Sat for CISSP last Saturday

So, I have learned that nothing truly prepares one for this exam experience. Don't expect to sleep well the night before!

I sat for it on Saturday and when they finally allowed us to crack the seal on the booklet and start taking it, I read through all of the questions once and marked the answer I thought was best in the booklet for all 250 questions. I then went through them all again and transferred the answers to the answer sheet and only changed a few answers from my original (1st hunch is usually best though). I finished about 1 hour and 15 minutes before the official end of the exam.

I used Shon Harris CISSP All in One 5th edition, CCCure practice test engine, and attended a 5 day company sponsored boot camp. All in all, there is nothing out there that has the types of questions that you will see on the exam. Nothing too difficult either for those who put in the time to study but my suggestions are these:

* Know VOIP, had a few on this but could be part of the 25 that aren't graded
* Know Access controls and concepts
* Know your TCP/IP model and what every layer does and what protocols and services go into each.
* Really beef up on DR/BCP and Policies, procedures, standards, etc... This test truly is from a high level managers perspective and doesn't get too detailed into the technical issues.
* A few Crypto, but don't waste too much time stydying in this area.
* Know your IDS and Firewall types thoroughly!
* Learn the concepts and how they apply across ALL domains. Don't just memorize facts.
* Don't read too much into the scenario questions. They add some fluff. Hone in on what they are truly asking and forget the rest!

Now comes the wait for the results. I feel better about passing than failing. A lot of questions were common sense. About 10 to 15%; the answer was obvious but the rest boils down to 2 good looking answers. Choose the best one and move on. Don't spend too much time on any one question and make sure that you leave enough time to fill in your answer sheet completely.

I studied for 3 solid months so put in the effort. Don't think that just reading a few exam cram sheets are going to cut it. It won't and you will have wasted a lot of money, if not time, by not preparing properly.

Wish me luck on a passing score!!!

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Comments

rogue2shadow

Well done! I'm sure you got this with the amount of studying you did. It's to claim your title as a master of security!

burneweb

Rogue,

Thanks for the positive vibe!

Hoping I passed but, if so, the endorsement phase will be next. Already got one (CISSP sponsor) lined up and Sec + cert should knock off 1 year and I absolutely have 4+ years experience in at least 2 domains so it shouldn't be an issue.

This is only the beginning of my security certification quests.

CEH and CISM are probably next

rogue2shadow

burneweb wrote: »

Rogue,

Thanks for the positive vibe!

Hoping I passed but, if so, the endorsement phase will be next. Already got one (CISSP sponsor) lined up and Sec + cert should knock off 1 year and I absolutely have 4+ years experience in at least 2 domains so it shouldn't be an issue.

This is only the beginning of my security certification quests.

CEH and CISM are probably next

I admire your ambition! As always its amazing to see people chasing their dreams and executing a journey towards greatness.

gateway

Nice write up, hopefully you will receive some positive news soon! Fingers crossed for you

cabrillo24

burneweb wrote: »

So, I have learned that nothing truly prepares one for this exam experience. Don't expect to sleep well the night before!

I sat for it on Saturday and when they finally allowed us to crack the seal on the booklet and start taking it, I read through all of the questions once and marked the answer I thought was best in the booklet for all 250 questions. I then went through them all again and transferred the answers to the answer sheet and only changed a few answers from my original (1st hunch is usually best though). I finished about 1 hour and 15 minutes before the official end of the exam.

I used Shon Harris CISSP All in One 5th edition, CCCure practice test engine, and attended a 5 day company sponsored boot camp. All in all, there is nothing out there that has the types of questions that you will see on the exam. Nothing too difficult either for those who put in the time to study but my suggestions are these:

* Know VOIP, had a few on this but could be part of the 25 that aren't graded
* Know Access controls and concepts
* Know your TCP/IP model and what every layer does and what protocols and services go into each.
* Really beef up on DR/BCP and Policies, procedures, standards, etc... This test truly is from a high level managers perspective and doesn't get too detailed into the technical issues.
* A few Crypto, but don't waste too much time stydying in this area.
* Know your IDS and Firewall types thoroughly!
* Learn the concepts and how they apply across ALL domains. Don't just memorize facts.
* Don't read too much into the scenario questions. They add some fluff. Hone in on what they are truly asking and forget the rest!

Now comes the wait for the results. I feel better about passing than failing. A lot of questions were common sense. About 10 to 15%; the answer was obvious but the rest boils down to 2 good looking answers. Choose the best one and move on. Don't spend too much time on any one question and make sure that you leave enough time to fill in your answer sheet completely.

I studied for 3 solid months so put in the effort. Don't think that just reading a few exam cram sheets are going to cut it. It won't and you will have wasted a lot of money, if not time, by not preparing properly.

Wish me luck on a passing score!!!

So what you're saying is....study everything?

Now comes the fun part....waiting on the results. You'll be fine for the first 10 days, but after that mark, you're checking your email/spam every 5 minutes. In the mean time, find something else to focus on, whether its your family, significant other, video games, your neglected Farmville farm, or a project you've been putting off.

Paul Boz

Thanks for the feedback. Those types of reviews are great.

burneweb

Thanks everyone

I won't be sweating the results. They come when they come and they are what they are.
Obviously, I do wish for a passing score but I won't be biting my nails in anticipation.

Either way, I'll post the results as soon as I receive them.

JDMurray

Thanks for the write-up and good luck with your score!