Provisionally passed the CISSP exam today (4/6/2019)
Provisionally passed the CISSP exam today (4/6/2019). The exam was strange and infuriating at times. I remember passing the 100 question mark and wanting the exam to end either way. My exam seemed policy heavy and I looked forward to the less abstract technical questions. Not sure when I began studying. I've held Sec+ and SSCP since 2015 and earned CySA+, CFR-310, CASP+, and Project+ last year. After studying for CASP, it made sense to try my hand at CISSP.
I'm a new security analyst, but have been in enterprise IT for 20 years. Still thinking about the exam, but would say it was less mind bending than my CASP experience.
Resources used
Sybex 7th edition. Did not read the complete the book. uCertify has a CISSP course that I really liked and wished I knew about sooner. It's the Sybex 8th edition book with quizzes, labs, and practice exams. I found it easier to digest and more enjoyable (interactive) than the paper copy of the book. Would have completed this, but ran out of time. Have seen it for $199 with discount code.
Completed Mike Chapple's CISSP LinkedIn Learning Course, enjoyable, but not enough on it's own. He does have a LinkedIn learning study group and a last minute study guide that's around $7.
Kelly Handerhan's Cybrary course and MP3's. Listened to these in the car and at night while going to sleep for months. Rotated these with Shon Harris MP3's.
Sunflower PDF. Skimmed through. Liked the format.
YouTube - Larry Greenblatt, Kelly H Why you will pass, Study Tips and Theory, some Skillset, IT Dojo! Very much a fan of these.
PocketPrep - used for CASP and CISSP, really enjoyed them on breaks, in a line, or on the toilet.
Boson - Took many of these. Began around 60% when starting and ended up around 80's. Tried to space them out to not memorize answers. Read the answer and why the others were incorrect similar to IT Dojo. Still kind of shell shocked. What I studied for and was tested on wasn't exactly the same, etc and so on. Good luck all!
Last note, I didn't look at the results until I left the test facility, but had a good feeling since I believed I answered the last question correct. Could not say the same for all the questions.
Comments
-
tahjzhuan
Member Posts: 288 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thanks H-bomb, very much appreciated. A source that I forgot to mention was FedVTE for all the U.S. government employees, Federal contractors, and veterans -
Info_Sec_Wannabe
Member Posts: 428 ■■■■□□□□□□
Fantastic job on the pass!
Was just wondering what your motivation was for taking the exam and what's next for you?X year plan: (20XX) OSCP [ ], CCSP [ ] -
tahjzhuan
Member Posts: 288 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thank you very much! Have been interested in security for a while and found myself in a less than ideal work situation. Been in IT a while, but not a dedicated security role. I purchased the CSA+/CySA+ book in July 2017, went on to CFR-310, CASP+, and Project+. This was the closest I've been to being ready. Also, I recently accepted a new dedicated security role and will need to master a proprietary system in the near future. Outside of work, I will work on CCNA CyberOps. Should be more relevant to my current position and interests. Felt like this would best time to tackle it and if not now, then when?
