Taking the CISSP Dec 17th, 2011

pinkydapimp

So i am taking the CISSP Dec 17th. I didnt intend on taking it. However, my cybersecurity principles class this semester in grad school is pretty much based around the Official (ISC)2 guide to the CISSP CBK. We have thoroughly gone through each of the domains. I just completed the final and now i have about a week to focus on the exam.

Any tips?

I am going to go through some practice exams. Are there any specific domains i should focus on? I have heard the Cryptography domain is one to focus on. Does the number of questions per domain change from test to test?

Another question. During this 6 hour exam, is there time for a break? Are we allowed to bring a snack or water? Go for a bathroom break?

Do most people take the full 6 hours, or is it typical to finish early?

Thanks in advance.

Darril

Here's a blog article you may like. It answers some of your questions.
Pearson IT Certification: Exam Profile: (ISC)2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) > Exam Details

I know JDMurray has done a similar blog on this site, but I can't seem to get to it.

Only 7 days to study for the CISSP when you didn't plan on taking it seems quite aggressive. Tips? Do nothing but breathe, eat, and sleep CISSP between now and then.

Good luck.

Darril Gibson
Security blog

pinkydapimp

Darril wrote: »

Here's a blog article you may like. It answers some of your questions.
Pearson IT Certification: Exam Profile: (ISC)2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) > Exam Details

I know JDMurray has done a similar blog on this site, but I can't seem to get to it.

Only 7 days to study for the CISSP when you didn't plan on taking it seems quite aggressive. Tips? Do nothing but breathe, eat, and sleep CISSP between now and then.

Good luck.

Darril Gibson
Security blog

Thanks. I saw JDMurrays link in a past posting, but i didnt have access to it either. I wouldnt say i only have 7 days to study for it. I have been studying the CISSP domains since September in my grad school course which pretty thoroughly went through the domains and in the process have read through the entire 900+ page CISSP guide. Does this help or am i still at a disadvantage? Right now i am pretty much focusing on the practice exams.

How similar are these practice exams to the real deal?

Thanks for the tips i will check out that blog article.

JDMurray

pinkydapimp wrote: »

I wouldnt say i only have 7 days to study for it. I have been studying the CISSP domains since September in my grad school course which pretty thoroughly went through the domains and in the process have read through the entire 900+ page CISSP guide. Does this help or am i still at a disadvantage?

That really depends on how much you already knew about the information in the CISSP CBK. If most of the information is new to you then you are still at a disadvantage. You should look at other sources of CISSP study material (such as the CISSP Official Study Guide) to get more and different information. Despite the fact that anyone may take the CISSP exam at anytime, the exam was still designed for people that have many years of professional work experience in two or more Information Security industries. It's people's practical InfoSec experience that often allows people to pass the exam.

pinkydapimp wrote: »

Right now i am pretty much focusing on the practice exams.
How similar are these practice exams to the real deal?

It depends on the practice exams. The studISCope practice exams from www.isc2.org are very close to the actual CISSP, SSCP, CSSLP, etc. exam items. Most other practice exams are only designed to help you learn the exam objectives; they are not meant to be an accurate representation of the format or quality of the items you will see on the actual exam. The Harris practice exams are only designed to help you learn the Harris material and not test how ready you are to pass the actual exam.

pinkydapimp

So just got back from the exam. First impressions:

it wasnt as difficult as i was expecting. Maybe i was expecting madness! or maybe i was prepared. Either way, for some reason i was expecting it to be trickier. THats not to say it was easy. it wasnt!

The bulk of the exam is based on the test taker understanding the concepts as opposed to memorizing specific items.

Having said that, there are things that simply must be memorized such as all the encryption methods, algorithms and such, OSI layers, etc.

THere were only 2 or 3 questions that came from left field. Everything else was in the materiel and i had covered. the question was, had i mastered it and could i recall it!

the test took me about 4.5 hours. I marked the booklet first, went back through the questions i circled to come back to, then filled in the scantron.

Questions will sometimes provide answers to other questions. So definitely circle any questions you are iffy on, and revist later. I also circled questions that i believed gave a hint or an answer for a previous question.

Having said that, i think i am not quite sure that i crushed the exam. I feel like it could go either way. Though i am thinking i am likely on the 600 side of 700. We will see.

So, i guess the wait begins......

Thanks for the assistance!

stealthtt

pinkydapimp wrote: »

it wasnt as difficult as i was expecting.

I agree. I took it on the 17th as well and I was pretty nervous after hearing from quite a few people that it was a difficult exam. I was in and out in 3 hours and I think I did well.

pinkydapimp

stealthtt wrote: »

I agree. I took it on the 17th as well and I was pretty nervous after hearing from quite a few people that it was a difficult exam. I was in and out in 3 hours and I think I did well.

Nice. good luck. report back when you hear back.

pinkydapimp

Just got news that i passed. Thanks for all of the assistance everyone!!

stealthtt

I got mine too at 9am, that was a long wait. I'm done studying for anything for a long, long time now. Congrats...

pinkydapimp

stealthtt wrote: »

I got mine too at 9am, that was a long wait. I'm done studying for anything for a long, long time now. Congrats...

thanks!

skv

pinkydapimp wrote: »

Just got news that i passed. Thanks for all of the assistance everyone!!

Congratulations!!!!

beads

Same time, same day, same results: I Passed.

Congratulations!

- beads