CISSP Achieved! Failed 7 times, passed on the 8th!

synack_dk

To all CISSP endeavors;

I am long time lurker here on TechExams. Read almost every passed/failed thread on here and if anything, learned almost nothing from them. That's because each and every passed was unique to the individuals and their learning style. If ISC pulled the fail stat, I am certain one of those with high failure attempts. Now, all this is my fault, and blamed no materials, ISC. If there is anything I learned from the folks that passed this utmost brutal exam, it's DETERMINATION!

ME: 35 yr old, IT Professional, wore different hats throughout my career, currently a Govie't with a Chief title.

There were many reasons of why I failed 7 times, of which, the benefit was figuring out the best learning method that can be applied. So below was what helped for me, and I hope you get something out of it.

1. I put in a few hours a day to read these books in sequential order (sybex cissp 7th edition, Eric Conrad 11th hour 3rd Edition) for two months after each failed attempt (on weak areas).
2. Converted the Mike Chapel CISSP Lynda.com course to Audio files and listened over and over while driving to and from work.
3. Took the CISSP Pocket App for Android. I do not own an Android phone but used the Blue Stacks instead. I am not a fan of using it on the iOS devices as their screen sizes are limited. BlueStacks is free and can expand the screen to desktop sizes. This gives me mouse function to maneuver much better.
4. Practice questions, read every single explanation as to why it was the CORRECT/INCORRECT answer. Understand the concepts and the reasons behind them and NOT memorize them. This was an issue for me, trying to memorize everything.
5. If analytical is a strength of yours, definitely leverage this. Decipher what the question is asking for, then put in two hats (1) Security Professional and (2) Business Manager.
6. Stay consistent with the study schedule, never a day when I did not touch the materials until the day before the exam.

Exam Time:

I passed it this morning with an inexplicable relief feeling. I hugged all the ladies at the testing centers .
The 7th exam that I failed was the new adaptive CAT exam. I was given weak areas to improve on they were a lot.

Preparation:

1. Day before exam, I dropped all materials, no study no nothing. I enjoyed time with my children. All I know is put them to sleep and get a good nights sleep myself. I did not try to remember ANYTHING from the CISSP material.
2. Dropped the kid to daycare, then head straight to the PEARSON center.
3. Picked myself a locker, put everything in it except IDs for processing.
4. Sat for the exam and....
5. The first question I got was a drag and drop scenario, holy smokes, that freaked me out! Then reading through it, it was an easy one.
6. 1 hr and 50 minute later, on question 101....exam closed.
7. Headed over to the front desk, and truth be told, all I looked for is the FIRST word that says "Congratulations!" and indeed it was there.

That's it folks! I am onto CISM and if I fail it, I will do it again and again. Remember, DETERMINATION is your ONLY juice in knocking this exam out.

Thank you for reading and best of luck to all who have exams scheduled. To those who have given up, don't get held up on failures, but rather work to attack them. I know I did!

tedjames

Congratulations, and good for you for sticking with it!

johndoee

Congratulations. I didn't read the entire post. What I did see is that you passed after several missed attempts. My hat goes off to you!

joneno

Wow that's some great determination. Congrats!

cyberguypr

Jeez! I would've quit after the second fail. Congrats on pushing through and climbing your Everest!!! Everyone please go rep this guy right now.

scaredoftests

I can relate to failing multiple certs and I feel ya! One of the worst was Novell. Even tried to pass a Novell CNE exam the day before I gave birth to my son(I failed). My brain cells were gone by that time (LOL). I did manage to attain my CNE after my son was born.
Congrats to you!!!

mikey88

Congrats on the pass. Sounds expensive. ISC2 must really love you.

synack_dk

hey all...i'm the OP for this thread and apparently the number failed was wrong, failed 5 times, sixth time passed. it was less as after I looked at my pearson history records.

MODERATOR - please delete the post. ALso some content I did not want to share.

thank you!!!

gespenstern

Wow! That's definitely the longest losing streak I've seen!

Congrats!

scaredoftests

I am pretty sure you can delete your own thread/or edit it, if you don't want all that information in your post.

synack_dk

scaredoftests wrote: »

I am pretty sure you can delete your own thread/or edit it, if you don't want all that information in your post.

tried and no such optio
n

scaredoftests

look to the top right of your post, you can edit...

synack_dk

scaredoftests wrote: »

look to the top right of your post, you can edit...

thanks. I can't even see my account panel let alone that option. The mods for this forum isn't responsive....I sent many inquiries.

scaredoftests

You don't view it via your account, but your post.

anthonx

First of all, congrats! You deserve a break from studying and spend more time with your family. Long time lurker? Yeah, you are a member since 2012 and you only have 4 posts. There is a saying... learn from your mistakes and you finally made it. In here, I'm hoping to avoid making mistakes if I can learn from other peoples mistakes. Thank you for sharing your experience.

chrisone

As long as it got done that is all that matters.

