i took the CISSP exam today.. (long)

jercxjercx Member Posts: 36 ■■■□□□□□□□
in CISSP
i took the exam today! and here's my journey, writing it down for the benefit of those who're taking the same journey...


i started studying April 1, 2017 (10weeks total). from this side of the world, CISSP material is very hard to come by, so i had friends on vacation bring in material from the UK (still appreciate the gesture having to bring back 2 heavy tomes of CISSP material). I got Shon Harris' AIO 7th ed, and Sybex CISSP 7th ed. bundled with Sybex CISSP Practice Tests. i was also able to get the official ISC2 guide 4th edition and 11th hour 4th ed.


materials i used:
i kicked off the studying by watching through the CBT nuggets by keith barker, although it's geared towards the older 10-domain CBK, it was still very helpful to establish a good background. i read the ISC2 guide 4th ed chapter by chapter, after each domain chapter, i would watch Kelly H's videos on the chapter to reinforce the information i tried to absorb, then take the after-chapter practice questions (~20 items). this took me a while to finish, about 6 weeks. in between these, i had a 4-day onsite classroom session with an ISC2-certified official ISC2 course during the 4th week (10-hours per day). paid for and scheduled the exam 4 weeks before exam date.


i attacked the sybex official study guide 7th ed next, this was a lot easier to read, perhaps maybe because i had laid down a good foundation, but it was very informative nevertheless. i would take the after-chapter tests to verify my knowledge (they were easy) and would score 90%+. After i read the sybex book cover-to-cover (week7- icon_cool.gif, i then started the sybex practice tests. i had very limited material so i had to make sure the practice tests count. I did the sybex practice test #1 (250questions) as a simulation and as an assessment (scored 207/250, 4 hours) took down notes, and delved deeper into topics i was not very familiar with (SOC reports, popular ports, broadband speeds T1, T3, ISDN, etc).


then i took the sybex practice domain exams very uniquely. instead of going through each domain exam (100 questions) in one go, i did 10 questions of each domain at a time (80 questions). for a total of 10 sessions over 10 days (week 8-9). my score for the total 8 domains at the end of 10 days were:


D1: 96
D2: 90
D3: 91
D4: 80
D5: 76
D6: 70
D7: 89
D8: 84


i then took the sybex practice test #2 (250 questions), i scored 205/250 (82%) in 4hours. by this time i was confident i had studied enough to pass the exam. in the last 1 week, i took it easy and did the Sybex online test engine full tests (4tests, 250 questions each, scored 211 (84.4%), 203(81.2%), 215(85.66%), 217(86.8%) respectively) over 7 days. i also watched sari greene's video (6-hours) during this time (10 days free trial)


in between all these, i took a few test exams from the test engine of AIO, scored 12/20(60%), 20/30(70%) and 59/80(74%). found them too technical but it kept me anxious whether i have covered enough ground.


now i know i sound like an over-prepper, but i did simulate test conditions during all the 250-question practice exams, i took them at 8am (same as scheduled exam time)- no other time available - to simulate exam-day conditions.


i didn't take any day off work, i would study for 1-2hours each day, and about 6-8 hours during the weekends. kissed my social life goodbye and deactivated my facebook (distraction).


EXAM DAY
Read 11th hour day before exam as a refresher, just quickly skimmed through it to suppress any anxiety.


All these preparation and yet i was surprised by the actual exam questions, i even practiced my break periods (one every 80 questions), ate a quick granola bar on the 4th hour. all in all, it took me 5hours 45mins. I went through all the questions and flagged ones i was unsure of. went back to review the flagged questions and reviewed all the questions one last time. by the time i finished, i was drained and it was nerve-wracking, i still wasn't able to tell whether i have stacked the odds in my favor, it was a euphoric feeling when i was given the printout stating "Congratulations! We are pleased..." i was the only one in the exam center taking the CISSP exam so i had to stifle a celebratory shout and did a silent victory dance instead. =)


Background
I have been in the IT industry for ~15years, started as a software developer (VisualBasic)/systems administrator for an IBM AIX for 4 years. was an oracle DBA for about 1 year. worked in the telecommunications industry as a system integrator for ~10years, and now i'm IT head for an SME. working with telcos exposed me to change control procedures and strict operational procedures, this also gave me a good background on networking and communications. i'm never one for certifications but i definitely worked hard for the CISSP, the organization i work for is going for ISO 9001 and 27001 this year, i'm sure to be able to contribute. very thankful for the information within the techexams community, here's my contribution back.


