Failed Hard and Scarrd!!! 3/10/18

I just want everyone to know that the exam questions out there in any book or resource dated for the 2015 format did not adequately give me what I needed to pass this exam. The exam questions to me were so vague most of the time I was just shaking my head trying to make sense of them.I truely think the exam has changed it's question format prior to the April deadline! I tried to take the exam before April thinking the questions will be related to the 2015 materials. All the materials everyone mentioned including Transcenders... are a Dud as far as I'm concerned. There are waay too many mind warping questions that are subjective to concepts that are not brought about clearly in the questions. All I can say is good luck! Don't be too frustrated when that 700 Bucks wash down the drain! I think it's doable exam if all the especially when all the so called "Best" answers are chosen. I plan to just keep at it and see if some more materials come down the pipe then make another go at it.

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GirlyGirl

mydingoman wrote: »

I just want everyone to know that the exam questions out there in any book or resource dated for the 2015 format did not adequately give me what I needed to pass this exam. The exam questions to me were so vague most of the time I was just shaking my head trying to make sense of them.I truely think the exam has changed it's question format prior to the April deadline! I tried to take the exam before April thinking the questions will be related to the 2015 materials. All the materials everyone mentioned including Transcenders... are a Dud as far as I'm concerned. There are waay too many mind warping questions that are subjective to concepts that are not brought about clearly in the questions. All I can say is good luck! Don't be too frustrated when that 700 Bucks wash down the drain! I think it's doable exam if all the especially when all the so called "Best" answers are chosen. I plan to just keep at it and see if some more materials come down the pipe then make another go at it.

You can't assume because you failed others will as well. Obviously people have and will continue to fail the exam. But, you can't brainwash someone to thinking they are going to fail prior to taking it. It's probably more pass posts than fail posts.

What people FAIL to realize is that no (practice) question is going to be exactly like the exam. That is called a braindump. Google braindump. So, the expectations of passing by reading and taking a practice test has limitations. I think the definitions and concepts are what's going to lead someone to success. If you know the difference and fundamentals behind a DRP and BCP, no matter how the question is worded you'll know right from wrong. If you know the difference between AV, SLE, ARO, etc..no matter how the question is worded you'll know right from wrong.

This is not a (insert vendor here) exam. They are not going to give you questions like:

What color is the sky:
A. Orange
B. Pink
C. Blue
D. Grey

In my mind, if the exam is structured like that the exam is easy. One answer is obviously right and three are obviously wrong. But, either you know it or you don't. The same for the CISSP exam. Either you know it or you don't.

All I can say is, the syllabus is never wrong. I wasn't behind you during the exam but I can promise you everything was mentioned on the syllabus or didn't count towards your overall score.

You can go back on the internet and hear people talking about the CISSP "Best" answers from 5 years ago. That is nothing new. That means you didn't do your research.....

For every post like yours that say this practice question or this book didn't help prepare them I can find three that said it did. Either way..

Gook Luck

TheFORCE

mydingoman wrote: »

I just want everyone to know that the exam questions out there in any book or resource dated for the 2015 format did not adequately give me what I needed to pass this exam. The exam questions to me were so vague most of the time I was just shaking my head trying to make sense of them.I truely think the exam has changed it's question format prior to the April deadline! I tried to take the exam before April thinking the questions will be related to the 2015 materials. All the materials everyone mentioned including Transcenders... are a Dud as far as I'm concerned. There are waay too many mind warping questions that are subjective to concepts that are not brought about clearly in the questions. All I can say is good luck! Don't be too frustrated when that 700 Bucks wash down the drain! I think it's doable exam if all the especially when all the so called "Best" answers are chosen. I plan to just keep at it and see if some more materials come down the pipe then make another go at it.

Care to share your level of experience, years in the industry and position you are holding?
Also what study material did you use?
What was the time frame you studied for?

Someone studying for 6 months on and off will most likely will not perform as well as someone who is studying 3 months of intense focused and consistent study.
Someone with experience in one area will most likely not perform as well as someone with well rounded positions over the years.

