Passwd CISSP...no thanks to ISC2 study guide

sailcs33

Just got back from the test center with a passed CISSP. So I thought I'd share couple of thoughts. Instead of saying what I used to prep instead, I would like to suggest that ISC2 Official book v7 along with phone app and the sybex online is the worst resource you can rely on for exam prep. Having said that, I still think the book is great for reference and provides a wealth of information. But where the book and other "official" resources fail miserably specifically in preparation for this exam. In my particular exam there wasnt a single question that looked anything like chapter tests or 1001 question on the sybex site or the CISSP phone app. One might argue that those questions are basically testing my general understanding of the concepts but there too it fails because the questions are technical and fairly specific. The exam is hardly "technical".

The second thing i want to mention is related to the actual test taking at this facility. Maybe not all of them are like this but in my case I had to present driver's license and a palm scan both ways (in and out) and be escorted just to go to the bathroom. If I had ADHD, diabetes or any dependencies on food, sugar or water 4,5,6 hours is lot to endure. I think it's misleading information that you can easily take a break simply at the expense of the minutes away from the test. If you need to get up to the bathroom, water or food you have to really plan it and do it very deliberately because it turns into a big deal.

Thanks

NavyMooseCCNA

Congrats!

nikter

Congrats!!

cyberguypr

Did you have to wait to palm in and out? Although I never take breaks I've seen this process at my local testing center and it never takes more than 30 seconds.

markulous

That's weird about having an escort. I had to palm in and out, but it was pretty quick and painless.

Danielm7

Same as the others, had to scan in and out but didn't have a bathroom escort. Congrats on the pass.

LordQarlyn

Congrats on the pass! Yeah, I hear you, none of the "official" or recommended study materials for the CISSP came close to resembling most of the questions I encountered on my exam. I only passed the exam by using critical thinking skills and going with the answer I thought best based on that and my own experience. Apparently it was enough, though by how much I'll never know lol.

My test center we did have to palm in and out for bathroom breaks, I drank quite a bit of water, more than I intended so I ended up going twice. I also had to show that my pockets were empty and that I only had my reading glasses on me. Certainly did not need an escort and the bathroom was a long ways from the testing room.

Look at it this way, you just had a big accomplishment, and welcome to the world of ISC2!

clarkincnet

Congrats!

sailcs33

cyberguypr wrote: »

Did you have to wait to palm in and out? Although I never take breaks I've seen this process at my local testing center and it never takes more than 30 seconds.

yes two factor auth...LOL something I have and something I am. .. drivers license and palm. both ways in and out

M0CAMB0

Congrats on passing, but now the real question is what is actually the best resource to take tests from? I've heard bad things about the official test app, sybex test and cccure. What really is left and what comes closest? Boson?

I'm also curious that while you say these are the worst resources to use, you still passed?

sailcs33

M0CAMB0 wrote: »

Congrats on passing, but now the real question is what is actually the best resource to take tests from? I've heard bad things about the official test app, sybex test and cccure. What really is left and what comes closest? Boson?

I'm also curious that while you say these are the worst resources to use, you still passed?

Good question. I have no idea how I even passed. Every question was like "WTH is this??". I've been in IT for 25 years 10 of which in different InfoSec related roles. But other than OSI, firewalls, network topologies, high level crypto, etc. I don't know if any of my previous knowledge was very relevant.

I used couple of quizlet.com I found but had no confidence in the material since anyone can create flash cards.

Also came across one of those $5 ebay PDFs and that too proved to be not a great source.

CISSP official practice tests book, which I have, maybe is worth a shot but I dont think it exists in electronic format. I quickly gave that up because checking my own answers because a project on its own.

PocketPrep phone app is a waste of $30 IHO.

So all in all, despite all the technical details if you think of the exam from the perspective of 2nd level manager it starts to make more sense. The exam is more about concepts, processes, methodologies and approaches than about subnet masks or the innards of cryptography. I made a mistake by focusing my study on technical details which I ended up barely needing. I suppose its natural if this is where I live every day at work. I just dont think about SDLC or BCP, etc.

Think of it this way. you need 700 points out of a 1000 to pass. Granted each answer may have different weight but generally speaking passing score is about 70%. That leaves you with about 185 questions you have to nail. Since its a common knowledge that the exam isnt very technical for the most part, I would probably spend most of my efforts on trying to understand Domain 1 and 3 (??? I guess) I am sure there are people in this forum that are by far more knowledgable than me in domain study focus.

One last thought is about flash cards and "exam essential" from the official book. Hindsight 20/20 I probably should have done more of the flash cards from the phone app and understand the key points in each item of the exam essential at the end of each chapter.

LordQarlyn

Honestly, I am not sure what would be a good resource. As I mentioned before, it came down to me using critical thinking and experience to determine what I thought the best answers were. Nothing I studied on CCcure, which is too bad because they have excellent explanations, nor in the videos I watched, I particularly liked Larry Greenblatt's style, prepared me for topics of questions I encountered on the exam.
I mentioned both to Clement (founder of CCcure) and Larry the identity-heavy questions I encountered, at least 60 of them or almost one fourth the exam. Both said they will update their materials accordingly, whether they have or not I don't know, as my efforts since passing and getting my official cert have been focused on CPEs.

M0CAMB0 wrote: »

Congrats on passing, but now the real question is what is actually the best resource to take tests from? I've heard bad things about the official test app, sybex test and cccure. What really is left and what comes closest? Boson?

I'm also curious that while you say these are the worst resources to use, you still passed?

sameoj

Congrats

H-bomb

Hmm. There's a good amount of people that have used the Offical Study Guide and said it's the best prep for this exam. How much time did you spend using it?

sailcs33

H-bomb wrote: »

Hmm. There's a good amount of people that have used the Offical Study Guide and said it's the best prep for this exam. How much time did you spend using it?

From books it was the only one i had. I decided to focus on this book for this exact reason. Heard good things and it's the official. Gotta be good. Right? Like i said in my previous post. The book doesn't lack the information it just does a very poor job at preparing for the exam.

h1ck5r

Congrats!!

schiphol

Congrats!

laurieH

Well done on passing. Although I agree that when I took the test very few of the questions seemed familiar they didn't just not look like the ones from Sybex - they didn't look like any I'd seen previously! I think they're still important to do because they do get you thinking and can highlight stuff that you don't know.