Passed CASP!
Hello all,
As a proud recent successful pass of the CompTIA CASP exam, I thought I'd share some recent insight and experiences.
First and foremost, I have to say thanks to the TechExams community. While I can't point out each and every user who added to my study plan, I would specifically say thanks to Z0sickx's review (http://www.techexams.net/forums/casp/121760-casp-passed-my-guide-how-do.html) and rageguy's review (http://www.techexams.net/forums/casp/126462-passed-casp.html), as well as many who posted their advice for preparation.
So without further ado...
Preparation
In short, I purchased the Pearson book. I read it, one chapter at a time, and took the practice quizzes. I'd go back and highlight the sections I didn't fully grasp, and those sections from quiz questions I botched. Moved on to the next chapter, and so on. Once I was done? I read it again. No, seriously. Took about 2 solid weeks of reading each night after life's great distractions (family/kiddos) and life's not-so-great distractions (HVAC going down when it's 12 degrees F outside, late night work emergencies).
After the Pearson book, I followed the advice and watched the Cybrary CASP series. Yup, all of it. Most of it was very redundant, but there were many examples that provided a different perspective or explanation for the key concepts. Life saver.
Following that, I went back to Pearson, registered my disc, and started doing practice exams. A lot of them. For five straight nights, I did a minimum of 2, usually 3 full practice exams. I also attended a Boot Camp (shameless plug to the CBTXpress guys), which further enhanced the concepts and preparation.
As for my personal background, I had already completed Net+, Sec+, CDNA, and CEHv9. I have also attended a handful of Cyberspace Planning, Network Attack, and Cyber Defense courses through governmental or military channels. Work experience, I've been a Cyberspace Operations planner for several years, but practically no experience in the private InfoSec/IT sectors.
Of note, I felt confident on the technical side of CompTIA's syllabus, but very under-prepared for the Business/Administrative questions... more on this later.
The Exam
I had well over a half dozen simulation questions, and probably close to 80 questions overall. I had well over 2 hours to complete it, and was able to do so in just under 90 minutes.
Right off the bat, anyone who anticipates the standard, run of the mill CompTIA Sims/Practical Exercise questions (a la Net/Sec+) is in for a shock. The CASP simulation questions are some of the familiar (drag&drop, definition matching) and the not so familiar. Without spoiling all of the fun, I will advise that you would need to be relatively comfortable in both Windows and Linux CLI, but not necessarily a power user by any means. Furthermore, and this will come up again in the multiple-choice section, RTFQ. Yup, read the...full...question. Twice. Three times. There are some very sadistic scenario/question writers on staff at CompTIA, and they have all sorts of tricks to see if you really grasp the question by tossing in seemingly minuscule tidbits that can throw your answer off if you don't pay attention. Again, without spoiling the fun, everything they state in the scenario is there for a reason. Everything. So read it, find the little trickster parts, plan your answer accordingly, and move on.
I believe I marked 2 or 3 scenarios that were very time demanding for review so I could focus on the end.
As for the multiple choice, from a technical perspective, I felt that the questions were nothing too abstract from what the Pearson book and the syllabus covered, and not much more in depth than from Sec+. However, again, RTFQ. Nearly every question on there has some curveball tossed in, so after a first quick read and answer selection, my brain would usually catch up and start firing warning shots. I cannot recommend anything more substantially than to say that the questions are designed to make sure you get the concepts, primarily because they will put the obvious BEST answer as a choice; however, the question itself will have some nuanced curveball (e.g. "Senior Management does not want to hire third party vendors" or "There is no budget for expansion of hardware" - these are made up, but you see the concept of how it can adjust what is the BEST answer).
Admittedly, I was weak in preparing for the business and management concepts. I probably had somewhere between one and two dozen questions focused on those portions of the CompTIA syllabus, and I'd be lying to you if I said I felt confident about more than a half dozen or so. I would recommend, based on my lack thereof, for those preparing to ensure they understand the business documents (SLA/OLA/etc), the CISO/CIO/etc perspectives, and the holistic "Company-first" approach, as opposed to what the technical BEST answers would be.
Ultimately, after completing the questions and returning to those nasty longer simulations, I completed the voluntary demographics and "why did you take this exam" section, and received the blessed "CONGRATULATIONS" page.
While my strategy may or may not work best for everyone, I can say that I depended upon the guidance, suggestions, and insight that many on these forums provided.
As I move forward, I'm looking to sit for the CISSP this spring/summer, and I've already begun studying up for the eJPT/eCCPT preparation (as provided in countless posts here on TechExams).
As a proud recent successful pass of the CompTIA CASP exam, I thought I'd share some recent insight and experiences.
First and foremost, I have to say thanks to the TechExams community. While I can't point out each and every user who added to my study plan, I would specifically say thanks to Z0sickx's review (http://www.techexams.net/forums/casp/121760-casp-passed-my-guide-how-do.html) and rageguy's review (http://www.techexams.net/forums/casp/126462-passed-casp.html), as well as many who posted their advice for preparation.
So without further ado...
