CISSP Test Prep

Mr_Walker

Good day to all!

I have been reading this thread for months now trying to adopted to all of the strategies for pass and fail attempted for this test. I have been off and on studying for about 3 months, but got serious last month about studying. Currently I have three books in my possession based off feedback, from people who have taken the bootcamp at my previous job.

The books are:
Shon Harris CISSP passport (I know super old)
Exam Cram 4th edition
Sybex ISC2 7th edition
with CISSP security pro app (andriod)

on the Sybex test bank I am taking it chapter by chapter and my previous chapter I got a 94%.

Is if over kill that I have all three of those books. Because it seems that the Sybex 7th edition with the test bank it all that you need to pass the new CAT. I'm not a good test taker and I am just now starting my career in IA, so I don't know all of domains well. I just read a post from clconrad1 that got me a little discourage. He/she stated that they took the test twice and the material covered from the sybex book wasn't enough at all for the test. If anyone has any advice about approaching this exam I'm all ears. I haven't scheduled a test date but my timeline is before April 15.

P.S. I'm not a good test taker so I take the test then see which ones I got wrong then go over that explanation over and over again. To in-grain in it my brain, I visual why it is necessary to have that answer and create scenarios in my head to fortify that reason. I also have the sunflower notes and I'll be studying those as well when I feel like I have a good concept of what's going on. I good portion of the book is just Sec+ but more in-depth so I'm not completely drowning with information. Thanks in advance for the advice and help

mattster79

Personally, I’d stick to one book. I used the Shon Harris AIO, AIO practice questions and transcender test bank.

Think it’s overkill using more than one book.

TechGuru80

Mr_Walker wrote: »

I am just now starting my career in IA, so I don't know all of domains well.

Do you actually have experience in IT or Security from previous jobs? To be honest, if you don't have any experience it is going to be pretty challenging to pass no matter which materials you use. Also, if you don't have the experience requirement, you cannot claim the certification if you pass until you reach the requirement...this makes it next to worthless to invest a ton of time when you could be learning other valuable skills as you build your experience.

Mr_Walker

Yes, I do have more than 7 years of experience in a about 4 of the 8 domains being in the military and being in a IT related field. I'm just starting a new career path in IA. I've been in the IT field for about 4 years now. The Shon Harris AIO book looks daunting but if that's the go to book then I'll just focus my efforts on that or the sybex.

Mr_Walker

So I've decided to read the Sybex book and do the practice test, and read more in-depth information from the Shon Harris AIO to supplement any information the Sybex doesn't provide. Both the Sybex and the Shan Harris books are massive but I'm going to break down each chapters and test my knowledge in the Sybex book. And whatever I get wrong I'll re-read and verify in the Shon Harris book. After reading a lot of posts and articles I feel this is the best approach but if not please let me know.

Falcon56

Depends on your learning style really. Those materials should put you in a good spot to pass. My only recommendation is that once you get started and are making progress, DO NOT slow down. Take it from someone who has fiddled around with this test for more than two years. IMO, momentum is the key. Once I started hammering the material, the concepts have started to come together I am starting to see the "big picture." Still a ways to go, but I feel much more confident than I did a month ago.

I am using the same materials you are with Boson/Conrad thrown in, BTW.

Best of luck!

clconrad1

Don't let me discourage you! 2 of my co workers passed it with those Sybex and 3 of us didn't. I think it just depends on you, and also the luck of the draw of the test you get. My one coworker who passed said he thought for sure he failed it and that he guessed at a lot of it but that there did happen to be a lot of the stuff he focused on on the test. The ones who failed said the same thing I did.

I think my new strategy is to reference more books so I am more well rounded. Fair warning...the Sybex questions are NOT like the actual test questions at all.

Mr_Walker

clconrad1

Thanks or the heads up about the sybex test. I thought that it was similar to the actually test. With that being said where can I go to get a good similarity for the test. I feel that Boson is a little bit too pricey so is there are alternative? Or is that the go to method?