Just took the CISSP earlier today, 3-25-12....

Wow, that was rough. Now it's time for the waiting game. I was told it takes about 6 weeks, but a coworker of mine took it twice and waited only 4weeks each time. I did the 7day TrainingCamp bootcamp and had an amazing teacher. I'm confident I learned the information, and this is the first time in 12 years that I can actually explain to someone how encryption actually works.

I don't really have a feeling on how the test went, although there were plenty of WTF questions that I had no clue...there were many questions that all 4 answers were correct, but of course "Find the BEST answer". Some I was able to deduce the answer, and about 1 in 4 I knew without a shadow of a doubt what the answer was. The wording, imho, is very poor on this test. Not sure how else to explain it, without giving too much away. I feel like I have the knowledge to pass, but I guess we'll see. This was by far, the most grueling and mentally exhausting test I've ever taken. It was rough. Hopefully, I played the game well enough to pass.

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yamaj615

How long did it take you to prepare for the exam?

94jedi

I have a lot of experience that is very specific to the CISSP domains/skill set...so keep that in mind. Having said that, I am by no means a "fast" learner, or one of those super intelligent guys that we all know and love/hate. Basically, when it comes to school and learning, I have to work very hard to be a little bit better than average.

Taking that into account, I had about 1 solid week of study before the boot camp and prior to that, maybe another week of casual study preceeded by 2 weeks of very sporadic study. I ordered Shon Harris' book about a month out and ramped up my effort the final week.

During the boot camp itself, we were in class from 8am to about 6:30pm, with 15min breaks every 1.5 hrs and a 1 hour lunch. After class, I'd usually get dinner and come right back to my room and resume studying from about 8:30 to 10:30pm. I studied very hard in and out of class during the bootcamp. We'll see if my methods pay off or not.

CreativeITPro

Who was your instructor? I had Gwen - who taught the class pretty well. I heard there was another guy who focused a lot on policy, etc. Gwen was great and went over crypto stuff pretty deeply.

I'd give my experience with training camp an A due to 1.) having the information taught in an absorb able manner and 2.) passing!

Good luck!

94jedi

CreativeITPro wrote: »

Who was your instructor? I had Gwen - who taught the class pretty well. I heard there was another guy who focused a lot on policy, etc. Gwen was great and went over crypto stuff pretty deeply.

I'd give my experience with training camp an A due to 1.) having the information taught in an absorb able manner and 2.) passing!

Good luck!

I had Steve Kalman. He was OUTSTANDING. I don't know what it was about his teaching style but it really helped me absorb the info. There were a few minor topics he glossed over, but they weren't on the test. Anything he covered in depth was hit hard on the test. I would say he spent a good amount of time on the major domains...Telecom/Network, Access Control, Crypto, etc.

Thanks for the kind words! This wait is killing me and of course, I'm second guessing all my answers....

94jedi

This waiting is killing me. I think I'm going to email (ISC)2...

symc

You guysheard anythign yet? I too took mine on 25th March, but in England.. the wait is killing me, especially as the last 2 pages i decided speed was the best option! Had at least 2 give aways and somehow decided that the the stupid answer was the correct one! Doh!!

OSIGUY

Took mine on the 24th of March in Seattle and STILL haven't received the results. This waiting is worse than the Prep.

94jedi

Just got my results today...I PASSED!!! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, I PASSED AT LAST!!!

lol...please excuse my exuberance!!!

And now, I have to "apply" for certification hahaha!

symc

Congrats all! I'm still waiting for my results, tested on 25 march. Guess they shut up shop by now and another weekend of no knowing! Aaaggghhhhh

dmoore44

94jedi wrote: »

Just got my results today...I PASSED!!! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, I PASSED AT LAST!!!

lol...please excuse my exuberance!!!

And now, I have to "apply" for certification hahaha!

Congrats dude!

94jedi

dmoore44 wrote: »

Congrats dude!

Thanks guys...I couldn't bear another weekend. Thank God i didn't have to. I really give a lot of credit to the boot camp and the instructor. He gave some great little tips that really helped me out on the test.

