CISM Provisionally Passed 9/29

Took the CISM exam today and provisionally passed. Don't know what I got, but it said I would get results within 10 days.

I took and passed the CISSP back in April. Took a month break and then scheduled the CISM when a discount came up for August/September testing dates.

All I studied was the Q&A Database. I went through 50-100 questions per day. Started testing in the 65%-70% range. Finished in the 80-85% range. I studied from June until my testing date. If I missed a question, I went back to understand why I missed it. I felt very confident I was going to pass before I took the test.

During the test I flagged 30 questions for review, didn't change a single answer. I was able to eliminate 2 answers from just about every question. I finished in about 2 hours and that was with a 15 minute break.

The testing center was nice, but I wasn't the most impressed with the process. The testing computer stopped working part way through the exam, and then I had an issue with the test "not responding" and crashing. At least I wasn't penalized from a time perspective. I preferred the testing center I had with the CISSP. It was much more formal and structured. It also seemed like the equipment was much better maintained.

The other thing that irritated me is that I "provisionally passed" on the screen, but I couldn't get any proof on paper of that. I couldn't take my phone in to take a picture of the provisionally passed screen and the supervisor got no notification and couldn't print anything off to show I passed. Guess I will just have to wait and see how this goes.

Overall, if you have 5 years in management and IT security, you should be fine with just the database.

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Comments

averageguy72

Congrats!

ChristineEshelman

Congratulations! Our experiences are almost identical - I passed the CISM exam today and the CISSP exam in April. I too wondered if I would get a printout like we did for the CISSP and felt weird walking away with no evidence to keep.

The PSI computer system worked fine until I finished question 149 and was moving on to 150 - I got the long pause and the system error message. I thought to myself, "If this system crashes right now I am going to be so upset!" But it restored itself nicely and I finished at just over 2 hours + 20 minute review of flagged items where I changed just a few answers when I realized I had read the question incorrectly the first time around.

I used the QAE database only as well. Based on advice received in here, and the fact that I had recently passed the CISSP (with my strength being in the management questions), it seemed sufficient. I actually didn't score all that high during practice, an average of maybe 72%. Although I did rush through almost every test and I would frequently tell myself, 'Go slower - you know this and you just read the question too fast'. But there is so much confidence that comes with passing the CISSP so recently. Plus, in my day job as an incident manager, I reference security management concepts daily. I am always speaking in domain terms and referring people to best practices, so the fundamentals of the management domains are so clear to me.

Even though I didn't get to the place I wanted to get to during my study, I felt very confident and at ease today. I read all four answers first > then the question carefully > then eliminated two answers before focusing on the best of the remaining two.

I feel great today - I earned my BS in IT Security last year, my CISSP this May, and will soon have my second certification to my name... all while working a pretty intense job and building my tenure in the industry. It's been a great 5+ years for my career and professional development!

cbdudek

This is awesome news Christine. You are right in that our experiences were almost identical. I really wasn't concerned about taking this test. I just went in there and took it. There were some answers I flagged that I was unsure of, but I didn't change any of them. Was a great feeling to make it out of there with a pass.

I have my B.S. in IT, MBA in Business, 20 years of experience, and now two major security certifications. I now have the confidence that if something happened to my job I could find a new one real fast.

kabooter

Congrats to both of you on passing!!
So, for someone who recently cleared cissp, using the QAE database is good enough in your opinion? Or do I need a book to go with it? Or should I buy QAE databse in hardcopy or pdf, if available and cheaper?

cbdudek

kabooter wrote: »

Congrats to both of you on passing!!
So, for someone who recently cleared cissp, using the QAE database is good enough in your opinion? Or do I need a book to go with it? Or should I buy QAE databse in hardcopy or pdf, if available and cheaper?

I passed the CISSP in April and all I used was the QAE database and Cybrary videos to pass the CISM. If you just passed the CISSP, then do those two things and you will be fine. Hammer the hell out of the QAE. I was doing 50-100 questions per day for about 3 months getting 80-85 percent correct at the end.

E Double U

I received the preliminary pass on 21/9 (congrats to us). I'll let you guys know whenever I receive the official pass from ISACA.

Swimfan2516

Congrats!!

ChristineEshelman

kabooter wrote: »

Congrats to both of you on passing!!
So, for someone who recently cleared cissp, using the QAE database is good enough in your opinion? Or do I need a book to go with it? Or should I buy QAE databse in hardcopy or pdf, if available and cheaper?

I agree with cbdudek. And I completely forgot that I used Cybrary as well. Some of it felt like a repeat of my CISSP Cybrary study and so I feel like I struggled with tuning out. But Kelly Handerhan is amazing and I can't recommend her courses enough!

And thank you! Can't wait to hear about your good news soon too.

kabooter

cbdudek wrote: »

I passed the CISSP in April and all I used was the QAE database and Cybrary videos to pass the CISM. If you just passed the CISSP, then do those two things and you will be fine. Hammer the hell out of the QAE. I was doing 50-100 questions per day for about 3 months getting 80-85 percent correct at the end.

Thank you very much for confirming. I am revising cissp material just to stay fresh so doing QAE and Cybrary videos would be a perfect compliment to enhance the knowledge and hopefully, the cert stash

cbdudek

E Double U wrote: »

I received the preliminary pass on 21/9 (congrats to us). I'll let you guys know whenever I receive the official pass from ISACA.

I still haven't gotten my official pass from ISACA, but it has only been 3 business days since I passed. It will probably happen next week when I am on vacation.

cbdudek

ChristineEshelman wrote: »

I agree with cbdudek. And I completely forgot that I used Cybrary as well. Some of it felt like a repeat of my CISSP Cybrary study and so I feel like I struggled with tuning out. But Kelly Handerhan is amazing and I can't recommend her courses enough!

And thank you! Can't wait to hear about your good news soon too.

It was a repeat, but I used it as a refresher of sorts. After you take the CISSP, you have to boil all you learned down to what they require for the CISM. Remember, these tests build on each other. Passing one doesn't mean you will pass the other. Its just a different test with different questions. In fact, I found the CISM exam to be just as hard as the CISSP.

Kelly Handerhan is amazing, no doubt about it. I got a lot out of her videos and they really put things in perspective, even for someone with management and security experience.