Let the wait begin... Exam 6/22
Hey all,
I thought I would share with you my experience with the CISSP exam. Before I do, I feel it necessary to point out for anyone considering the CISSP exam to take other's opinions (including mine) of the exam with a grain of salt. Your mileage will vary.
Case in point. I expected to use every bit of the 6 hours and to walk out feeling drained and unsure of a passing score. I expected this massive test that could not be passed without extensive preparation and as such I have been putting it off and off and off.
I started my process of becoming a CISSP almost 2 years ago to the day. I had a lot of false starts early on. I would get through the first 2-3 CBK domains before finding some reason not to continue... The top 3 came from worrying about the exam (both cost and difficulty), my lack of anyone within my circle of friends and colleagues who could endorse my certification and a lack of motivation to study/desire to be doing fun stuff.
The 3rd one was the simplest to overcome. I picked an exam date and booked the exam. I then had to be motivated to complete my study or else risk wasting $100 for the reschedule fee or $550 if I failed.
The 2nd one was somewhat more difficult to overcome but through a series of chance occurrences and just keeping in the InfoSec field, I was able to come up with at least 2 people who are willing to endorse me pending a pass on the exam.
The 1st one was the most difficult. I kept being discouraged by the thoughts and opinions of others and well there really was nothing to resolve it. I just had to bite the bullet and take the exam.
Throughout the entire 2 year process, Ive used Testout/LabSim CISSP. The course work hasnt been updated in almost 4 years now but I found most of the material still very much relevant.
On exam day I got up nice and early, I went through my normal routine, went out and got myself a good breakfast and drove to the exam center. Check-in was at 8:00, seating/rules at 8:30 and the exam at 9:00.
I very nearly missed the end of check-in at 8:30 as the exam was held in a dual tenant building and the tenant administering the exam was not clearly displayed. Nor was the building street numbers displayed. But ultimately I made it with but a minute to spare.
Of course this made things a little more difficult. I now had all this nervous energy from running late and I was frustrated with the poor directions provided by not only my GPS but google and the mapquest link attached to my enrollment page.
Thankfully, I had the half-hour to sit and listen to the directions while I sat and centered myself. I brought some crackers and water with me and decided to have a drink and some crackers to burn off some of the energy. I do agree with others on this point and strongly recommend you arrive as early as you can to the exam without arriving so early that you begin psyching yourself out, just enough time to do a last minute review and then recenter.
The exam started shortly after 9 at 9:10. By the end of the first hour I was really questioning myself. Everything I had read going into the exam had said be prepared to take most if not all of the 6 hours and yet at 1 hour in I was on pace to be finished my exam in just over 3 hours (80 questions/hr).
I decided to get up and take a restroom break and try and recenter again. Maybe I was still hyped up from my near miss? As I walked to the bathroom, I noticed an open door network/telecom room... I had to laugh, here we were a bunch of security professionals sitting taking a high-end security exam while right down the hall (and directly next to the high-traffic bathrooms) was an unsecured telecom room breaking one of the primary tenents of physical security... Considering the building's other tenent was a US Airforce Squadron made it even more of a shake your head situation...
So I was feeling good and relaxed. I recommend you take in your surroundings on your break and see if you can spot anything funny like this to lighten the mood.
I returned back to the exam and spent the next hour setting the same 80 question/hr pace. But this time I was comfortable with it. I decided to take another bathroom break at the end of the second hour. I did this to both to take a break and because of the crackers I was nibbling on throughout the 2 hours, I was thirsty and this time I actually had to use the bathroom.
I once more walked past my favorite LAN room which was still open, had another good chuckle. Did my business and went back to the exam.
The 3rd hour I hit some harder, scratch your head questions. They werent difficult so much as they required more thought and consideration as the questions were more interpretative/situational...(there were quite a few situational ethics questions in this part of the exam that made you scratch your head a little)
I took frequent mini-breaks as a result. I wanted to pace myself though these questions and since I had plenty of time, saw no need to rush on to the next question. At the 3 hour mark I had 25 questions left and since I was near finishing I decided to push on through instead of taking another bathroom break. I was the 2nd person (by only a minute or two) to finish up my exam at 3 1/2 hour mark. I considered using some time to go back over my answers but I decided I had answered the best I could and with my gut on those I didnt and didnt want to start second guessing myself so I turned in my exam and left. I stepped out into the sunny and hot afternoon feeling cautiously optimistic.
And so the waiting game begins. Ive already battled the Post-Test Syndrome of I flunked it once and Ive come out of it more sure that I passed. I know that if I didnt, I dont plan on taking it again as I feel I truly did my best and no amount of additional study will assist. And so Ive started my next project. Microsoft exam 70-298, Designing Security for Window 2003 Environment. Remarkably easy course especially considering the CISSP but when its all said and done, together with my CISSP it will raise my MCSE to MCSE:Security.
My plan is to finish it up and take the exam next Tuesday (instant gratification on this exam) and if I dont have my CISSP results by Friday (a slim but still probably possibility based on the recent turn around time Ive noted by others of 10-14 days, Ill move on to upgrading my MCSE to MCITP for W2K8 as I have no desire to study for anything more advanced until at least August when I might work for my CCNA or CEH.
So to make this long story short here are my recommendations for the CISSP exam in order:
1. Take the opinion's of others with a grain of salt, your experience will vary from mine and from anyone else's. No use getting worked up over how your doing vs others.
2. Be prepared. By this I mean prepare yourself mentally. Not by studying but by acknowledging the exam and relaxing your mind. Think of it like this to the well organized mind, the CISSP is but the another exam
3. Be prepared. By this I mean physically. Get a good nights sleep, eat a good breakfast, make sure your directions to the facility are right (if you can manage it, try the drive before hand to confirm directions, no construction that might cause a detour and if you do have to detour for construction or traffic or accidents, knowing exactly where your final destination is makes it easier)
4. Be prepared. Notice a trend here? This time, you want to be prepared by studying. I managed to do my entire study course in a little over a week but then most of the information was a recap from my day-to-day work and my Security+ days
5. Dont sweat it. Time, youve got time. Think you missed that last question? dont let it affect the entire exam. None of the questions really build on each other so treat every question like an entirely new exam.
Thats my 2-cents. As Ive already said, take it with a grain of salt.
Looking forward to getting my results. Will let you folks know when I do.
-APR911