The point is, no matter the material if 2015 or 2018 the concepts don't change. Hashing algorithms and cryptographic methods dont change in the span of 2 years. Businesses Continuity and Disaster recovery dont change either, these are best practices that have been tried and proven for the past 15+ years if not more. Same applies to attack methods and attack vectors, Networking and IAM and the rest of the CISSP domains.
So saying that the material you used is the reason you failed is a bit harsh I think.

Take it from someone who recently took an exam where I used a lot of the knowledge from the CISSP domains to pass it and I passed it in 2015.

Try to understand the concepts and get familiar with the concepts in different ways, use multiple sources not just one book.

mydingoman

I seriously planned not to share every source that prepared me for this exam because I truly did not want to take inventory. Some content were much better than others to me, but most are mentioned in the forums. I attended an authorized training class on it which included materials as well. I can say that this is the very first time I've taken an exam quite like this and my background, now a Senior Network/Telecom Engineer dates back to the early 90's and hold literally in upwards of a hundred or more professional IT related certifications thru the years spanning various industries from ITIL, Microsoft, Cisco, VMWare, Oracle, Avaya, Shoretel and the list goes on. Including Military Top Secret SBI/SCI background in Crypto. I must say that I don't think it's the knowledge of the content for the most part that did me in, it's more of the line of questioning. I truly believe that makes a difference. When I studied for my Engineering Degree in College, practice solving questions from any source I could find in reason was my method of creating a strong foundation. This is no different. You never take the answer for granted you verify from many sources. I simply just try to get alternative viewpoint or explanation. As I said the exam I believe did not reflect the questions and materials I used to prepare. Some may say the material is the same but to me it rises to a new form of trickery and vagueness. I don't really want to discourage anyone. It's a passable exam as long as I said your able to choose the "Best" answer...lol!

cyberguypr

In for giggles just to see the comments. Let me go get some popcorn.

Rona

Do any one has the questions for security+ exam SYO-501 ? that is the new version of security plus exam

cyberguypr

What does SYO-501 have to do with this discussion?

tedjames

Rona wrote: »

Do any one has the questions for security+ exam SYO-501 ? that is the new version of security plus exam

No, but I have the answers. They're in the study guide. You'll have to read it to find out.

TechGromit

I'm not expert on the subject, but most people I talk to say the it took them 2 or 3 tries to pass the CISSP. It's one of the mostly commonly failed certification exams in the industry. So I wouldn't give up because you failed on your first attempt. Pick yourself up, and hit the books again for your next attempt. Yes, the $700 down the drain is hard to swallow, but when your ready to attempt the CISSP, you should have 5+ years IT experience under your belt. You should be earning enough in this point in your career that $700 should not be a financial hardship.

E Double U

Another one bites the dust lol. Chin up soldier. Lots of us have been in the same position (I failed twice).

mydingoman

Accepting defeat is a very hard thing for me. Failing the exam is an indicator that my knowledge level is not where it should be. I will keep going and I'm sure it will click eventually. Thanks for the encouragement!

Almodius

Hi,

Just went to the new CAT based exam 3/8/18, didn't pass.

I had the impression I study the wrong books. Very few technical questions and the few, I had, weren't in the books.
I have CISCO and MS certification, and never found a exam that looked so different to test exams.

Books used for my study:
11hoursCISSP (read 2 times)
CISSP-All-in-One-Exam-Guide-6th-Edition (read 2 times)
Certified Information Systems Security Professional Study Guide 7th edition (read 4 times)

practice test:
McGraw-Hill test
Sybextest

Issue:
1-the way the questions were formulated were way different than Sybextest.
2-the way they refer to some terms and concepts are totally different as defined in the study guide.
3-not enough time.

First time you read the question, you have no clue what they are asking and you need to read the question a few times to fully understand what they mean, at the end you run out of time!

It appears that the key to pass the exam is not on having technical knowledge, instead you need to be agile with the language, or find the right test to be prepare. On too many occasions I wasn't sure what they meant.

At this point, not sure how to proceed as reading the books again will not help, if somebody who passed the test can advise with some test that look alike the exam.

