CISSP Passed!
averageguy72
Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
in CISSP
Passed CISSP exam this past weekend, received congratulations email this afternoon.
Background
20 years experience in the IT industry performing a wide variety of roles - system admin, consulting, developer, management. My goal is to move into a more security focused direction - application and network security, PEN testing, more red team, etc...
As I started the cert journey, after a long time without any, I've decided that I might as well get the ones that lined up with my experience before moving on into more deeply learning the things I really want to do long-term. The end goal from when I started in November 2016 is still the same but I'll continue to pick up more certs that line up with my experience before I head in the direction of where I want to end up.
While the certs I've acquired so far haven't provided crash courses since I've been in a lot of roles over the time I've been in the industry, I have either learned a few things with each or jogged my old man memory with each.
Study Material
Eric Conrad - CISSP Study Guide
Eric Conrad - 11th hour book
Sybex - Official Study Guide and Practice Tests
learnzapp - Official iPhone App
SafariBooksOnline - Sari Greene CISSP video
Cybrary.it - Kelly Handerhan CISSP video
Boson practice exam
Pocket Prep CISSP practice questions
Preparation
Studied for about 1.5 months, took that long because I stopped for two weeks in the middle to schedule and take the CEH when I saw it was going up July 1.
Started with the Eric Conrad book (CISSP Study Guide) and I really liked the book. It isn't full coverage at the depth you need if you've never been hands on with some of the technology but I covers enough to pass. It also leaves certain things out. But it's definitely worth reading.
The Eric Conrad 11th hour book, I only read about half of it the week of the test. But like the study guide, I liked it and will probably finish reading it. I think it's a good last minute refresher for sure. It drove home important key data in specific topics where I needed more review in a concise way that, for me, helped me remember them better than a long chapter in a study guide.
Sybex official study guide and practice tests (website version as well). I didn't read the book, but I will keep it for a reference. It covers things a bit differently than the Eric Conrad book. I was primarily concerned with more than one set of practice questions and I liked the iPhone version. The web site practice tests, for the most part, weren't very similar to the actual test but I did feel they are a good aid in practicing sitting through a 250 question test.
Sari Greene video was very good. I watched at 1.5x speed to get through it in reasonable amount of time. But I think it definitely covers a lot of the topics very well.
Kelly Handerhan video was good. I thought it provided a good overall view. While there isn't a great deal of depth, and I wouldn't recommend it as the only thing used for studying, her videos convey information in a clear and easy to follow way.
Boson practice exam was close to the exam in format and question content. I would alternate between these and the Wiley (Sybex) web site tests so as to not get into the habit of memorization. I'd do a mini test on the official iPhone app during lunch or when I'd take a break from work. By test day, I was getting around 85-90 percent on the practice tests.
Pocket Prep - Not recommended, too trivia oriented.
The test
Scheduling the test was a bit difficult. There are two testing facilities in the city that I live but there weren't any dates on a Saturday this month. I intended to take a long weekend trip and there was a testing facility at a college where I was going. But the time I tried to schedule it, the date I wanted was no longer available. In the end, since I wanted to get it done this month and preferred a Saturday, I had to drive two hours away. Also had a minor appliance malfunction and I ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep.
None of the practice tests were really like the actual test. But Boson + the official iPhone app came closest. I completed the test in about 3 hours. I marked a handful of questions for review, changed a couple of those. When I got out of the testing room I, after clearing the cobwebs, looked over on the printer and thought to myself "hope that's my printout, 1 page = pass but > 1 page = failed" (per what I've read posted). It indeed was my printout, "Provisionally passed".
Finally, passing the test isn't impossible without experience across all the domains but it definitely helps. During the test, as with most, process of elimination is an important tactic to apply. Go for it. If this old fart can get through it, you can too.
Background
20 years experience in the IT industry performing a wide variety of roles - system admin, consulting, developer, management. My goal is to move into a more security focused direction - application and network security, PEN testing, more red team, etc...
As I started the cert journey, after a long time without any, I've decided that I might as well get the ones that lined up with my experience before moving on into more deeply learning the things I really want to do long-term. The end goal from when I started in November 2016 is still the same but I'll continue to pick up more certs that line up with my experience before I head in the direction of where I want to end up.
While the certs I've acquired so far haven't provided crash courses since I've been in a lot of roles over the time I've been in the industry, I have either learned a few things with each or jogged my old man memory with each.
