Advice Appreciated

Thomas Elliot

Other than the normal advice of not giving up and trying to sit for the exam again, I’m just seeking some advice on where to move on from here. My CISSP journey started in 2017 and I’ve failed it no less than 3 times. Once a year since 2017. The sections I got right in 2018, I got wrong in 2019. There was no consistency in my weak areas except that it seemed to be every single domain. Decided that I was tired of this exam running and ruining my life a little bit so I’m switching things up and going for something else this year. But looking to set back up to the plate in 2021. I’ve read through the sybex book, ran through all the practice tests, used pocket prep, I took copious notes and answered every single question in the practice sections to great detail. The only thing I really failed to do was use sybex which I did not find out about until 3/4ths of the way through my third prep attempt. Plan on using that in 2021. 

thomas_

I’ve never taken the exam, but maybe if you fail again try to retake it sooner rather than later.  When you get out of the testing center, write down everything you were unsure about and use that study for the next attempt.  You can use the exam topics to help you jog your memory on what questions you were asked.  From there, you’ll have a good list of your weak areas to brush up on.

E Double U

How does the test material relate to your actual experience? I think the reason I struggled with CISSP in the beginning was because I came from a very hands-on technical role and failed at seeing the bigger picture. Making the connection between what I was studying into my organization's larger goals made a difference for me. I went into CISSP after back-to-back Cisco exams (5 exams in total to get CCNA/P Sec) so I had the engineer mindset instead of C-suite. I literally went into my 3rd exam attempt answering every question like I thought my line manager at the time would answer and I passed.