JoJoCal19

Your background probably has more to do with the perceived difficulty than anything else. Everyone I've known that was a really technical person or had a really technical background struggled with it and failed their first attempt, even as recently as last year. I think it's more the mindset, and sometimes trying to answer from what you think is the best answer, rather than what (ISC)2 thinks is the best answer.

I also agree with TheFORCE. Most of the people I know that attempted that did the 6+ month study routine against my advice and failed. I always recommend a MAX of 3 months, but ideally you should have 1-2 weeks of intense study followed by a week or two of flashcard and practice exams, followed by another read through of the material over the course of a few weeks. Long, drawn out study sessions often leave you forgetting what you read in domain 1 by the time you get to the last domain.

unrealskillz06

I just passed my exam about a month ago. One thing that helped me out was the ability to really understand what they are asking you. I really cant think of an example right now, but being able to filter/decipher what the question is really asking helps a ton. With that being said, I still questioned myself a lot on the test but most of the time it put me in a 50/50 situation.

MIME

Very very depressing thread. I'm taking my exam on the 29th for the first time and threads like this make me want to throw up my hands in frustration.

fitzlopez

Try harder!

As the other guys have said, get into the ISC2 mindset, get the hang of "the best answer". It's not really a technical exam, don't try to tackle it like a MS exam.

If the transcender exams are any indicator, I think it's been getting a bit harder over the years.

csjohnng

Failure is the mother of success. The most important thing is learning from your failure which make your 700 Bucks worth for something rather than nothing.
Maybe some people just got lucky, but I believe most those who has pass the exam they have spend a significant effort in preparing the exam.

I like the current CAT format which is less "lengthy" and test really your knowledge on the topic (rather than overcoming fatigue in answer 250 question and review again and again in 6 hr). I have been in the industry for close to 20 years, different field of work and I do admit the exam is not an easy one but it's not extremely difficult if you really have the knowledge. Actually I have only use 1-2 weeks to prepare for the exam using the official guide.

finally good luck.

Almodius

It's not fear of failure. Don't see the success in studying one thing and then be asked about another.

The only new thing ISC2 is providing is the code of ethics, all the rest are bits of IT.

"Act honorably, honestly, justly, responsibly, and legally."

The difficulty in the exam it was in the way of asking things, not in the knowledge. How is that making you a better security professional?

The Official study guide and the test exams should reflect/prepper for the exam. My concern is that I trusted ISC2 Official study guide and what I found in the exam was different (had the impression of doing another exam).

Code of Ethics Canons
"we must ensure that we are in a position to provide unbiased, competent service to our organization. Advance and protect the profession."

cyberguypr

Good advice here. It almost sounds to me like you didn't know what you were waking into.

Exhibit #1

the way the questions were formulated were way different than Sybextest.

Exhibit #2

First time you read the question, you have no clue what they are asking and you need to read the question a few times to fully understand what they mean, at the end you run out of time!

Well, yeah! Sybex doesn't write exam questions. They present you the material covered by the CBK in their own way so you will most likely not see the same type of questions in the exam. ISC2 tests are notorious for being a test of reading comprehension. Biggest issue here is that you didn't think "the ISC2 way" and most likely tried to inject your judgement.

Cingular

Its unfortunate that your exam experience was such a terrible one. In my opinion, the key to passing this exam lies in how well you know all of the concepts within each of the eight domains.

It is an exhaustively long list of concepts but if you have slaved over the content offered by various resources then when it comes to giving the "best" answer, you will know it. As always, the devil is in the detail! What I really liked about this exam, is that it tends makes you call on your "gut feeling" sometimes which will only come about if you have been in the field, on the tools, in the industry for a while and have had exposure to certain things.

Lastly, to quote Mr. Ben Kingsley in the movie Sexy Beast:

Don Logan wrote:

"Preparation, preparation, preparation!"

