Waiting on CISSP Exam Results - thoughts

famosbrown

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but techexams is always home for me...

I took the exam yesterday in Columbus, OH. I left the room feeling pretty good about it, which is kind of scary considering other colleagues of mine who pass did not, and many who have failed, has . I didn't think the exam was TOO difficult except for those questions that asks for MOST, or BEST...those were a little tricky.

I finished with about 45 minutes to spare, so I went back to check the questions I had marked for review. There were about 65 of them, so after doing the math, I figured the worse I could do is about 61 percent, granted the questions are weighted different (I heard), my math was out of 250, assuming I got the questions I didn't mark correct, and hoping all 25 questions that don't count were in that set of 60 questions .

Definitely a different experience as the proctors were like hawks. You look up, and they are already making eye contact to assist you. I did about 50 questions at a time, then transferred questions to answer sheet. Had to raise hand each time to go to the back of the room for a drink of Mt. Dew. Didn't get much sleep the night before at the hotel . It also didn't help I that I got lost and came a few minutes late and had to sit in the front row. I called the proctor's number that was listed on the admission letter before 0830 to let him know I was having issues finding the location and he guided me in. I went to other places with the same name and it took those personnel way too long to figure out where I was supposed to go. Lesson learned: Just call the source .

After review of the 65 marked questions, I changed maybe 5 of them. I had a headache, didn't eat a real good breakfast, and the morning didn't start off right being late and worried about not being allowed to sit for the exam. Lesson learned: do a location reconnaissance the day before and let the GPS navigate finish, instead of seeing the name of the facility and assuming it's the correct one, LOL. GPS by address and not just the name...

My study plan wasn't really structured. It included taking about 3 months to read thorugh the Shon Harris AIO 5th editiion off and on, then a month out, really cracking down to finish it. I had a lot of distractions and I read slow/wonder off to la-la land. The last week, I did all practice questions from Shon Harris CD included with book and scored at least a 65% on all of them. I did not repeat any as I was in cram mode. Lowest score was 65%, but a few domains I scored over 90%. I also used a Review Seminar book a colleague had from his training a couple of months to go to try those questions. I averaged about 4-5 questions wrong on those. Those questions didn't offer explanation to the answers, but I learned more by going through the chapters in that book to figure out why I got something wrong, or just figured it out on my own after re-reading the question and knowing what the correct answer was. Friday, day before exam, I just read through Quick Tips in AIO 5th and looked up some concepts that I couldn't remember or explain to myself.

A lot of the questions made the exam fun. There were a few answers that were VERY comical, or it could just be my sense humor. Many of the technical domains seemed easy to me based on previous certification preparation and experience, but this seemed like a beast to study for. I just could not remember EVERYTHING. I also didn't recognize any domains sticking out more than others...it all looked like a bunch of random questions between the 10 domains. I'm hoping that's a good sign as I've read it means you were having issues with a particular domain.

I actually enjoyed studying for the exam and have learned and reinforced a LOT! Studying actually has me interested in cyberlaw, so I'm looking at possible part time law school opportunities. Only downside is having to study for another MONSTER test called the LSAT!!

Good luck to all who are still waiting on results and currently preparing for this exam!

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

JDMurray

Hey, it sounds like you passed! I hope you are rewarding yourself just for having survived the experience.

famosbrown

Well at least you passed sabooher!!

I hope it is a pass! Long time no post on same thread JD, LOL!!

I'm hoping the results come pretty quick though. If for some reason I missed it by a few points, I wouldn't mind sitting for it again when it comes to my city in April. I'm currently going through some material to make sure I answered things right and to brush up on some concepts and areas I knew I wasn't very strong in before the exam.

holysheetman

famosbrown wrote: »

Well at least you passed sabooher!!

I hope it is a pass! Long time no post on same thread JD, LOL!!

