CISSP Failed :(

massiramones

Hi guys ,
I'm so demotivated because I didn't make it.
I have to say that the exam format is really made to confuse the people even if I did study and I DID STUDY A LOT.

I'm seriously so pissed off especially for the large number of questions with similar answers.
Will consider if I'll have another attempt or I give up, I'm more in favour for the second right now....

Anyway do not wanna spread a negative msg. Good Luck to all who are preparing hard for this exam, but as I've said , I'm strongly demotiveted by the format of the exam

H-bomb

Sorry to hear that! What were your weak areas and what has been you study strategy!?

gespenstern

This is fine. Many fail on the 1st. There are people in here who failed twice or even more before they passed.

Write down now things you feel you were weak in. Later on, if you change your mind you can work on the list and come stronger next time.

willum

Head up, take a few days to relax, and give it another shot.

I sit the exam on Monday, i'm a little apprehensive about the wording of questions too. Any last minute advice?

CryptoQue

Decompress over this weekend and revisit the areas of weakness next week. What material did you use to prepare?

massiramones

Thanks guys for your kind reply.
As the score said , I failed mostly on domain 7.
I will try to review that, but w/o any percentage of what I have missed in each domain, it's not very easy to track down what I need to improve.
That's why I hate this exam format. If I fail it can happen and I accept it, but say me in % which domain I need to improve!! Not just a simple paper saying "you fail with XXX and you need to improve on domain 1,2,3 etc" , you know what I mean?
As souce I user:
- CISSP study guide 3rd edt.
- 11th Hours 3rd edt.
- cybrary videos
- lots of youtube & personal research
- cccure.education as main source for practice test (scoring above 70% on each domain)


I'm thinking why it's not enough!!!! I hate that format of the questions to let you fail even if you know the topic.
Any suggestions are welcome...sorry guys if I'm too p***ed off

ITSec14

It's totally understandable to feel angry and upset. Just take some time to process all of this, get your mind right, then get back into the studying and take it again.

I would suggest picking up 1-2 more books and see if there were any areas not covered in the CISSP study guide. I'm reading the Sybex 7th ed. study guide currently which was highly recommended. Also try using other practice test resources.

CryptoQue

I would suggest using the CISSP Official Study Guide by Sybex as your primary resource the second time around. It breaks down each domain in an understandable format. It comes with an online testing engine that probably the most close to the format of the actual exam. Additionally, it has online flash cards that are helpful to reinforce the concepts. I've read mixed reviews on the site about the cccure questions, so I strictly stuck with the Sybex 1200+ Sybex questions since it's endorsed by ISC2.

NavyMooseCCNA

I failed the CCNA (combined exam) twice before passing ICND 1 and ICND 2. I felt horrible and wanted to give up. Don't get off that horse; dust yourself off and get back in there! The Sybex book is very good. You may want to think about getting the CBK for a review.

datacomboss

I wouldn't be mad. It's supposed to be hard as it's a gateway to many important positions.

Just climb back on the horse, review your strategy and go to work.

dhay13

Sorry to hear that you failed. What was your score? Close? Don't give up. Take a break for a few days and get back to studying those weak domains. Don't wait too long or the information will start to fade. Good luck and let us know when you pass.

shimasensei

Yup, don't quit. Focus on the domains you're weak in. You passed the MCSE so you will be able to overcome the CISSP as well. This forum contains so much helpful information from past test takers. Best of luck!

shoey

Keep your head up! I failed this exam THREE times on my way to achieving the CISSP, and definitely know your frustration. I honestly believe the difficulty of this exam lies in the question format, not the material. I even kept my 3rd attempt failure score as a reminder of how much of a kick-in-the-head this test can be. I've attached it in hopes that it will give you some motivation; and let you know PLENTY of people have shared in your frustration.

Don't give up. Get ANGRY. Turn that frustration into motivation - study - and kick the $4*7 out of the exam!

massiramones

Thanks a lot all of you guys to support me.
Yesterday I was about to give up, but your words chaged my mind!
I hope this post encourage also other people that had my feeling and didn't pass the exam.
From next week I will start again to study and maybe I'll buy the official test and official practice tests from Sybex.
Thank you again all!

jamesleecoleman

Thanks for sharing shoey

shoey

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

Thanks for sharing shoey

Anytime. This was by far the most infuriating exam for me. It took me far less time to get my masters degree! The OSCP is pretty tough as well, but at least it's fun!!

TheProfezzor

massiramones wrote: »

Thanks guys for your kind reply.
As the score said , I failed mostly on domain 7.
I will try to review that, but w/o any percentage of what I have missed in each domain, it's not very easy to track down what I need to improve.
That's why I hate this exam format. If I fail it can happen and I accept it, but say me in % which domain I need to improve!! Not just a simple paper saying "you fail with XXX and you need to improve on domain 1,2,3 etc" , you know what I mean?
As souce I user:
- CISSP study guide 3rd edt.
- 11th Hours 3rd edt.
- cybrary videos
- lots of youtube & personal research
- cccure.education as main source for practice test (scoring above 70% on each domain)


I'm thinking why it's not enough!!!! I hate that format of the questions to let you fail even if you know the topic.
Any suggestions are welcome...sorry guys if I'm too p***ed off

Sorry to hear about your failure. I passed on my first attempt and I used the following resource:

1 - Shon Harrid CISSP AIO 6th
2 - Eric Cnorad CISSP 2nd
3 - Eric Conrad 11th Hour 2nd
4 - CISSP Office Guide (Just skimmed through)

sameoj

Don' give, giving means you have accepted that you're a failure.Relax for some time and re-strategize for your second attempt.

