Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.

Failed the CISSP today with a 673. Yes it's painful, hurts your pride, and now I can't wait for the crap that I'll get from colleagues and folks expecting me to have passed...

Went in this morning and as soon as I'd gone through the first few questions, I thought, "I got this." By the time I got to 200 my brain just wanted to die; I had to read the same question like 5-6 times to understand it - I just wanted to get the hell out of there. This was a *very* overwhelming,exhausting and tear-inducing activity. It took me over 4 hours with one 5 minute break.

My study material:
Syngress CISSP Study Guide (3rd)
Cybrary.it mp3's
CCCure
10 domain Shon H. book
Overall spent 2+ weeks ~2-3hrs/day reading and had Kelly H. playing in the car leading up to the test and studied for about 1-2 months earlier this year (was planning to take it this summer but kept putting if off). I was averaging 77% on the CCCure practice tests.

No, I didn't give myself enough time to prepare. I felt pretty confident coming from 5+ years InfoSec background. Moreover, given the fact that I work with "CISSP's" of questionable competence, I felt, surely I will pass. Oh man, what a hard, hard pill to swallow.

About the test:
In my opinion, nothing like any practice/book test I've taken. I'd say ~80% non technical. Mostly situational, judgement call type questions where *every* answer looked either wrong as hell or correct. What kept throwing me off were questions where they'd frame a security concept/technology in a context that you don't normally see - if that makes any sense.

Honestly, I'm so discouraged now; really not something I want to do again. But gotta repeat in 30 days.

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Comments

pinksj

Thank you for sharing info. All the very best don't worry about the office crap. Just be focused and you will get through.

Paolo264

Failed my first attempt at CISSP with a score of 695. A tough pill to swallow, I was seriously pissed off for several weeks.

Recently passed and the major change I made was binning the Shon Harris book and using the Eric Conrad book, much more readable and digestible.

Dust yourself off and do the exam again, you are very very close.

TheFORCE

cyzygy8008 wrote: »

What kept throwing me off were questions where they'd frame a security concept/technology in a context that you don't normally see - if that makes any sense.

This is what has defined the CISSP for many many years, you cannot just know the simple definitions, and what the terms mean, you need to know how they apply and properly use them in different context and deduce the situation when and where they can be used. Basically you just need to know the material well. You should be ok on your second try though.

ashishmathew

I understand how you must be feeling.
Take a break, give yourself sometime for self assessment.

Then get back to studies.

The more you sweat now, less you will bleed later. So practice as many questions as possible.
Maybe over confidence was the reason, anyways dont give up. You will surely make it next time.

You are almost there!

kalkan999

Go back and read my posts for inspiration.

gespenstern

Simply overconfident and underprepared, 2+ weeks is simply not enough to properly digest that amount of information. Rinse and repeat.

marcellis

cyzygy8008 wrote: »

I felt pretty confident coming from 5+ years InfoSec background. Moreover, given the fact that I work with "CISSP's" of questionable competence, I felt, surely I will pass.

This is where I have to correct many individuals who may perform a specific task in the infosec arena and think that ALL CISSP should be a subject matter expert in every segment of cyber (pen testing, sys admin, network engineer, etc.). You may question your colleagues based on your scope of work, but understand that the individuals who hold cert should have a baseline of knowledge in all areas of IT which is why it's value is highly regarded.

Gess

Take more breaks. I completed my test in 1hr45min but still took two breaks. I set a limit before I went in, took a break at 100q and 200q. Eat a snack, get up and walk around, it does wonders.

cyzygy8008

I definitely appreciate all the support and advice! As many have noted, overconfidence and insufficient preparation were the culprit. I'll take a week, clear my mind and approach the task with a different attitude.

Day after taking the exam, I jotted down all the things I struggled with - will attack those first. I've also ordered the official practice test book that I'll add to my study material (questions look legit).
Now that I know what to expect, I hopefully will have a better outcome on the next go.

JoJoCal19

Sorry to hear about the non-pass. Agree with Paolo, pick up Eric Conrad's CISSP Study Guide.

Paolo264

cyzygy8008 wrote: »

I definitely appreciate all the support and advice! As many have noted, overconfidence and insufficient preparation were the culprit. I'll take a week, clear my mind and approach the task with a different attitude.

Exact same reason I failed on first attempt... You're nearly there though, keep on truckin'

slim27joint

Similar to what the others have mentioned, you need to have a good grasp of the concepts. Reading your post, I think fatigue played a huge part in your failure and not being patient and taking breaks. You have 6 hours for a reason, utilize that time. There's no difference between a person who passes in 2 hours vs someone who passed in 5 hours, they're both CISSP. The ultimate goal is to pass the exam.

You should be fine the next go around! Good luck.

rajpoot296

Do not worry.
key thing is you know where your mistake is.
Work on it and you will succeed.

Nabsh07

You want to do more questions . If you have CCCURE, use the pro level. Make sure you do complete all 4 bonus exam in the Sybex CISSP book.

mudflaps

How many of the cccure questions did you go through, and what setting did you have the tester on?

cyzygy8008

Did 500 pro level but only did set of 100 q's at a time. IMO, CCCure questions are kinda worthless.

beads

Sounds like exam fatigue set in early on. If its been awhile since you've done a long certification the harder it becomes to concentrate clearly enough to complete the exam.

In other words you just trained two weeks to run a world class marathon. Need to build those mental muscles for stamina as well as speed.

Agree on CCCure questions. People want the questions but haven't submitted a new question myself in years. I do submit a few questions every year for the CISSP, ISSAP and HCISPP every year. NDA not withstanding.

- b/eads

cyzygy8008

Read the book cover to cover. Great book, very easy read. However, there were a handful of questions that covered topics that were either not mentioned or had very minimal coverage in that book (now that I think of it, could have been research questions).

cyzygy8008

cyzygy8008 wrote: »

Read the book cover to cover. Great book, very easy read. However, there were a handful of questions that covered topics that were either not mentioned or had very minimal coverage in that book (now that I think of it, could have been research questions).

That's in response to Conrad's 3rd Study Guide