CISSP prep vs. CISA/CISM

chilipepper

Hello all,

Now that I've passed both CISA and CISM, I want to try the CISSP. My prep for CISA and CISM consisted only of reading one main source reference and doing hundreds of practice questions. I attended a 2 day study session for the CISM also, sponsored by ISACA - this was very light and was more discussion than any sort of valuable tips. I have a lot of work experience that likely helped me with the tests. So, it was not terribly costly for me to prep and take these...probably <$1000 each, a lot covered by my employer.

I see the CISSP as another large investment of time and money - the test alone is costly, so I don't want to have to re-take. I am also going to do this on my own, and use my the employer provided training budget for some other endeavor next year.

Where might my investment of time and money be spent most efficiently? I have the Shon Harris all-in-one book - but it's the 3rd edition, so I think I should probably buy a new one.

I benefit a lot from test prep questions...where are quality practice questions obtained?

And lastly, if I have managed to pass these other two tests with no intense boot camp (I also passed them with good scores) - can I get by without a class? Is it worth buying the Shon Harris DVD set instead?

Any help would be appreciated!

JDMurray

If you have managed to study well enough to pass both the CISA and the CISM then all you need to is use those same study skills and habits for the CISSP. Already knowing the ISACA material, you will have a huge head start on most CISSP candidates. If you grasp technical concepts quickly, then you have little to worry about with regards to learning the CISSP material.

As for books versus DVDs versus bootcamps, it really depends on how you learn best (i.e., reading, audio/video, face-to-face instruction).