Preparation
In short, I purchased the Pearson book. I read it, one chapter at a time, and took the practice quizzes. I'd go back and highlight the sections I didn't fully grasp, and those sections from quiz questions I botched. Moved on to the next chapter, and so on. Once I was done? I read it again. No, seriously. Took about 2 solid weeks of reading each night after life's great distractions (family/kiddos) and life's not-so-great distractions (HVAC going down when it's 12 degrees F outside, late night work emergencies).
After the Pearson book, I followed the advice and watched the Cybrary CASP series. Yup, all of it. Most of it was very redundant, but there were many examples that provided a different perspective or explanation for the key concepts. Life saver.
Following that, I went back to Pearson, registered my disc, and started doing practice exams. A lot of them. For five straight nights, I did a minimum of 2, usually 3 full practice exams. I also attended a Boot Camp (shameless plug to the CBTXpress guys), which further enhanced the concepts and preparation.
As for my personal background, I had already completed Net+, Sec+, CDNA, and CEHv9. I have also attended a handful of Cyberspace Planning, Network Attack, and Cyber Defense courses through governmental or military channels. Work experience, I've been a Cyberspace Operations planner for several years, but practically no experience in the private InfoSec/IT sectors.
Of note, I felt confident on the technical side of CompTIA's syllabus, but very under-prepared for the Business/Administrative questions... more on this later.
The Exam
I had well over a half dozen simulation questions, and probably close to 80 questions overall. I had well over 2 hours to complete it, and was able to do so in just under 90 minutes.
Right off the bat, anyone who anticipates the standard, run of the mill CompTIA Sims/Practical Exercise questions (a la Net/Sec+) is in for a shock. The CASP simulation questions are some of the familiar (drag&drop, definition matching) and the not so familiar. Without spoiling all of the fun, I will advise that you would need to be relatively comfortable in both Windows and Linux CLI, but not necessarily a power user by any means. Furthermore, and this will come up again in the multiple-choice section, RTFQ. Yup, read the...full...question. Twice. Three times. There are some very sadistic scenario/question writers on staff at CompTIA, and they have all sorts of tricks to see if you really grasp the question by tossing in seemingly minuscule tidbits that can throw your answer off if you don't pay attention. Again, without spoiling the fun, everything they state in the scenario is there for a reason. Everything. So read it, find the little trickster parts, plan your answer accordingly, and move on.
I believe I marked 2 or 3 scenarios that were very time demanding for review so I could focus on the end.
As for the multiple choice, from a technical perspective, I felt that the questions were nothing too abstract from what the Pearson book and the syllabus covered, and not much more in depth than from Sec+. However, again, RTFQ. Nearly every question on there has some curveball tossed in, so after a first quick read and answer selection, my brain would usually catch up and start firing warning shots. I cannot recommend anything more substantially than to say that the questions are designed to make sure you get the concepts, primarily because they will put the obvious BEST answer as a choice; however, the question itself will have some nuanced curveball (e.g. "Senior Management does not want to hire third party vendors" or "There is no budget for expansion of hardware" - these are made up, but you see the concept of how it can adjust what is the BEST answer).
Admittedly, I was weak in preparing for the business and management concepts. I probably had somewhere between one and two dozen questions focused on those portions of the CompTIA syllabus, and I'd be lying to you if I said I felt confident about more than a half dozen or so. I would recommend, based on my lack thereof, for those preparing to ensure they understand the business documents (SLA/OLA/etc), the CISO/CIO/etc perspectives, and the holistic "Company-first" approach, as opposed to what the technical BEST answers would be.
Ultimately, after completing the questions and returning to those nasty longer simulations, I completed the voluntary demographics and "why did you take this exam" section, and received the blessed "CONGRATULATIONS" page.
While my strategy may or may not work best for everyone, I can say that I depended upon the guidance, suggestions, and insight that many on these forums provided.
As I move forward, I'm looking to sit for the CISSP this spring/summer, and I've already begun studying up for the eJPT/eCCPT preparation (as provided in countless posts here on TechExams).
Comments
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LSagee
Member Posts: 48 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats. I know CASP is a big step for a lot of people. You seem to have approached it in a methodical manner. I'm sure others will benefit from your post. Good luck on the CISSP. I am thinking about sitting for it myself later this year. -
averageguy72
Member Posts: 323 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats!CISSP / CCSP / CCSK / CRISC / CISM / CISA / CASP / Security+ / Network+ / A+ / CEH / eNDP / AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty / AWS Certified Security - Specialty / AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional / AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional / AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate / AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate / AWS Certified Developer - Associate / AWS Cloud Practitioner -
gphilips
Member Posts: 22 ■■■□□□□□□□
Thanks all.
Indeed the CASP was a big step, I'm looking forward to studying and learning the necessary information for the CISSP, but also to start branching out into the other realms over the years to come. -
Info_Sec_Wannabe
Member Posts: 428 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats on the pass!
I'm in the same boat as you and I would say some of the CASP material will be helpful in CISSP due to some overlap (IMHO).X year plan: (20XX) OSCP [ ], CCSP [ ]