Wish you all the best

jamesleecoleman

shoey wrote: »

Anytime. This was by far the most infuriating exam for me. It took me far less time to get my masters degree! The OSCP is pretty tough as well, but at least it's fun!!

I hope to pass the exam the first time. I'm trying to get experience at work but its hard at the moment. Studying for the CISSP is fun but there's a lot to know. I also appreciate the photo of the exam results. Its crazy that when I clicked on it for full screen, it was like 3d in the upper left of the page lol. I didn't know that they would let test takers know which domains was the strongest and weakest.

shoey

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I hope to pass the exam the first time. I'm trying to get experience at work but its hard at the moment. Studying for the CISSP is fun but there's a lot to know. I also appreciate the photo of the exam results. Its crazy that when I clicked on it for full screen, it was like 3d in the upper left of the page lol. I didn't know that they would let test takers know which domains was the strongest and weakest.

Glad the photo helped! My scores for the other failed attempts were similar - with an improvement of around 10 points each time. Looking back I honestly think my major problem was reading too deeply into the question. I found myself knowing what answer I thought they wanted me to select, but fighting an internal dialogue saying "well..., but..., it could be in this instance...".

Also, one thing that helped me a LOT was to NOT do last minute cramming. The exam is pretty long and giving my brain a break the day before did a lot of good.

Best of luck to you! I look forward to seeing a CISSP PASSED post from you both!

My study materials:
1. CISSP Official Study Guide (7th ed.) by Sybex
2. CISSP CBK
3. 11th Hour CISSP (2nd ed.)
4. A "screw it" attitude helped me relax

mattf73

Chin up massiramones,
As shoey said, the wording of many questions can be confusing - they seem to be deliberately vague.
I attended a training course that often descended into arguments with the instructor about which answer was most appropriate...

jpadela48

Wow, that letter must have been a real kick in the pants, head and many nether regions - 5 freakin' points - SOOOOOO CLOSE. What resource helped you the most to finally get that last final passing grade?

redsteel

Keep your head up though and try again in a month or so. Add some new resources and get some flashcards. Practice explaining all the terms to yourself like you are teaching a class.

I'm with JamesLeeColeman. I'm probably going to test in October for this. It definitely looks like a hard test. I'm reading through the Sybex manual now, and I already feel like I'm forgetting stuff, since I started studying and watching videos for this like 2 months ago. I should be able to finish reading the book this month and then cram the month of September with nothing but flashcards and questions and maybe watch a set of videos again. I've just learned of khan's video series so I may do that one. But, if I fail, I will just try again.

LordQarlyn

Hey many of us know what it is like to fail an exam. I failed Microsoft 70-291 twice, and in May, I failed the CCNA exam.
When I took my CISSP, and passed, the proctor told me there is a guy who has taken it five times, and failed all five times. He kind of was mocking the guy, but I respected his persistence, if not his study methods (whatever he was doing to prepare was obviously not working).
Second time it will probably be better, you have an idea what to expect. It was this way for my CCNA; the first time I failed, because I focused too much on practical and real world exercises in my preparation. The exam asked a lot of IOS and protocol book knowledge questions, which I didn't adequately prepare for. So the second time, I did little practical and studied much more book knowledge, and passed - barely but hey still passing. Likewise, take what you learned about taking the exam, build on it.

massiramones wrote: »

Hi guys ,
I'm so demotivated because I didn't make it.
I have to say that the exam format is really made to confuse the people even if I did study and I DID STUDY A LOT.

I'm seriously so pissed off especially for the large number of questions with similar answers.
Will consider if I'll have another attempt or I give up, I'm more in favour for the second right now....

Anyway do not wanna spread a negative msg. Good Luck to all who are preparing hard for this exam, but as I've said , I'm strongly demotiveted by the format of the exam

shoey

jpadela48 wrote: »

Wow, that letter must have been a real kick in the pants, head and many nether regions - 5 freakin' points - SOOOOOO CLOSE. What resource helped you the most to finally get that last final passing grade?

Sorry for the late reply, work/life has been hectic. I don't think any one resource helped more than another (imho). This probably seems odd, but I found myself reading the books and taking the practice exams for a different chapter (e.g. I would read chapter 1, then take the chapter 12 test). This way it wasn't the same material over and over. Also, instead of focusing so much on the book questions, I took one full practice exam, compared it with the weak domains of the failed exam, and focused solely on my weak areas for the last two weeks before the exam.

E Double U

I failed twice. Hang in there.

laurieH

It's a tough exam - loads of people fail on their first attempt. It's gutting but try not to take it personally. I really didn't think I had passed when I took it. I'm a firm believer in getting the revision nailed as best as possible - I think this has more effect on your final performance than the actual study that you do to learn the material. Getting a structured revision process in place will really help. Although it's annoying to be close and not pass at least it shows you're close to passing.

mattster79

Good to hear that you're not giving up pal. You've invested too much time, effort and money to not get this over the line. You can do it!

As many have said you're not the first, and you certainly wont be the last to not get a passing score first time around.

NotHackingYou

When do you test again?

massiramones

I'm planning to try my luck b4 the end of the year. I'm doing the tests again and writing down the wrong answers...let's hope I'll be lucky this time.

Luc3nc3

With the books you studied i'd say my be your attitude was more technical than managerial. When answers are similar always ask your self if i was a mananger what would I choose?. The CISSP Official Study Guide by Sybex gives you the mindset thought not all the content.

Wishing you all luck possible for the retest.