I'm hoping the results come pretty quick though. If for some reason I missed it by a few points, I wouldn't mind sitting for it again when it comes to my city in April. I'm currently going through some material to make sure I answered things right and to brush up on some concepts and areas I knew I wasn't very strong in before the exam.

I just took CISSP in Kansas City, Mo this past saturday as well, awaiting results... good luck with yours!

famosbrown

holysheetman wrote: »

I just took CISSP in Kansas City, Mo this past saturday as well, awaiting results... good luck with yours!

Thanks man! Good luck to you as well! I have a co-worker who took the exam in Chicago the Saturday before me...he received his results in 10 days. I'm hoping for the same speedy turn around .

holysheetman

any results? I am still waiting as well.... ughh............. at this point I don't care if I pass or fail.. just want to know!

core22

I just took mine last month and the wait was 18 days. Seems like its all over the map - some folks hear in as little as 10-12 days, some 35-40 days, and everything in between.

famosbrown

Still no results!!

I thought I was fine with the wait, but after the 12 day mark, I'm constantly checking email now!

I wanted to know quickly just in case I failed, so I can book the upcoming exam in April in my area, but oh well. I'm sure I passed though! Some have gotten it in 10, 12, 14 (on a Sunday), 15, 17, 35 days later...I'm starting to think they just wait until they get a certain amount of exams in before they grade them

rwmidl

I'm at 10 days now and I've caught myself refreshing my email quite a bit more.

famosbrown

Yeah...I know the feeling! I'm at 17 days, but I don't check that much anymore.I'm actually expecting to get results in April sometime now . I'm sure someone will benefit from me waiting and having their results in 7-12 days

holysheetman

I took it on march 12th and still no results BUT... today I got an email (which I filter when it comes from isc2.org) and the subject was "all good things must come to an end" - I was like "OMG!!" so yeah it was the end of some promotion that isc2 was having... kind of scary lol

rwmidl

I got the same email! No results yet for me either (I've been keeping an eye on the cccure.org forums and no one has posted anything from any of the mid-March test dates yet).

famosbrown

holysheetman wrote: »

I took it on march 12th and still no results BUT... today I got an email (which I filter when it comes from isc2.org) and the subject was "all good things must come to an end" - I was like "OMG!!" so yeah it was the end of some promotion that isc2 was having... kind of scary lol

Yeah, I received the same email, but on Monday, 28 March.

When was the last official CISSP bootcamp? Maybe they are waiting to get two weeks of those Sunday test takers in or something . It's fun coming up with theories on why they take too long to feed the exam papers through the machine and communicate results

JDMurray

famosbrown wrote: »

It's fun coming up with theories on why they take too long to feed the exam papers through the machine and communicate results

Because there's a lot more to scoring an exam than just feeding it through a Scantron machine. I believe that the (ISC)2 out-sources their exam material publication and scoring to a professional exam service for quality control. Such a service likely has 100's of customers all wanting their exams scored too, so the (ISC)2 has to wait for its exam results just like you all do.

famosbrown

JDMurray wrote: »

Because there's a lot more to scoring an exam than just feeding it through a Scantron machine. I believe that the (ISC)2 out-sources their exam material publication and scoring to a professional exam service for quality control. Such a service likely has 100's of customers all wanting their exams scored too, so the (ISC)2 has to wait for its exam results just like you all do.

That's true and a valid theory. Next question would be, what is the SLA between ISC2 and the outsourced vendor? What other exams are out there using this vendor, using scantron, and has the same candidate number as ISC2 exams? does the vendor only specialize in scantron, or does it grade other type of examinations?

There has to be something up, other than demand, that causes delays in scoring. Does the vendor queue up all exams by customer then grade them at a set time. Many times, people get results the same day when their test dates were 1-5 weeks apart.

There is absolutely NOTHING I can do to change it, but it's still fun guessing .

JDMurray

famosbrown wrote: »

There is absolutely NOTHING I can do to change it, but it's still fun guessing .

