Final thoughts !!!!

AymanNada

Hello Folks,

Unfortunately, I found this forum kind of late !!!

For those who are CISSP certified, I need some personal opinions about what should I do in my final week of preparation for the exam.

I am scheduled to sit for the exam on Saturday Oct. 3rd, and I am so nervous these days.. I've been preparing for this exam long enough that made me understand most of the material extremely well.

I would really appreciate any opinion...

Thanks

JDMurray

The anxiety you are experiencing is very common. The CISSP forums here and at www.cccure.org are filled with people worrying before and after their CISSP exam. The worry and nervousness is self-defeating, so you must find someway to deal with it. This could be anything from convincing yourself that failing the exam is no big deal to stopping all studying and doing something completely different for a while. Only you know how you best deal with the stress caused by an upcoming event.

We all had the stress every few months in college before finals week. And the CISSP is just one exam on one day, not four, five, or six in the same week. It's not so bad when you look at it like that. You want to be cool and confidant when you are actually taking the CISSP exam, not feeling worried and as if you are fighting the exam; you want to dominate it instead.

AymanNada

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my message.

I will definitely try to control my worries in the mean time, and leave it for the results to judge if I have to go over the nervousness again or it would be the last before another certification.

Thanks again.

tpatt100

Just relax and focus on stuff that require memorization now, really its just an understanding of the concepts. What I did first time I took it (yes I know you don't want to hear that I took it twice) and failed with a 690 something was that I focused on "understanding" but failed to memorize simple stuff like "specific" things dealing with each of the domains.

So while understanding and actually knowing is very important, don't forget to spend time memorizing the specifics nit picking things. I totally brain farted and lost my nerve when I got a few questions in a row that were asking for specific specifications and I had no clue.

stoked64

I took the test on 9/14 and waiting my score. Pretty sure I failed. I got tripped up on the application dev. stuff. Never worked as a code guy... background in net admin/security. Next time I'll take a closer look at the area before taking the test. Plan on taking it on Dec 18 when it comes back to my area.

JDMurray

I hate to keep saying this, but a lot of people who are sure that they've failed the CISSP find they've actually passed. At least if you truly believe that you've failed and start prepping for the next exam date, you won't be consumed with worry over the next few weeks waiting for your score as so many exam candidates are.

But do take a one or two week break from studying anything to give your brain a rest. By the time you are ready to crack the books again, you'll know your result.

unsupported

The best piece of advice I could give you is to stop studying at 6pm the night before the test. If you have not learned it by then, you never will.

Good luck!

AymanNada

stoked64 wrote: »

I took the test on 9/14 and waiting my score. Pretty sure I failed. I got tripped up on the application dev. stuff. Never worked as a code guy... background in net admin/security. Next time I'll take a closer look at the area before taking the test. Plan on taking it on Dec 18 when it comes back to my area.

I wish you a good luck.
If you don't mind, I would like to know how and what did you use to prepare for this exam?

Thanks

stoked64

I attended a 6 day boot camp and used these great notes from CCcure.
http://www.cccure.org/Documents/Justin_Gibson/Notes_Prep_Guide.doc

AymanNada

Well,

I just finished my exam about 30 minutes ago. In all means, it was one of my toughest exams I ever took. I will definitely re-take it in December, although it was easy to pass "if you prepare well".

I admit, that I didn't cover the AIO very well. Otherwise, it would've been way easier for me.

As one on this forum suggested, I started from back to the front, and it worked pretty well. "At the beginning until I got to the middle".

Overall, I would say it was a good experience as for first Security Certification, and I will take a 10 days break before start hitting the material again.

Thanks for all your kindness and generosity, and you will definitely see me so often in this forum from now on.

P.S. Just to give you a vibe about how hard the exam was, it made me forget where I parked my car... It took me about 15 minutes to figure out where I parked my car.... lol

carboncopy

stoked64 wrote: »

I attended a 6 day boot camp and used these great notes from CCcure.
http://www.cccure.org/Documents/Justin_Gibson/Notes_Prep_Guide.doc

Thank you very much for posting your notes. I am taking Training Camp's 7 day CISSP course in November. I am sure this will be useful

AymanNada

carboncopy wrote: »

Thank you very much for posting your notes. I am taking Training Camp's 7 day CISSP course in November. I am sure this will be useful

Good luck in advance.

Definitely training (Boot camp) will help. however, I figured out that it could've been more helpful in my case if I studied the material, attended the training and took the exam.

My mistake was taking the boot camp FIRST, then studying, and finishing up with the exam.

carboncopy

AymanNada wrote: »

Good luck in advance.

Definitely training (Boot camp) will help. however, I figured out that it could've been more helpful in my case if I studied the material, attended the training and took the exam.

My mistake was taking the boot camp FIRST, then studying, and finishing up with the exam.

Thanks! Fortunately I get to take the test on the last day of the course, so hopefully that helps a lot.

AymanNada

I was hoping to say like everyone else... I flunked, then say I passed. But that is not the case.

I failed my CISSP exam and I was shocked when I found out that I did Excellent in what I thought I did very poor, and vice verse.

I am glad I didn't waste my time waiting for the results.

Getting ready for another attempt on Dec. 13th.

JDMurray

Sorry to hear that. At least your chances of passing on the second attempt is much greater now that you're continuing to study. People that wait a long time between attempts don't seem to do any better the second time. Let us know if there's anything we can help with.

AymanNada

JDMurray wrote: »

Sorry to hear that. At least your chances of passing on the second attempt is much greater now that you're continuing to study. People that wait a long time between attempts don't seem to do any better the second time. Let us know if there's anything we can help with.

JD,

Thanks for kindness.
I will not hesitate asking for the help of the professionals in this forum. You've always been my courage.

I was shocked not of the results, but because I have "1" in Cryptography and 10 in Access Control.

I will definitely do my best to pass it next time.

stoked64

Hang in there, I'm sure you will do better next time. This exam is a killer. I think the worst part about it is the length of the exam.

What domain tripped you up the most?

Wondering if you had a chance to look at these notes http://www.cccure.org/Documents/Justin_Gibson/Notes_Prep_Guide.doc they really helped me prepare.

If I had once piece of advice to give, it would be to take your time with the exam. I've seen 90% of the material in one form of another with previous training but I stilled used 5.5 hours to take the exam and used the last 30 minutes to review.

laidbackfreak

bummer gotta feel for ya

good luck on the next attempt

AymanNada

stoked64 wrote: »

Hang in there, I'm sure you will do better next time. This exam is a killer. I think the worst part about it is the length of the exam.

What domain tripped you up the most?

Wondering if you had a chance to look at these notes http://www.cccure.org/Documents/Justin_Gibson/Notes_Prep_Guide.doc they really helped me prepare.

If I had once piece of advice to give, it would be to take your time with the exam. I've seen 90% of the material in one form of another with previous training but I stilled used 5.5 hours to take the exam and used the last 30 minutes to review.

Well,

Security Design and Access Control ruined my exam.
I was shocked when I saw 9 on Access Control. I thought I know it like my name. But I guess, that exam made me forgot my name also.

I was expecting 10 on Cryptography, but I got "1" (Don't know how though)

I am more confident that I will do better in the second attempt, but more nervous from failing.

I will use every one's advice to prepare.

JDMurray

AymanNada wrote: »

I was expecting 10 on Cryptography, but I got "1" (Don't know how though)

Does it specifically define the domain ranking system in the email? Maybe 1 is worst and 10 is best.

AymanNada

JDMurray wrote: »

Does it specifically define the domain ranking system in the email? Maybe 1 is worst and 10 is best.

Yes it does.
1 is the best and 10 is the worst.