Now, i don't know any other CISSP, so i probably would have to ask ISC to endorse me =)




*some numbers:
book pages read: ~4000
practice questions taken: ~3200
video: ~32hours
class: 40hours
#days: 75days
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Comments

  • CryptoQueCryptoQue Member Posts: 204 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats! It's good to see a plan come together. The Sybex material was very helpful in my preparation for the exam as well. Welcome to the club! icon_cheers.gif
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  • safernandezsafernandez Member Posts: 15 ■■□□□□□□□□
    jercx wrote: »
    i took the exam today! and here's my journey, writing it down for the benefit of those who're taking the same journey...


    i started studying April 1, 2017 (10weeks total). from this side of the world, CISSP material is very hard to come by, so i had friends on vacation bring in material from the UK (still appreciate the gesture having to bring back 2 heavy tomes of CISSP material). I got Shon Harris' AIO 7th ed, and Sybex CISSP 7th ed. bundled with Sybex CISSP Practice Tests. i was also able to get the official ISC2 guide 4th edition and 11th hour 4th ed.


    materials i used:
    i kicked off the studying by watching through the CBT nuggets by keith barker, although it's geared towards the older 10-domain CBK, it was still very helpful to establish a good background. i read the ISC2 guide 4th ed chapter by chapter, after each domain chapter, i would watch Kelly H's videos on the chapter to reinforce the information i tried to absorb, then take the after-chapter practice questions (~20 items). this took me a while to finish, about 6 weeks. in between these, i had a 4-day onsite classroom session with an ISC2-certified official ISC2 course during the 4th week (10-hours per day). paid for and scheduled the exam 4 weeks before exam date.


    i attacked the sybex official study guide 7th ed next, this was a lot easier to read, perhaps maybe because i had laid down a good foundation, but it was very informative nevertheless. i would take the after-chapter tests to verify my knowledge (they were easy) and would score 90%+. After i read the sybex book cover-to-cover (week7- icon_cool.gif, i then started the sybex practice tests. i had very limited material so i had to make sure the practice tests count. I did the sybex practice test #1 (250questions) as a simulation and as an assessment (scored 207/250, 4 hours) took down notes, and delved deeper into topics i was not very familiar with (SOC reports, popular ports, broadband speeds T1, T3, ISDN, etc).


    then i took the sybex practice domain exams very uniquely. instead of going through each domain exam (100 questions) in one go, i did 10 questions of each domain at a time (80 questions). for a total of 10 sessions over 10 days (week 8-9). my score for the total 8 domains at the end of 10 days were:


    D1: 96
    D2: 90
    D3: 91
    D4: 80
    D5: 76
    D6: 70
    D7: 89
    D8: 84


    i then took the sybex practice test #2 (250 questions), i scored 205/250 (82%) in 4hours. by this time i was confident i had studied enough to pass the exam. in the last 1 week, i took it easy and did the Sybex online test engine full tests (4tests, 250 questions each, scored 211 (84.4%), 203(81.2%), 215(85.66%), 217(86.8%) respectively) over 7 days. i also watched sari greene's video (6-hours) during this time (10 days free trial)


    in between all these, i took a few test exams from the test engine of AIO, scored 12/20(60%), 20/30(70%) and 59/80(74%). found them too technical but it kept me anxious whether i have covered enough ground.


    now i know i sound like an over-prepper, but i did simulate test conditions during all the 250-question practice exams, i took them at 8am (same as scheduled exam time)- no other time available - to simulate exam-day conditions.


    i didn't take any day off work, i would study for 1-2hours each day, and about 6-8 hours during the weekends. kissed my social life goodbye and deactivated my facebook (distraction).


    EXAM DAY
    Read 11th hour day before exam as a refresher, just quickly skimmed through it to suppress any anxiety.


