GCCC exam

SecurityNoob45

Hi All!

I just signed up to attempt the GCCC exam and the course. I opted in for the on demand self study.. this is my first sans course and also exam. any advice on how to be effecient and pass my exam on the first try?

For those who have taken the course, what should i focus on and study? what helps the most with the exams? should i use all 8 textbooks they deliver to me? Is the exam technical and are the labs important to do well on the exam?

i know these are pretty loaded questions but i could use all the help i can get to calm some of my anxieties! Thanks a lot Info Sec fam!!

TechGromit

Set aside at least a week to do the self study. Generally they get through all the material in 5 or 6 days at a live SANS conference. Try to do the same. I had a coworker take the GSEC self study and despite taking a week off of work to do the course, he only completed half of the material. It took him months to finish the course and by the time he was ready to sign up for the exam, they wanted $1,200+ for it.

Sign up for the exam when you purchase the course, if your employer is paying for course, but not the exam, make sure you sign up for the exam soon as you get the materials to get the discounted rate of $675.

The labs are important to help reinforce what you leaned, try to go thru them at least twice, once as your taking the course and another time as your studying for the exam.

The Practice exams are invaluable, don't waste them until you think your ready to take the exam. Go in with the attitude, that your practice exam is your real exam, it will show you were you stand if you took the real exam, generally Practice exams are within 5 points +/- what you would score on the actual exam. If you can do well on a practice exam (greater than 5 points more than what is needed to pass) your ready for the real thing.

Give yourself enough time between the practice exam and the scheduling real exam so if you score lousy, you have to the time to study the areas your weak on. Taking the practice exam the day before your real exam and scoring lousy gives you no time to study on the areas your weak on. Generally I don't schedule my exam till after I take the first Practice Exam.

Build a good index before taking you first practice exam, work on improving it after each practice exam. Creating it helps you to study, even you end up not even referring to it during the real exam, creating it is worth the exercise.

Even if you have the video course, it's still worth listening to the MP3's you get with the certification attempt, often the instructor for the Mp3's is different and will give you a different view point on the material.  

If your not ready for the exam, pay for an extension, an extension is around $400, but a retake if you fail is $1,200+. If you pay for an extension, use that time wisely, paying for an extension and not using that time to study, it a waste of money.

  

 

SecurityNoob45

Awesome thank you so so sso much!! this is so helpful... ive never really created an index and dont really know how to create one. any tips/tricks/advice on creating one?

gluesniffmonkey

I can't post URL Links. Google for the article Better GIAC Testing with Pancakes.

A good example there and three more linked at the bottom of the article.