CISSP: Best Study Materials? Consensus?

VictorVictor5

Greetings all -

Next up for me is CISSP . After doing research on the boards here, I come away with a plethora of reference materials, including the following:

- Shon Harris' book
- The Sybex CISSP book with test engine
- The hardcopy ISC2 CISSP Book
- Eric Conrad 11th Hour right before the test
- Boson
- CCCure
- FedVTE (for those w/access)/Cybrary.it
- Skillset
- and perhaps a bootcamp (mileage may vary)

Am I missing anything? Any other recommendations? For example, I'm hearing that Shon Harris' book is overkill, but may be necessary if you're new to the field. Another one is that the hardcopy ISC2 Book from ISC2's website isn't well represented on the exam. I've also heard great things about some CISSP courses online that have been intriguing.

Any suggestions would be most helpful.

Thanks!
VV5

SteveLavoie

here are my impression from studying for CISSP and reading all kind of post from the Internet.

- Shon Harris' book --- GOOD but chatty
- The Sybex CISSP book with test engine --- the best book from all review. not too chatty but not too succint.
- The hardcopy ISC2 CISSP Book --- CBK are hard to read, but are very good reference
- Eric Conrad 11th Hour right before the test --- Good only if you have enough experience, but lacking depth
- Boson --- no opinion
- CCCure ---- good, but question are overly technical .. i didnt tried them
- FedVTE (for those w/access)/Cybrary.it -- no access to FedVTE, Cybrary course from Kelly is awesome and free (MP3 are available and good)
- Skillset --- not bad
- and perhaps a CISSP course / bootcamp (mileage may vary) -- i think self study is the better option for CISSP.

I would add:
Sari Green CISSP on Safari Books Online. -- Good, but I prefer Kelly teaching style.
CISSP course on Pluralsight -- OK
Sybex official practice test -- Very good

dragonfly_222

I passed the CISSP earlier this week on my first try. I studied for about 6 months - 1 hour/day, plus weekends (the holidays cut down on that time, but the last 4 months for sure). Here is what I used..

- Shon Harris' book and test book - Very detailed, but good info. I read the 1st domain since it counts the most, but then relied on it more for reference on things I needed more detail about. I think it'll be a good book for reference in my day to day life going forward. I did do all the test book tests, book chapter tests, and the tests that came on the CD.
-Eric Conrad 11th Hour CISSP - I read it cover to cover about two weeks out.
-Global Knowledge week long CISSP class - this included a subscription to the Trancender tests which I found too technical, as well as the digital version of the ISC2 book.
-CISSP for Dummies - Like some have said before, it's a good book that includes a few things not found anywhere else. Read cover to cover, and used the online tests.
-Sybex - online tests
-CCCure - personally I found this the most helpful. There is an explanation for each question and anything I didn't really understand, I'd look up in one of the books.
-Sunflower document
-Cybrary.it CISSP class - this was a great class. Kelly H. explains things really well. I spent dedicated time listening to the whole thing, then after that, anytime I was in the car, out for a walk, etc.,, I just replayed it, and then a week out, sections I still felt week on. Highly recommend.

What seemed to work for me (and everyone is obviously different), was taking test after test after test using the different test engines and reading about questions I failed or I didn't understand well. I'd run into questions that I got right, but for the wrong reason, so those too. I felt the questions taught me how to understand what they were asking for, which did help with the test.

HTH
Kelly