CISSP Passed
Hey All, I just want to thank all of you whom have posted their experience and insights on the CISSP exam. This forum was encouraging and helped me correctly prepare. I passed the CISSP yesterday, and relieved to say the least.
The exam is as a lot of you have stated; it is really not technical and not about memorizing trivia, you really have to think in terms of risk and what’s best for the business strategically.
A lot of things mentioned on this forum were good advice;
-use more than one source for study
-spend as much time studying as you would do practice tests
-do NOT attempt this without practicing taking a 6hr, 250 questions practice test
Below are the materials I used to prepare and ranking as they applied to me:
Cybrary ISC2 CISSP (web videos by Kelly Handerhan) …it’s free ß ** and invaluable** [9/10]
CISSP Official study guide 7th edition Sybex (Stewart,Chapple,Gibson) [8/10]
CISSP Official ISC2 Practice tests Sybex (Chapple/Seidl) [9/10]
11th Hour Third Edition (Conrad) … [6/10] skimmed through this but used Conrad’s Study guide more
CISSP Study Guide Third Edition (Conrad) [8/10]
cccure quiz engine [5/10] ..wanted to see what other questions were out there, the ISC2 practice tests from sybex was sufficient for me
Official ISC2 Guide to the CISSP CBK - Fourth Edition [5/10].. overkill, used it for reference and auxiliary research
All in all, I’m relieved. It was a steady 4 months of study, 2 - 3 hrs a day after work and 4hrs plus on weekends. I have a strong background in Networks and VoIP, and some FW security and Sys-admin experience earlier in my career. Truth is the exam had not much to do with technical experience, it really was concerned with one’s ability to advise as a security generalist of sorts. CISSP studies will show that security is not just about IDS, IPS and Pen Testing, but also about policies and the different layers.
I used up almost all 6hrs, I did a hundred questions and took a break (snacked) and then another hundred and break (bathroom), I used the rest of the time the finish the remaining and had about and hour to review the 40 plus that I marked, I changed about 30% of them.
The exam is doable, once you cover the material and practice, practice, practice questions.
The exam is as a lot of you have stated; it is really not technical and not about memorizing trivia, you really have to think in terms of risk and what’s best for the business strategically.
A lot of things mentioned on this forum were good advice;
-use more than one source for study
-spend as much time studying as you would do practice tests
-do NOT attempt this without practicing taking a 6hr, 250 questions practice test
Below are the materials I used to prepare and ranking as they applied to me:
Cybrary ISC2 CISSP (web videos by Kelly Handerhan) …it’s free ß ** and invaluable** [9/10]
CISSP Official study guide 7th edition Sybex (Stewart,Chapple,Gibson) [8/10]
CISSP Official ISC2 Practice tests Sybex (Chapple/Seidl) [9/10]
11th Hour Third Edition (Conrad) … [6/10] skimmed through this but used Conrad’s Study guide more
CISSP Study Guide Third Edition (Conrad) [8/10]
cccure quiz engine [5/10] ..wanted to see what other questions were out there, the ISC2 practice tests from sybex was sufficient for me
Official ISC2 Guide to the CISSP CBK - Fourth Edition [5/10].. overkill, used it for reference and auxiliary research
All in all, I’m relieved. It was a steady 4 months of study, 2 - 3 hrs a day after work and 4hrs plus on weekends. I have a strong background in Networks and VoIP, and some FW security and Sys-admin experience earlier in my career. Truth is the exam had not much to do with technical experience, it really was concerned with one’s ability to advise as a security generalist of sorts. CISSP studies will show that security is not just about IDS, IPS and Pen Testing, but also about policies and the different layers.
I used up almost all 6hrs, I did a hundred questions and took a break (snacked) and then another hundred and break (bathroom), I used the rest of the time the finish the remaining and had about and hour to review the 40 plus that I marked, I changed about 30% of them.
The exam is doable, once you cover the material and practice, practice, practice questions.
Comments
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palmett0
Member Posts: 19 ■□□□□□□□□□
Congratulations!
Thanks for your resource review. I am studying for this exam now. -
mattster79
Member Posts: 135 ■■□□□□□□□□
Congratulations. Such a sweet feeling when you turn that piece of paper over and see that you've passed!!CISSP
CISM
