General Thoughts About CASP...

StillStream

As I continue to study for the CASP, I'm seeing a lot of information overlap from the CISSP. Kind of surprised really. In addition, I'm seeing more CASP casualties on the I.T. certification battlefield now. Kinda makes me worried a bit. After failing the CISSP back on June 24th, I decided to take a break and study for the CASP. I have about 6-7 more chapters to go before I finish the Pearson book.

For anyone that's studying for the CASP, how is it going for you?

Edit: 4 more chapters to go as of 9/22/2016.

CIO

Im currently study for the CASP and getting cold feet. I've been noticing a lot of poster failing this exam that have more experience and higher level certs than me. Im scheduled to take the exam on the 15th but i might change that date.

I'm using the following resources:
1) The Pearson book
2) The CASP videos on cybrary
3) Im also studying for the CEHv9 and noticed a lot of overlap from that book

No_Nerd

So I failed 3X
Why?


It is not that the test is hard... .but you have to read the questions slowly and make sure you understand what is being asked. Once I started slowing down on practice tests and eventually the real exam, I did just fine. I attended a boot camp for CASP and the biggest take away would be to just slow down ( for me ) I have very bad test anxiety which I think was the hardest part.

Z0sickx

Like everyone has harped, this exam is somewhat hard to prepare for as to what kind of questions you will get. take the hardest questions you've taken and mutliply it by 2x. those book questions come no where close to the difficulty level. I had the transcendor which gave a little realistic on the test but still not as good. you NEED to do well on the SIMULATIONS that will make or break you in the exam and i feel was the main reason why i passed the 2nd go around

Moldygr33nb3an

Finished the Skillport course
Finished the Pearson Book
Working on the Sybex book, but it seems more vague than the Pearson Book.

From what I am hearing, if you do not have years of experience, it will come down to just getting a "good" test. I've heard people who got several liner questions for all 80, and most recent 80, one liner questions.

Really not looking forward to this exam.

Z0sickx

Moldygr33nb3an wrote: »

Finished the Skillport course
Finished the Pearson Book
Working on the Sybex book, but it seems more vague than the Pearson Book.

From what I am hearing, if you do not have years of experience, it will come down to just getting a "good" test. I've heard people who got several liner questions for all 80, and most recent 80, one liner questions.

Really not looking forward to this exam.

The sybex covered topics not found in pearson so use both. no matter which version of the test you get its going to be hard, its going to feel like someone kicked your ass whether you pass or fail

daboola

I test on the 13th been studying over 6 weeks. I am using the same material plus fed-vte videos. I study everyday for 2-4 hours. Good luck to all who is taking it.

Z0sickx

daboola wrote: »

I test on the 13th been studying over 6 weeks. I am using the same material plus fed-vte videos. I study everyday for 2-4 hours. Good luck to all who is taking it.

i remember in the beginning trying to use FedVte to use a material but jesus that **** is dry, i literally would get bored and turn ADD, no dice for me

tpasmall

I'm going to be studying for this just to renew my other CompTIA certs since they expire next year. I have enough CPEs to renew, but figure a new cert will help dust off some forgotten knowledge and I don't have enough time in the industry for my CISSP yet (just hit a year and a half!)

amcnow

tpasmall wrote: »

I'm going to be studying for this just to renew my other CompTIA certs since they expire next year. I have enough CPEs to renew, but figure a new cert will help dust off some forgotten knowledge and I don't have enough time in the industry for my CISSP yet (just hit a year and a half!)

Unless you need CASP for your current job, you may consider just going for CISSP anyway. You can become an Associate of ISC2, which allows 6 years for you to earn your experience for full CISSP certification.

https://isc2.org/associate/default.aspx

tpasmall

Does the CISSP renew my other CompTIA certs? It's not a huge deal, but I'd like to keep them active (I'll probably let the CCNA go as I don't do much network stuff anymore)

TeKniques

Yes, the CISSP will renew the CompTIA Security+. And since Security+ is a higher certification level than that of A+ and Network+its renewal will automatically renew those as well.

https://certification.comptia.org/continuing-education/renewothers/renewing-security

tpasmall

That gives you the CPEs to renew, but won't I still have to pay for it? Where if I do the CASP the cost of that cert pays for the cert and the other certs get renewed for free.

EnderWiggin

tpasmall wrote: »

That gives you the CPEs to renew, but won't I still have to pay for it? Where if I do the CASP the cost of that cert pays for the cert and the other certs get renewed for free.

Correct. A higher level CompTIA cert (CASP) will renew the lower level ones with no annual fees, but any other organizations' certs will still require the annual fees to renew the CompTIA certs.

anon1

After taking the CASP test this morning, I have come to the conclusion that it is not a good test/cert at all. I was getting 96% on all the practice exams from the Pearson book and still failed. I have worked full time in Infosec my entire career with a Bachelor of Science degree and a security+ certification. The test isn't technically hard it is just full of verbose, non-technical questions that are loaded with acronyms no one utilizes. You have to re-read the questions several times because of the vocabulary and wording. They have 3 paragraph questions that could be asked in 3 sentences. My whole exam focused on SAN and data center security. My professional opinion is that the Sec+ is a much better cert for actually understanding all aspects of security! It honestly felt as if CompTIA just needed a "Master Level" cert that many would fail as a cash grab. Nothing in my test was relevant to anyone in the real world outside of data center employment. I am just going to renew my Sec+ and go for my CEH. There is a reason why those 2 certifications are the most sought after by employers. My advice, stay away from the CASP! It is more of a reading comprehension test loaded with acronyms not utilized than a legitimate test for infosec professionals. Mark my words, either CompTIA will ax this certification entirely due to it not being relevant or it will be heavily changed in future versions.

