Newbie here

Hey guys, just registered here for a little support. I've begun the process of taking on the CISSP exam. Just purchased the Shon Harris 5th ed box set.

I'm a little nervous about taking this on as I've get extremely strong IT experience in the small business sector but 0% corporate experience. I don't have a corporate sponsor either so this isn't going to be cheap for me

I'm 25 and have been doing IT since I was 11. I've been running/maintaining/working at a small repair shop for 9 years. Nowadays I make consistent managerial/administrative/technical decisions regarding prevention, maintenance, & planning for the local small businesses our company supports.

I'm also the one deploying those decisions in the field most of the time, and always end up educating the end user during deployment. Basically I'm almost a one man show/jack of all trades.

I know it's hard to give advice to people about CISSP examination because everyone's skill sets & experience vary widely, but with my brief self-description in mind, do you guys think my background will help me?

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Comments

TunYau

Try the Sean harris question quiz and see how you progress you should be ok if you get 70% above

silverh20

ok thanks.

also, so far ive already done a bunch of practice quizes (free ones) at cccure.org with all domains selected, and difficulty at the highest, and with no studying i consistently get 65% of 25 questions correct. usually the ones i dont get right involve government protocols or involve heavy management related experience

NerdGirl67

Don't let your nerves get the better of you. Review the material, take the practice exam and figure out where you are at the moment...then study...and best of all think of ways the information applies to your current work. It is a huge step and not an easy one but if you have managed to be a jack of all trades for this long and haven't run off screaming...then you can handle this

flippedman

From taking a cursory look at your experience it seems like your experience matches up the most with the domain "Operations Security".

The thing with the CISSP though, is that they want certain things they want you to learn "their" way. Experience definitely helps with the CISSP examination, but knowing the material that is covered in the 10 domains matters more.

If I were in your shoes, I would ask myself the question "What are my goals in having the CISSP?". You're doing a lot of small business work, and I'd think that's something a lot of small business just don't know enough to care too terribly about. They just want stuff done. IF however, you are looking into doing work for the government, as a federal employee or contractor, then the CISSP is a highly-regarded certification; this is the reason why I obtained it, job security in the Federal field.

silverh20

thanks for the advice so far everyone. I'm taking the CISSP because I want to move out of my current career level and up into more advanced work. most of the companies ive looked at want CISSP so I figure that if I get the CISSP ill at least be able to get my foot in the door somewhere with upward potential available later.

someone recommended i purchase the StudISCope practice exams from ISC2 themselves in conjunction with studying/reading the Shon Harris 5th ed book. anyone used the StudISCope material before?