kalkan999

Congratulations to all of you who passed. And for those of you who did not pass, take it from someone who had to take it three times: you will appreciate why you took so much time and effort to do this and see it through to the very end. I studied HARD for that test every time. Never let a setback get to you, as being a CISSP is part of a life-long committment to continuing education. Information Security is by its very nature a setback every time you go into work. Advanced Persistent Threats are real and will only get more persistent, greater in numbers, and it will take YEARS for the Internet/Intranet and enclaves to even shore up their existing infrastructures. And newer technologies are always on the horizon to mitigate the new threats. BE as persistent as those you work so hard to fight in the first place.
This gruelling exam is an endurance test at least as much as it is a knowledge test. Even if some of what you study seems outdated or irrelevant to today's world, remember that even 'old stuff' is still valid. It's actually a POSITIVE that you know it's old, because you have the experience to know. BUT even with that experience and advanced knowledge, there is still real-world requirement for so much of what they teach us that seems to date to the 70's. Example: Isn't the very foundation of SELinux (for those of us who have any experience with same) still somewhat based on Bell-Lap?
Remember that this test is not easy for anyone, save about 1% of CISSP test takers, and unfortunately for the rest of us, those one percenters are often the one's providing input to the exam questions. We cannot all be blessed with 180 IQ's, but you can be a normal person and still pass this exam, as I am absolutely, 100% living proof.

BGavnG

Steve is a good teacher. He was my instructor during my first boot camp and he did well. But I honestly went into that bootcamp without any prior studying or preparing. Only took the information I absorbed from the bootcamp. Needless to say, I didn't pass (this was two years ago).

I have another bootcamp scheduled next Monday-Fri. Not sure if he'll be the instructor or not but hoping so.

Congrats.

94jedi

BGavnG wrote: »

Steve is a good teacher. He was my instructor during my first boot camp and he did well. But I honestly went into that bootcamp without any prior studying or preparing. Only took the information I absorbed from the bootcamp. Needless to say, I didn't pass (this was two years ago).

I have another bootcamp scheduled next Monday-Fri. Not sure if he'll be the instructor or not but hoping so.

Congrats.

Is it in the Sterling VA (Dulles) location next week? If so, my co-worker will be there. I don't know if Steve was the key to me passing the test but he certainly gave me every reasonable advantage possible. He would mention these little tips/tricks for how to evaluate questions and what exactly the questions were really asking. Those tips were invaluable to me on the test as I felt like I "blanked out" on some of the questions but was able to make a pretty good run at them based on his tips. The tips are nothing that would violate the NDA, just a bit of common sense applied, when the situation called for it.

As I said a few posts above, I certainly didn't study hard prior to the bootcamp...and if I had to guess, I was certainly one of the "less smart" people in the room that day. For the record, I don't test well, I was an average at best student in school (had to work hard for B's/C's) and I really don't know "how to study".

For me, I think the atmosphere of learning in the bootcamp setting, plus Steve's methods, were what put me over the top. The night before the test, I felt like I had the knowledge to pass and that the real battle would be deciphering what was actually be asked as well as battling fatigue. Although I didn't prep too hard prior to the bootcamp, while I was at the hotel, I was a hermit. I watched TV maybe 2 hours a day (1 hour durning lunch) 1 hour when I got back to my room after class in the evening. I got take out every night, came back to my room and hit the books until about 10:30 every night. I made sure to get good sleep. I would wake up at about 7:15am, eat breakfast and be ready for class at 8am. For me, that kind of routine and distraction free environment was really beneficial.

BGavnG

No. It's in North Florida.

BGavnG

Hey 94... can I shoot you a email? Wanted to ask you something

94jedi wrote: »

Is it in the Sterling VA (Dulles) location next week? If so, my co-worker will be there. I don't know if Steve was the key to me passing the test but he certainly gave me every reasonable advantage possible. He would mention these little tips/tricks for how to evaluate questions and what exactly the questions were really asking. Those tips were invaluable to me on the test as I felt like I "blanked out" on some of the questions but was able to make a pretty good run at them based on his tips. The tips are nothing that would violate the NDA, just a bit of common sense applied, when the situation called for it.

As I said a few posts above, I certainly didn't study hard prior to the bootcamp...and if I had to guess, I was certainly one of the "less smart" people in the room that day. For the record, I don't test well, I was an average at best student in school (had to work hard for B's/C's) and I really don't know "how to study".

For me, I think the atmosphere of learning in the bootcamp setting, plus Steve's methods, were what put me over the top. The night before the test, I felt like I had the knowledge to pass and that the real battle would be deciphering what was actually be asked as well as battling fatigue. Although I didn't prep too hard prior to the bootcamp, while I was at the hotel, I was a hermit. I watched TV maybe 2 hours a day (1 hour durning lunch) 1 hour when I got back to my room after class in the evening. I got take out every night, came back to my room and hit the books until about 10:30 every night. I made sure to get good sleep. I would wake up at about 7:15am, eat breakfast and be ready for class at 8am. For me, that kind of routine and distraction free environment was really beneficial.

94jedi

BGavnG wrote: »

Hey 94... can I shoot you a email? Wanted to ask you something

Hey sorry I haven't checked in here in a while, shoot me a pm. it will trigger an email.