I think this is a solid indication that you need to start studying for your next cert.

famosbrown

JDMurray wrote: »

I think this is a solid indication that you need to start studying for your next cert.

LOL! Agreed! I'm filling time with video games right now. I'm not sure what cert I'll go after next :S. It will most likely be the PMP, but I have until October to get my second ICND exam done for full CCNA. However, it's been a while since I've studied and used Cisco IOS. I'd have to start over by teaching myself the ICND1 stuff all over again to get refreshed.

rwmidl

Speaking of new certifications - just a thought I had.

Say you have your CISSP and decide you want the SSCP. When you pass, and if you are fully endorsed for your CISSP, would you "automatically" become an SSCP or would you still be an associate and have to submit your paperwork?

It would seem (to me) you would automatically become a full SSCP upon passing the exam since you've already met the professional qualifications.

JDMurray

The SSCP and CISSP are two different certifications and have separate requirements for experience and endorsements. Getting your first (ISC)2 cert gets you into the system, and this likely helps expedite things a bit when you get additional (ISC)2 certs.

I received my SSCP before my CISSP and had to go through the full certification process for both. Me having the same endorser for both certs probably helped expedite the process too.

It's true that if you have the experience requirements for the CISSP you also meet those for the SSCP, but the endorsement is still required. There may also be issues of a candidate haven fallen out of "good standing" by not paying AMF or keeping up CPEs, or perhaps by letting the CISSP completely lapse. Doing a full audit for each (ISC)2 takes care of these possible issues.

rwmidl

JD - that's what I figured.

holysheetman

any results Famos?

I failed =(

famosbrown

I'm sorry to hear that bro! Take a couple of weeks off, zone out, and then hit it again!

I got the email today at 1130 and it is a pass. I'm working on getting current contact information from prior employers...spent time on the resume and forgot about the contact info.

famosbrown

Received official notice of CISSP designation today. A little under two months from exam through full certification.

ITdude

Congrats quite an accomplishment!

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

famosbrown

sabooher wrote: »

Congrats! Two months isn't bad at all. My exam was Oct 23. Certified on Jan 10. Everyone waited until the last minute to get certified last year.

Yeah, there were a lot of people doing it at the last minute, especially those needing it for IA postions to comply with DOD 8570.

powerfool

Congrats! Just for your count, I did take the Official (ISC)2 course with an exam the Sunday afterwards and it took exactly two weeks for my results, and then another two weeks for the endorsement process.

I am sure you feel a weight lifted after having this process over Just get those CPEs!

fn157f

sabooher wrote: »

Good luck with your results. I felt miserable after my exam. Anxiety and the test roon conditions were awful and there were many distractions, mostly from the proctors themselves. But I passed so that's what matters. Let us know how it goes.

Good luck with your results. I felt miserable after my exam. Anxiety and the test roon conditions were awful and there were many distractions, mostly from the proctors themselves. But I passed so that's what matters. Let us know how it goes.
=======================

Hi guys,

From what I can see most of you have like 5 or 10 certificates already. what the requirement to get the CISSP ? do we need another certification or we can just go for the examen ?

Thank you for feedback.

famosbrown

powerfool wrote: »

Congrats! Just for your count, I did take the Official (ISC)2 course with an exam the Sunday afterwards and it took exactly two weeks for my results, and then another two weeks for the endorsement process.

I am sure you feel a weight lifted after having this process over Just get those CPEs!

thanks! CPE's won't be a problem at all...I'm already used to the "CPE grind" for maintaining my EC-Council and CompTIA certs. (ISC)2 seems a lot easier to meet the Continuing Education requirements since I can do anything related to the ten domains...

JDMurray

With the (ISC)2, you can also submit CPEs for things that aren't directly related to the ten domains, such as taking a class in an pre-approved subject are, like project management. These are known as Group B CPEs.

Maintaining Your Credentials In Good Standing