CISSP passed, but dont know how
Hi everyone!
So, I passed my exam! Don’t know how, but I did. Below is my story. I hope this helps those who are getting ready for the exam..and yes, English is not my first language 
How it happened:
I was very grateful that my company paid for the InfoSec Bootcamp.
- 14 days before the bootcamp: read the CISSP Official Study Guide book cover to cover, answer all the "End of Chapter" questions. Additionally, answered Domain 1 – 8 questions from the sister book, ISC2 Official Practice Test. The average score for all domains was about 68%.
- Bootcamp week: took notes, and answer the 150 nightly test from the Sybex site. The average score during the 1st try was 72%.
- Day 1-2 after bootcamp: light review of the CISSP Official Study Guide book.
- Day 3-7 after bootcamp: completed all 250 test questions from the Flex Center located at the InfoSec site. The average score during the 1st and only try was 74% or so. More light review of the CISSP Official Study Guide book for about 3 hours every night.
- Day 8-10 after bootcamp: re-accomplished all 150 question test from the Sybex site (from step 2). The average score during the 2nd try was 77%. Review domains 1 and 2 of the CISSP Official Study Guide book.
- Day 11-14 after bootcamp: watched most of the Flex Center videos. I paid a lot of attention on the videos discussing my areas of weakness. Review domains 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the CISSP Official Study Guide book.
- Day 15-16 after bootcamp: got super sick, re-scheduled my exam for the following week. Re-accomplished the 150 nightly test questions from the Sybex site. The average score during the 3rd try was maybe 79 or 80%.
- Day 17-19 after bootcamp (one day before my test): light review of the CISSP Official Study Guide book. No more exams. Stopped with the books by 1600 hrs. Watched Star Wars Episode 7 from Disney+. In other words, closed the book that afternoon to relax my mind.
- D-Day, day of the exam: re-accomplish test #6 from the nightly test from the Sybex site, with a score of 83%. This helped me to start-up my brain before the exam. Drove to the test center and after a small prayer took the exam.
- During the exam: took few seconds to relax. Started the exam. This is very important: give your best all the way to the last question. It took me 2 hours and 40 minutes 150 questions! Of course by this point I thought I failed, but no, I passed!!!
Believe me, if I passed, ANYBODY can pass! I invested over 13 hours per day eating, sleeping, living CISSP. If you choose to do a bootcamp, reading the book and answering all practice questions before the camp will help you to get a basic knowledge of the material. After the bootcamp you should take as many practice exams as possible. The Sybex site and the Infosec's Flex Center questions were super great. If you fail, don’t give up, this wasn't my first try. Go back to the drawing board and try again. Invest the time to kick @SS, this is for your future and your family future (well if you are married with kids like me). Well that was my story. I really hope this helps.
Comments
How much time and money would you say you / your company invested? Did you only spend 13 hours x 19 days studying or can you point to anything additional?
CompTIA: A+, Net+, Sec+, Cloud Essentials, and Project +
LPI: Linux Essentials
AXELOS: ITIL v3
SANS GAIC: GSEC, GCIH, and GCED