Good luck on the retry!

mydingoman

My opinion when it boils down to it, I was not prepared for the questions that were presented to me and assumed this exam was at least similar in respect to most IT exams I've taken in the past. This was not a very technical exam true. My career has been cut n dry 1's and 0's. I hate failing with a passion so now I'm having to up my game which is all good by me. I would welcome published questions that are equal on level to the exam I witness just so I can adapt my brain to the logic of how to deal with all the "Choose the Best Answer" questions I ran into. I must commend the Developers, it's a sure way to pinpoint exactly how much you know when confronted with truths of subtle distinctions. Please don't be discouraged by this thread Dude! Be motivated to prepare and dissect your knowledge so that when you take this test you'll welcome it with ease and be pleased at your results!

sameoj

Don`t give up, try again. You only fail when you give up.

Falcon56

@mydingoman, you can see a change in your tone just since your original post. Sure it stings and we all know how you feel. You're a fixer and you solve problems in your day-to-day life. Me too. I get it.

I took the exam on the 12th and felt like I was failing during the test. However, I knew immediately what areas I was going to hit on the retake. If you're being honest with yourself, you know what areas you were weak in too. Plus, you should have your printout to help you identify those areas.

This is a very time-consuming and expensive endeavor. Failing sucks because of what it does to your ego and confidence. I purchased a Windows 10 voucher for a very cheap price that was expiring in 10 days, two years ago. Crammed for the test and failed it. And I deserved to fail it. I went in thinking "oh, I know PowerShell from my previous exams and will be fine." Guess who didn't know PowerShell and wasn't fine? The point being concentrate on your weak areas but still keep reviewing your strong areas too.

We didn't get into security to learn about BCP/DRP and the Software Capability Maturity Model. Quite frankly, they aren't the most exciting topics in the world. But guess what? You've GOT to learn them for this exam. And I'm not just talking about "I Really Don't Mind Oranges" [if you watched Kelly Handerhan's videos, you'll get the reference]. Learning an acronym and recognizing the terms isn't enough. How do we know an organization is at the Defined stage of the SW-CMM? What are the characteristics? What items identify an organization is at this level? You've got to really delve into these things.

I feel like if you cover the ISC2 Official Practice Tests by Mike Chapple and really understand those concepts, you will knock this thing out of the park next time. Please keep us updated!

Can'tTakeIt!

mydingoman

I took my exam on Friday and failed my 2nd time. I agree that there were new materials included in the exam even though the deadline is April. There were a lot more cloud and mobile related questions. And they weren't general like "how does PaaS, IaaS, SaaS work, etc" or (I'm simplifying) but were much more in depth....like down to protocol/encryption level/traffic level.

Failing sucked. It was devastating and frustrating, but after the initial sting, casting spells and curses on every person that were ever involved in creating this wicked exam you say to yourself "all right, let's do this...again" and re-focus. At least that's what I'm telling myself! You can do it!

gibz85

1-march-2018, 3 month prep My first impression was why would they word the questions in this way, I even doubt if i am taking the correct exam.. I used Eric Conrad materials, Shon harris videos(old but relevant).. I did lot of practical questions i was getting almost above 80% all the time i was way confident, I really though i can pass this i have 12 years of experience in Information security System/Cloud/Network administration, Failing just broke me. I didn't know what else to do to pass this. I am giving 3 months gap to retake the test again. Now i know what to expect from the exam.. Things i did wrong for the exam. 1) I know this was managerial exam but for my study my mind was tuned for technical mindset. 2) I had an family emergency, This messed my mind up pretty bad, I was not 100% i reached exam centre only just 10 min prior, Again confidence messed me up. Should have rescheduled. 3) Time management was problem for me, When i saw questions and i was not able to understand what it was asking for. it broke my confidence then panic was starting to grow, Because of new format we cant go back to questions after answering. this was the death blow, By the time i realised the format how ISC2 wanted to answer it was too late. I was getting all right(hopefully) at the end of exam. 4) And things that made worse was others exam takers were there for different exam, They were doing really annoying things, Reading questions out loud. Sudden gasp and annoying tapping with provided marker. And for the exam software of pearsonvue there was a annoying bug when you select the answer and tap on next if you didn't tap it correctly on next say just above next button, then the selected option will be changed to option "D" as it registers as a selection of last option.. 5) No amount of practise question will give an idea of real questions, Doing (3000+)this much practise question set my mind to that format which took time to be undone on exam.