Congrats on the pass!

E Double U

LOL talk about dedication. Congratulations!

DatabaseHead

That's called powering through. How much did it cost you?

trojin

Impressive
I'm determined, but not to this stage

Congrats !!!!

Falcon56

Pretty sure no one is going to call you out for posting the wrong #. You had the guts to keep going and showed fantastic perseverance. I'm thrilled for you. One of my favorite posts I have read here recently. Good for you!

Sebzz

Congrats!!!
And respect!!!

Deadly-Dosage

Hey, still you didn't quit after one. Nicely done and enjoy making pass the finish line!

PersianImmortal

Congratulations!!! Much respect for sticking with it!

H-bomb

Nice job! Much respect for not giving up

averageguy72

Congrats! That's some serious determination.

cbdudek

Dude! Congrats! This is excellent news. I commend you on your determination and persistence!

laurieH

Well done for keeping going - after all that do you think it was worth it?

sameoj

Congrats. Your story is highly encouraging. "You only fail when you give up".

NavyMooseCCNA

Congrats!!

Artemisa

synack_dk said:

To all CISSP endeavors;

I am long time lurker here on TechExams. Read almost every passed/failed thread on here and if anything, learned almost nothing from them. That's because each and every passed was unique to the individuals and their learning style. If ISC pulled the fail stat, I am certain one of those with high failure attempts. Now, all this is my fault, and blamed no materials, ISC. If there is anything I learned from the folks that passed this utmost brutal exam, it's DETERMINATION!

ME: 35 yr old, IT Professional, wore different hats throughout my career, currently a Govie't with a Chief title.

There were many reasons of why I failed 7 times, of which, the benefit was figuring out the best learning method that can be applied. So below was what helped for me, and I hope you get something out of it.

1. I put in a few hours a day to read these books in sequential order (sybex cissp 7th edition, Eric Conrad 11th hour 3rd Edition) for two months after each failed attempt (on weak areas).
2. Converted the Mike Chapel CISSP Lynda.com course to Audio files and listened over and over while driving to and from work.
3. Took the CISSP Pocket App for Android. I do not own an Android phone but used the Blue Stacks instead. I am not a fan of using it on the iOS devices as their screen sizes are limited. BlueStacks is free and can expand the screen to desktop sizes. This gives me mouse function to maneuver much better.
4. Practice questions, read every single explanation as to why it was the CORRECT/INCORRECT answer. Understand the concepts and the reasons behind them and NOT memorize them. This was an issue for me, trying to memorize everything.
5. If analytical is a strength of yours, definitely leverage this. Decipher what the question is asking for, then put in two hats (1) Security Professional and (2) Business Manager.
6. Stay consistent with the study schedule, never a day when I did not touch the materials until the day before the exam.

Exam Time:

I passed it this morning with an inexplicable relief feeling. I hugged all the ladies at the testing centers .
The 7th exam that I failed was the new adaptive CAT exam. I was given weak areas to improve on they were a lot.

Preparation:

1. Day before exam, I dropped all materials, no study no nothing. I enjoyed time with my children. All I know is put them to sleep and get a good nights sleep myself. I did not try to remember ANYTHING from the CISSP material.
2. Dropped the kid to daycare, then head straight to the PEARSON center.
3. Picked myself a locker, put everything in it except IDs for processing.
4. Sat for the exam and....
5. The first question I got was a drag and drop scenario, holy smokes, that freaked me out! Then reading through it, it was an easy one.
6. 1 hr and 50 minute later, on question 101....exam closed.
7. Headed over to the front desk, and truth be told, all I looked for is the FIRST word that says "Congratulations!" and indeed it was there.

That's it folks! I am onto CISM and if I fail it, I will do it again and again. Remember, DETERMINATION is your ONLY juice in knocking this exam out.

Thank you for reading and best of luck to all who have exams scheduled. To those who have given up, don't get held up on failures, but rather work to attack them. I know I did!

Congratulations. Who cares how many time the end result is important. Way to go.

baghdaddy19

Congratulations my man!