Passed my CISSP exam

mattster79

I passed my exam back in July, but thought I'd post the materials I used.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/CISSP-All-One-Guide-Seventh/0071849270
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1259585964
https://www.amazon.com/CISSP-Exam-Cram-Michael-Gregg/dp/078975553X
https://www.transcender.com/practice-exam/isc2/cissp2015.kap (

I started reading Shon Harris All-in-One at the beginning of April 2017 which I read front to back making notes on the sections that I didn’t understand or wanted to review at a later date.

After reading each domain I would take the mini exam at the end making a note of the results. I finished reading the book a few days before attending a 5 day CISSP course in June. The course was a high level overview of the important CISSP topics. Also provided some great insights to the exam itself.

At the end of each day of the course I would read the summary in the Shon Harris book for the domains we covered that day. Then sat practice exams (20-30 questions) just for those domains. Again making a note of my results.

After the course I had just over two weeks before my exam. During that time I read the Michael Gregg Exam Cram book front to back. It’s not a long book, but it has all the important information in point form. You need to have read the Shon Harris book first.

1 week out from the exam I was going over my notes and sections I’d marked in the Shon Harris book. I was doing lots of practice exams to get used to the format of the questions and answers. The practice questions are a good source of learning too as long as you read the explanation of the answers.

Sat the exam on July 5^th.

Although the Shon Harris book worked for me, the book goes into way too much detail on topics that will never come up on the exam (CCTV, ethernet cables). I was to sit the exam again, I would use this book.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Certified-Information-Security-Professional-Official/dp/1119042712

Overall the Transcender exams were really good, but some of the answers were wrong! Also, some of the questions were poorly written. I think if you use more than one source you are pretty covered.

mritorto2

so what else did you use or recommend for practice exams other than transcender?

how long did you study for?

what were your practice exam scores.?

mattster79

I also used the Shon Harris 'CISSP Practice Exams, Fourth Edition'.

I studied from April-July 2017, so 3 full months.

My scores leading up to the exam were averaging 78%.

MIME

Congratulations and thanks for the feedback. As I'm in the early stages of studying for my CISSP I'm glad to hear that you recommend the book I'm using

NavyMooseCCNA

Congrats!!