Passed CASP (04/21)

averageguy72

Whew...someone in these forums called it cog buster, I'd agree.


77 questions, 11 were drag-n-drop or sims. Of the 3.5 hours, it took me a little over 2.5 hours to complete the exam. To me, the questions seemed more clearly worded than Security+.


Studying
Pearson book, Pocket Prep, Darril Gibson's GCGA website


Pearson book
Good, concise review. It's pretty dry but it's organized in a digestible manner. Most of this information, considering the recommendation of 10 years experience, is probably going to be review. But if you're coming to it from a perspective of limited experience or implementations, you're most likely going to need to expand the topics beyond the detail in the book to get a good grasp of them. The tests included with the book were alright but limited, I sprung for the "premium" content. Premium meant the same content that came with the tests included in the book plus a few more questions.


Pocket Prep
It seems to be focused more on trivia than the actual exam. That's not a bad thing, you do need to know that information. But you're going to want to go beyond it for the test.


Darril Gibson's GCGA website
Although his CASP content is limited at only 50 questions, they are good and the sims are in line with the actual test - "here's a network diagram. you want to prevent x, y and z. what devices should you deploy and where?". I think it's like $6.99 or so for the 50 questions and the there is a tutorial on the website, but I didn't take a look at it.


Summary
As I've stated in other threads, I've been in the industry a long time. I felt like this one fell in line well with what I've done most of that time - "We need to do X. how do we implement X, including these requirements and/or limitations, while adhering to best practices or as close to best practices as possible?". If you're attempting this one and don't have a lot of experience in this type of role, it'll probably be best to include the Sybex book as well. I'd also recommend supplementing the information with research or hands on where possible. That would allow you to expand on things you're not familiar with in the objectives depending on your experience level. Going to begin studying for CISSP when I return from vacation.

ITSec14

Congrats on the pass! I'm scheduled to take Sec+ in a month and if successful I'll start studying to take the CASP later this year.

How long did you prepare for the CASP exam? I know everyone's prep time is different, but just to get an idea. My philosophy is to schedule the exam date right when studying begins to force myself to stay focused and consistent.

averageguy72

I studied for about a month. I'm a very slow reader and would skip a day or two reading during the first two weeks due to getting busy, either with work or home things.

p@r0tuXus

Great job! Nice write-up too. Thanks for that. Enjoy your holiday!

doublersies

Thanks for the write-up. I was considering the GCGA website and may go ahead and pay for it now that I see what you said. I know his content is more limited than what he offers for Security+ so it is good to hear that it is helpful.