    All these preparation and yet i was surprised by the actual exam questions, i even practiced my break periods (one every 80 questions), ate a quick granola bar on the 4th hour. all in all, it took me 5hours 45mins. I went through all the questions and flagged ones i was unsure of. went back to review the flagged questions and reviewed all the questions one last time. by the time i finished, i was drained and it was nerve-wracking, i still wasn't able to tell whether i have stacked the odds in my favor, it was a euphoric feeling when i was given the printout stating "Congratulations! We are pleased..." i was the only one in the exam center taking the CISSP exam so i had to stifle a celebratory shout and did a silent victory dance instead. =)


    Background
    I have been in the IT industry for ~15years, started as a software developer (VisualBasic)/systems administrator for an IBM AIX for 4 years. was an oracle DBA for about 1 year. worked in the telecommunications industry as a system integrator for ~10years, and now i'm IT head for an SME. working with telcos exposed me to change control procedures and strict operational procedures, this also gave me a good background on networking and communications. i'm never one for certifications but i definitely worked hard for the CISSP, the organization i work for is going for ISO 9001 and 27001 this year, i'm sure to be able to contribute. very thankful for the information within the techexams community, here's my contribution back.


    Now, i don't know any other CISSP, so i probably would have to ask ISC to endorse me =)




    *some numbers:
    book pages read: ~4000
    practice questions taken: ~3200
    video: ~32hours
    class: 40hours
    #days: 75days


    Congratulations jercx! I hope the Sybex exams are similar. I continue reading, but I practice with them. I have done, Questions and Answers from Total Tester CISSP (Old version) and it is much more complicated than Sybex. Are the questions similar to Sybex?
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  • NavyMooseCCNANavyMooseCCNA Member Posts: 544 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats!!

    'My dear you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly' Winston Churchil

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  • jercxjercx Member Posts: 36 ■■■□□□□□□□
    safernandez wrote: »
    Congratulations jercx! I hope the Sybex exams are similar. I continue reading, but I practice with them. I have done, Questions and Answers from Total Tester CISSP (Old version) and it is much more complicated than Sybex. Are the questions similar to Sybex?


    the questions are not quite similar to Sybex, but rather the concepts are what's similar to the Sybex exams. as others have stated, lots of MOST, LEAST, BEST and PRIMARY questions.
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  • sameojsameoj Member Posts: 366 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats
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  • dan15dan15 Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thanks for the feedback! In terms of the difficult of the test itself, how difficult is it compared to the Sybex questions?
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  • jercxjercx Member Posts: 36 ■■■□□□□□□□
    i found it to be significantly more difficult, the Sybex questions are tailored to the material covered in the book, so the questions are designed to answer a definition and/or topic referred to in the book, there is very minimal confusion as to the intent of the question.

    whereas in the exam, it would make you refer back to the CBKs referred to on the exam outline (https://www.isc2.org/exam-outline), you would have to deduce the intent of the question.

    as a metric: my sybex 250 question practice practice exams average 36sec per question (not including reviews), whereas in the exam, i averaged 1min per question (not including reviews).

    of course the exam has greater risks from failing than the practice questions, hence you should simulate, treat the practice exam like the actual exam and have in mind that it costs $600 every take. from this part of the world, that's no small amount. and that should put you in the right mindset.
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  • shimasenseishimasensei Member Posts: 241 ■■■□□□□□□□
    that's a great guide. congratulations!
    Current: BSc IT + CISSP, CCNP:RS, CCNA:Sec, CCNA:RS, CCENT, Sec+, P+, A+, L+/LPIC-1, CSSS, VCA6-DCV, ITILv3:F, MCSA:Win10
    Future Plans: MSc + PMP, CCIE/NPx, GIAC...
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  • greg9891greg9891 Member Posts: 1,189 ■■■■■■■□□□
    Congrats!
    :
    Upcoming Certs: VCA-DCV 7.0, VCP-DCV 7.0, Oracle Database 1Z0-071, PMP, Server +, CCNP

    Proverbs 6:6-11Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
    When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep, So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler And your need like an armed man.
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  • dan15dan15 Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Great, thanks a lot for the detailed feedback!
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