Passed Today 7-5 after procrastnation

ice9

First Post here....So many good resources and insight has come from discussions in these forums, Scored an 810 on SY0-401 today in the AM. Without violating the NDA, the grammar on the exam was much better than some had previously expressed...sentences were clear and made sense.

Study Materials:
Darril Gibson's Get Certified Get Ahead premium site...spent a lot of time up until the expiration date here.
Darril Gibson's SY0-401 Exam guide book
Professor Messer's quick exam guide PDF ($10 I think)
Plenty of Google searches after online quizzes and exams explained some wrong responses.

Not sure what I have up next, Security+ was to meet 8570 DoD requirements in a contract requirement.
I will finish a masters degree in December in digital forensics, and would like a forensic Certification for the non-law enforcement types...open to all suggestions.

adrenaline19

Did you take the Net+ before the Sec+?
What are your thoughts on the lab questions you received? Were they easy to figure out, or stupid?

Ec-council has a forensic certificate (Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator Certification).

I don't know much about it, but that could be a start.

ice9

I did not take the Network+, the Security+ was my first Comptia exam to sit for.

Over a year ago, I attempted the CISSP and failed with a score of 685...so darn close, and that was when it was still 10 domains.

I am familiar with the EC-Council Certifications and like the idea of obtaining the CHFI, but I would like to hear from others how influential either CEH or CHFI has been on taking the next jump into a better Info Sec job

CISSP continues to be the gold standard heavy hitter in all of DoD 8570/8140/NICE related job postings.

The simulation questions I received were fair, and like others have said before, Darrill Gibson's simulation practices from GCGA content are right on par with concepts you need, just different dragging and dropping involved sometimes.

Captain_Deadpool

Good job and great score!

If you are following DoD requirements and want to stay in security, I'd say look at a SANS route or CASP.

Mkroadrush

For how long did you study for?

ice9

I studied off and on for about 6-8 weeks, and only got serious this last week around the 4th holiday to take more and more of Darril Gibson's quizzes and exams on his GCGA Premium website.

Mkroadrush, If you are still in preparation phase, I would get on that site right away and pay for it. However you mentally prepare yourself for any topics you are not grasping, do what works for you like writing down definitions on a notepad, or in a Word document, make up a story about the security terms associated with Security+ like tech Madlibs....anything to get the concepts into your brain for the long term.

I am an Info System Risk Analyst now, and any internal upward positions I am eyeing have CISSP all over them. I love the idea of a SANS certification like the GCIH , and t is costly to go your own path of $1200+. You get so many more career opportunities in the DoD world with CISSP.

bhs

ice9 wrote: »

I will finish a masters degree in December in digital forensics, and would like a forensic Certification for the non-law enforcement types...open to all suggestions.

Where are you studying Digital Forensics, it's online or on-campus?

ice9

bhs wrote: »

Where are you studying Digital Forensics, it's online or on-campus?

My Forensic Degree is online at Sam Houston State University. I was able to get some credits transferred over from the University of Central Florida (UCF) where I originally started up forensics and got a graduate certificate.
Both programs are really good.

clarkincnet

Congrats!