GCIH Certified!

jplee3

Hey guys,

Got my GCIH Cert yesterday. 96%!!!

I'm so relieved at this point, and just glad that I passed. Thanks to all who have given me advice/tips/etc.

The test wasn't extremely difficult but it wasn't too easy either. 4 hours for 150 questions was *plenty* of time IMHO. I finished about 1.5 hours earlier.


One downer to note: if anyone is interested in the SANS work study, they no longer offer a certification attempt with the package UNLESS you stay at the hotel where the event is being hosted. That's at least another $500~ right there! I got this info directly from the work study coordinator after emailing to inquire about applying [again] to future events as a volunteer facilitator.

So I probably won't be doing work study with them again - that's just too much $$$ from my pocket.

dynamik

Sorry to hear about the work-study situation. Regardless, that seems like a pretty sweet accomplishment (not to mention a great score)!

What's your background? This seems like a pretty specialized cert. I assume this is your area of expertise (or at least one of them).

shednik

Congrats on the pass!! How did you like the material covered in this exam?

jplee3

dynamik wrote:

Sorry to hear about the work-study situation. Regardless, that seems like a pretty sweet accomplishment (not to mention a great score)!

What's your background? This seems like a pretty specialized cert. I assume this is your area of expertise (or at least one of them).

Thanks! I've been doing 'security-related' work for the past 2.5 years. It first started off with reviewing Windows event viewer logs and has extended into various other areas [although in a VERY limited capacity]. Now I look the IPS/IDS events and logs, use DLP software, and run Nessus scans for various purposes (one being scanning for sensitive information across multiple systems). I'm sure this cert is pretty specialized. I was looking to get the GSEC, but due to circumstances and opportunities, I had to 'settle' with the GCIH, which I have no qualms about! Prior to all of this I was doing QA testing at a company that is now owned by EMC2. That gave me the grounds for "log review" and "attention to detail" I suppose.

shednik wrote:

Congrats on the pass!! How did you like the material covered in this exam?

I thought the material was pretty well-rounded and covered a good amount of topics. Obviously, not every single thing out there was covered but it gave a good idea of what to look for and how to defend/respond both ahead of time and after the fact. The material really reinforces the PICERL process.

JDMurray

jplee3 wrote:

One downer to note: if anyone is interested in the SANS work study, they no longer offer a certification attempt with the package UNLESS you stay at the hotel where the event is being hosted. That's at least another $500~ right there! I got this info directly from the work study coordinator after emailing to inquire about applying [again] to future events as a volunteer facilitator.

SANS really wants that kick-back from the hotel for getting a guest to stay there.