JDMurray

CASP is not an entry-level security cert nor is it a cert that covers multiple, broad areas of InfoSec like the Security+ and CISSP do. Instead, CASP is specifically a mid-level security operations cert that covers the type of work people in a SOC or NSOC perform. People who do this type of work must be able to understand the information found in specific environments and triage operational scenarios specific to cybersecurity. There is no reason to attempt the CASP cert unless you intend to demonstrate that you have this type of knowledge and skill.

McxRisley

Idk what version of the test JD took but it certainly covers multiple broad areas of InfoSec and it is hardly a mid-level cert. I know many CISSPs that have attemptsed the CASP and failed, all of them have the same story "That test was HARD". Now while I realize that doesnt refelct upon all holders of the CISSP, I'm just sharing my experience from other who hold a CISSP and have attempted the CASP. As for anon1's comments, I'm not sure what your job is but all of the material contained within the CASP is relevant and applied daily where I work. Now as for whether it's worth getting or not, that depends on whether you plan to work for the DoD or not. If you want to work for the DoD then get it, but if not then it's probably not worth the time and effort.

swamprat

In regards to the acronyms, there's a reason you have a list of acronyms in the exam objectives. They're not there just for entertainment, they are there to allow you to ensure you know and study them.

Also, scoring in the 90s on a practice test and then finding that the real test doesn't match up is more indicative of a failure in the practice test, not the real test. At least, that's the way it seems to me.

JDMurray

McxRisley wrote: »

I know many CISSPs that have attemptsed the CASP and failed, all of them have the same story "That test was HARD". Now while I realize that doesnt refelct upon all holders of the CISSP, I'm just sharing my experience from other who hold a CISSP and have attempted the CASP.

Once again, the CASP is actually a specialized, mid-level, technical exam, despite there being some of the broad, Security+-type material included. The CISSP is a business/managerial cert; many people who pass the CISSP exam aren't in technical InfoSec fields, so they do poorly on the more technical domains (AppSec, Crypto, NetComm).

I really enjoyed the CASP exam because it's what I do for a living (SecOps). I would love to take an exam that is nothing but SecOps detection/analysis/response scenario items like in CASP. Those are a fun challenge when you do it for reals.

OctalDump

McxRisley wrote: »

Idk what version of the test JD took but it certainly covers multiple broad areas of InfoSec and it is hardly a mid-level cert. I know many CISSPs that have attemptsed the CASP and failed, all of them have the same story "That test was HARD".

I think it's somewhere in the middle, but then so is CISSP. And it is a challenging exam, and covers a lot of ground in reasonable depth. I think the challenge for CISSP's when they do the CASP is that it is a lot more hands on and practical. Probably the Practitioner in the name hints at that. You need to know security engineering/ops fairly broadly, including the hands on skills.

In the 6 months before I did the CASP, I also did Sec+, CEH and CCNA Security. I think that helped since there's some overlap. I did find the exam challenging, and wasn't sure I passed until I actually saw a pass (I was preparing myself for a fail).

My background coming into the exam wasn't specifically cybersec or infosec. I had held an infosec role in conjunction with other roles, but primarily my background is in infrastructure and operations. For example, I have lots of hands on with things like access controls, vpns, firewalls, configuring and securing web servers, TLS, securing servers etc.

StillStream

Been a while since I posted here. I'm taking the exam on 25 May. I finished the Pearson book but I will review it again plus some more electronic materials prior to D Day.

StillStream

A month to go. I'm using the Cybrary CASP video series for studying and then going back to the Pearson book again while doing some practice questions. The nerves are starting to get me now because I don't want to fail it like I did with the CISSP last year.

StillStream

17 days to go. Starting to feel a little more confident than when I took the CISSP exam. Still anxious because I have NO idea what the hell I'm getting myself into regarding the CASP. I guess it's nerves or something.

StillStream

Guys, I have 1 more week until showdown. Getting a little nervous but it seems that I'm not as nervous like I was for the CISSP last year.

Moldygr33nb3an

StillStream wrote: »

Guys, I have 1 more week until showdown. Getting a little nervous but it seems that I'm not as nervous like I was for the CISSP last year.

You got this brother! Just make sure you get good sleep the night before, a solid breakfast and maybe a cup of coffee in the morning.

swamprat

You've got this! Make sure you get a good breakfast (and lunch, if you're taking it in the afternoon), good sleep, and don't overly stress about it

Jtx3

10 day count down for myself as well.

bjpeter

StillStream wrote: »

Been a while since I posted here. I'm taking the exam on 25 May. I finished the Pearson book but I will review it again plus some more electronic materials prior to D Day.

Same here, I'm also taking it on May 25! Good luck!

StillStream

I got about 4 days to go. Starting to feel much better about the exam now. Got to make sure that I don't drive my crazy about it. So much material to go through. What I think is helping me a lot right now is the Army notes that I'm going through right now and the Darril Gibson Get Certified, Get Ahead website. Either way, I have 4 more days to go. D-Day is May 25 @ 1000.

StillStream

D-Day is tomorrow. Wish me luck.

trojin

StillStream wrote: »

D-Day is tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Good luck. It's not so hard