GCIA Pass and Practice Exam

Hello everyone,

First time posting but I've been a long-time lurker. I passed the GCIA exam this morning with a 92% mark - not as good as I would have liked but still at least above 90. I wanted to thank everyone who has posted study tips and exam prep tricks - they really helped. Also wanted to take the time to give back a little something to the members of this forum for all the information and helpful tips on this forum. I have a GCIA practice test left that I would be glad to give to a forum member in need.

I used the SANS OnDemand GCIA course. I listened to the MP3 lectures probably a total of 4 times during my hour and a half daily commute; watched/listened to the OnDemand slides 3 times. Also, completed the workbook and setup a nice Snort lab using VMWare to practice/screw things up.

Thanks to everyone for the experience and tips - particularly posts by Paul_Boz, Docrice, Dynamik among many others - that helped me prepare.

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Bl8ckr0uter

Congrats! Want if you still have it

dover

Thanks! Its yours. I just emailed the mods to ask them to let me use the PM feature...apparently you can't use it until you have 10 posts (to cut down on spammers).

docrice

Good job on the pass, and 92 is certainly a respectable number (advisory board level). Back when GIAC posted individual scores on their site, I remember noticing that GCIA scores tended to average lower than a lot of their other exams. The GCIA requires the test taker to be very detail-oriented. Definitely one of the toughest cert exams I've ever taken.

How long did it take you to complete the exam, just out of curiosity?

w007

Congrats dude! that's awesome.
Can you share more of your study technique and did you make any silly mistakes or you noticed a particular domain they stressed on?

Also if you still have the practice test I can use one!!

dover

Docrice,

02:20:09...This was my first GIAC exam and I have to say I was pretty nervous. Even after taking their practice exam I wasn't 100% sure what the actual exam was going to be like. I made 90% of my wrong answers within the first 20-30 questions then calmed down, took my time and referenced the books when I needed to. So my silly mistakes were time management - thinking I wouldn't have enough time. Four hours is quite a long time, my nerves just got the better of me.

w007,

Doing a good job at indexing the course materials is a MUST in my opinion. Not only do you get another review of the text but you learn where specific topics and groups of topics are located so that if you do need to reference the books you can do it quickly. Also tabbing the topics and subtopics in the books also helped tremendously.

As for domains, I'd say they hit every topic on the GCIA web page but obviously being able to dissect packets and knowing the structure of protocols is key. Any TCP/IP book like Comer's TCP/IP Principles Protocols and Architectures, or TCP/IP Illustrated should be on your reading list.

ipchain

dover wrote: »

Hello everyone,

First time posting but I've been a long-time lurker. I passed the GCIA exam this morning with a 92% mark - not as good as I would have liked but still at least above 90.

First of all - welcome stranger, we've been expecting you!

Congrats on the GCIA pass, 92% is a terrific score! I can relate to your exam experience as I also got 90% of my wrong answers within the first 10 questions. I was a bit reckless and was missing important details, so I had to shift my focus and pay a little more attention to the questions.

Thanks for sharing your experience, and we hope you stick around.

dover

ipchains,

Thanks! That's a nice collection of SANS certs you have there. Any plans for the GSE?

I really wanted to do better but I'll take the pass. Had I gone into the exam without having read through these forums I would have been in trouble. Next up for me is the SANS GISP at the beginning of October and then the CISSP exam in late October. I haven't seen many reviews out there on the SANS MGMT 414 course so once I've finished it and taken the GISP I'll post a review and preparation guide (assuming I don't tank it!).

After all of that I'd like to finish the last three Cisco CCNP:Security exams. Firewall, IPS and VPN.

ipchain

dover wrote: »

ipchains,

Thanks! That's a nice collection of SANS certs you have there. Any plans for the GSE?

I really wanted to do better but I'll take the pass. Had I gone into the exam without having read through these forums I would have been in trouble. Next up for me is the SANS GISP at the beginning of October and then the CISSP exam in late October. I haven't seen many reviews out there on the SANS MGMT 414 course so once I've finished it and taken the GISP I'll post a review and preparation guide (assuming I don't tank it!).

After all of that I'd like to finish the last three Cisco CCNP:Security exams. Firewall, IPS and VPN.

Thanks. I was hoping to give GSE a try next year, but after much consideration, I have changed my mind. With that said, my first attempt at the GSE will be in either 2013 or 2014. This will give me plenty of time to prepare and ensure I fully comprehend the material.

I am hoping to have OSCP and GREM or GWAPT completed in Q1-Q2 next year, and then I will devote some of my spare time to review for the GSE. Other than that, I don't have anything else on my radar, although I do have to renew my CCNA in 2013.

SANS GISP should be an interesting course, so I am truly looking forward to reading about your experience with it. From what it looks like October is going to be a busy month for you, much like November will be for me as I am also taking the CISSP this year.

Best of luck and keep us posted on your progress.