43 ■■■□□□□□□□
Thank you Prithi!
I do take your advice and will have to wear a managers hat all thru while keep switching based on the questions.
Will act /think like a more of a risk advisor, managerial than technical.
I will keep you all posted on how it goes and already going numb.
Best Regards,
Ahmed -
shreenag Member Posts: 26 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats Prithi and good write up.
So How long many months was your total study duration?? -
Oops!! I did not see the first few lines of your post.One year!!! Kudos to your determination .Congrats again on the pass
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ITSpectre
Member Posts: 1,040 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats!!! Now since it is friday after work please go to your nearest pub, or bar and have a few drinks to celebrate!!!!
ROCK ON!!!
In the darkest hour, there is always a way out - Eve ME3 :cool:
“The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios -
mailtoprithi
Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
Shreenag - Although I started a year back, it was going in a slower than snail pace. I would say if you dedicate 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, you must be able to complete studying in 4 months. 1 month of rigourous (6 hours a day, 5 days a week) practice with mock tests will help you digest the information. Realistically 5 - 6 months should be good.
I am the kind of person who would book an exam date only after finishing a couple of books and completing a first review. I dont like to take pressure with an end date in mind and rushing through with studying. I love to study and understand the concepts and this can be done only when you are calmer in my opinion ...
Good luck !! -
Clm
Member Posts: 444 ■■■■□□□□□□
CongratsI find your lack of Cloud Security Disturbing!!!!!!!!!
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