Study Material
Eric Conrad - CISSP Study Guide
Eric Conrad - 11th hour book
Sybex - Official Study Guide and Practice Tests
learnzapp - Official iPhone App
SafariBooksOnline - Sari Greene CISSP video
Cybrary.it - Kelly Handerhan CISSP video
Boson practice exam
Pocket Prep CISSP practice questions
Preparation
Studied for about 1.5 months, took that long because I stopped for two weeks in the middle to schedule and take the CEH when I saw it was going up July 1.
Started with the Eric Conrad book (CISSP Study Guide) and I really liked the book. It isn't full coverage at the depth you need if you've never been hands on with some of the technology but I covers enough to pass. It also leaves certain things out. But it's definitely worth reading.
The Eric Conrad 11th hour book, I only read about half of it the week of the test. But like the study guide, I liked it and will probably finish reading it. I think it's a good last minute refresher for sure. It drove home important key data in specific topics where I needed more review in a concise way that, for me, helped me remember them better than a long chapter in a study guide.
Sybex official study guide and practice tests (website version as well). I didn't read the book, but I will keep it for a reference. It covers things a bit differently than the Eric Conrad book. I was primarily concerned with more than one set of practice questions and I liked the iPhone version. The web site practice tests, for the most part, weren't very similar to the actual test but I did feel they are a good aid in practicing sitting through a 250 question test.
Sari Greene video was very good. I watched at 1.5x speed to get through it in reasonable amount of time. But I think it definitely covers a lot of the topics very well.
Kelly Handerhan video was good. I thought it provided a good overall view. While there isn't a great deal of depth, and I wouldn't recommend it as the only thing used for studying, her videos convey information in a clear and easy to follow way.
Boson practice exam was close to the exam in format and question content. I would alternate between these and the Wiley (Sybex) web site tests so as to not get into the habit of memorization. I'd do a mini test on the official iPhone app during lunch or when I'd take a break from work. By test day, I was getting around 85-90 percent on the practice tests.
Pocket Prep - Not recommended, too trivia oriented.
The test
Scheduling the test was a bit difficult. There are two testing facilities in the city that I live but there weren't any dates on a Saturday this month. I intended to take a long weekend trip and there was a testing facility at a college where I was going. But the time I tried to schedule it, the date I wanted was no longer available. In the end, since I wanted to get it done this month and preferred a Saturday, I had to drive two hours away. Also had a minor appliance malfunction and I ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep.
None of the practice tests were really like the actual test. But Boson + the official iPhone app came closest. I completed the test in about 3 hours. I marked a handful of questions for review, changed a couple of those. When I got out of the testing room I, after clearing the cobwebs, looked over on the printer and thought to myself "hope that's my printout, 1 page = pass but > 1 page = failed" (per what I've read posted). It indeed was my printout, "Provisionally passed".
Finally, passing the test isn't impossible without experience across all the domains but it definitely helps. During the test, as with most, process of elimination is an important tactic to apply. Go for it. If this old fart can get through it, you can too.
CISSP / CCSP / CCSK / CRISC / CISM / CISA / CASP / Security+ / Network+ / A+ / CEH / eNDP / AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty / AWS Certified Security - Specialty / AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional / AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional / AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate / AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate / AWS Certified Developer - Associate / AWS Cloud Practitioner
Comments
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shimasensei
Member Posts: 241 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congratulations… Welcome to the CISSP family!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... -
NavyMooseCCNA
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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greg9891
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. -
Kyrak
Member Posts: 143 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats!Up next: On Break, but then maybe CCNA DC, CCNP DC, CISM, AWS SysOps Administrator -
TheRedBar0n
Member Posts: 60 ■■■□□□□□□□
@averageguy72
I see there is two apps\options on the iOS store, would this be the single CISSP study app for $9.99 or the CISSP bundled apps for $14.99? I have the Sybex book with the practice test book. -
averageguy72
Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
CISSP / CCSP / CCSK / CRISC / CISM / CISA / CASP / Security+ / Network+ / A+ / CEH / eNDP / AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty / AWS Certified Security - Specialty / AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional / AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional / AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate / AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate / AWS Certified Developer - Associate / AWS Cloud Practitioner
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SariG
Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
Congratulations on passing the exam and achieving your CISSP certification. Best regards, Sari Greene
