This Was My Mount Everest, NOT my Windmill!!
PLEASE, don't get discouraged too much while you wait...even if your results are not good. If you want to really be a CISSP, you will find a way. It took me over ten years to get here, my friends.
Those of us with families who love us and enjoy our company when we are not obsessed about studying for, or awaiting the exam results, really don't want us to study again while we wait for the results. Like many, I tormented myself for the same reasons the rest have done:
-I worried about questions I knew I missed once I grew tired and careless towards the end.
-I suffered the 'CISSP Exam amnesia' that so many of us suffer, so I worried about how to study the next time.
-I was torn between 'do I study again, now,' or 'if you study now, you are accepting the fact that you failed,' and the latter was NOT something my wife ever considered, as she knew I remained relentless in my pursuit to pass.
- I worried about what my peers would think of me, and my company who funded this extended expedition would think if I tanked the test again.
So, I took the test for the second time in Feb of this year after a 14 month hiatus from the previous attempt. Then, like most of you, I waited, and waited, and waited, and filled my head with 'what-if's' and self-doubt, and reflected on my life and why I did this in the first place.
I was NEVER one to take this test because DoD 8570 said I should if I ever hoped to advance in my career. Like most of you, I had a number of directions that could put me in the 'high-demand' category besides the CISSP track. So, I asked myself a number of questions while I waited, and hoped, and ultimately discovered via e-mail that I failed by a few points:
-Why did I do this in the first place?
-Who am I doing this for...me? My wife, my future family?
-Does it matter that others have passed in one round where it took me more than two?
-How many people do I know who gave up on the CISSP who did fail once or twice? Did I want to be one of them? Believe me, I understand why they threw in the towel, and I do NOT judge. This is an endurance test!!! This test was my Mount Everest! People come within a few hundred feet of the summit of the highest place on earth and break their legs, pass out from oxygen deprivation, or go into hypothermia...Yet, they try again, while others do not.
To me, failing this test twice, and each time by just a fraction, was as much a test of my resolve as anything else in this world. The last failure e-mail was the worst day in my life in recent memory. I had put myself and my family through so much. I wanted to take the test right there, immediately. I wanted to get drunk (didn't), or sleep a lot in the hopes it was all a bad dream (did do that).
So, what did I do after I realized that life goes on whether I am a CISSP or not? I went and signed up for the CBT CISSP in Costa Rica, booked a flight, studied for two more weeks, stayed in a hotel room for two days in San Jose, gave up my first wedding anniversary (with the blessing of my wife), my 42 birthday (the day after), and PASSED the test!
Now, I am waiting for (and am not in a huge rush) my CISSP certification, after I got my endorsement and CV faxed over to ISC2. I don't worry about the possible audit, or the time it takes to get that cert in the mail...this story was ten YEARS in the making.
Please, Please do yourself a favor if you failed this test and want to actually be a CISSP for the right reasons: TAKE the test again!!!! Take it as many times as necessary if you are truly experienced enough to take this exam. Let the world benefit from your knowledge and let your family benefit from your hard work and sacrifice. NEVER listen to anyone who gives the CISSP little credence, or holds it in low regard. If you don't re-take if you fail, you will look back at that moment you chose not to endure this again and wonder why? If it takes you another year or two, then take another year or two, but make the choice to take it again.
Those of us with families who love us and enjoy our company when we are not obsessed about studying for, or awaiting the exam results, really don't want us to study again while we wait for the results. Like many, I tormented myself for the same reasons the rest have done:
-I worried about questions I knew I missed once I grew tired and careless towards the end.
-I suffered the 'CISSP Exam amnesia' that so many of us suffer, so I worried about how to study the next time.
-I was torn between 'do I study again, now,' or 'if you study now, you are accepting the fact that you failed,' and the latter was NOT something my wife ever considered, as she knew I remained relentless in my pursuit to pass.
- I worried about what my peers would think of me, and my company who funded this extended expedition would think if I tanked the test again.
So, I took the test for the second time in Feb of this year after a 14 month hiatus from the previous attempt. Then, like most of you, I waited, and waited, and waited, and filled my head with 'what-if's' and self-doubt, and reflected on my life and why I did this in the first place.
I was NEVER one to take this test because DoD 8570 said I should if I ever hoped to advance in my career. Like most of you, I had a number of directions that could put me in the 'high-demand' category besides the CISSP track. So, I asked myself a number of questions while I waited, and hoped, and ultimately discovered via e-mail that I failed by a few points:
-Why did I do this in the first place?
-Who am I doing this for...me? My wife, my future family?
-Does it matter that others have passed in one round where it took me more than two?
-How many people do I know who gave up on the CISSP who did fail once or twice? Did I want to be one of them? Believe me, I understand why they threw in the towel, and I do NOT judge. This is an endurance test!!! This test was my Mount Everest! People come within a few hundred feet of the summit of the highest place on earth and break their legs, pass out from oxygen deprivation, or go into hypothermia...Yet, they try again, while others do not.
To me, failing this test twice, and each time by just a fraction, was as much a test of my resolve as anything else in this world. The last failure e-mail was the worst day in my life in recent memory. I had put myself and my family through so much. I wanted to take the test right there, immediately. I wanted to get drunk (didn't), or sleep a lot in the hopes it was all a bad dream (did do that).
So, what did I do after I realized that life goes on whether I am a CISSP or not? I went and signed up for the CBT CISSP in Costa Rica, booked a flight, studied for two more weeks, stayed in a hotel room for two days in San Jose, gave up my first wedding anniversary (with the blessing of my wife), my 42 birthday (the day after), and PASSED the test!
Now, I am waiting for (and am not in a huge rush) my CISSP certification, after I got my endorsement and CV faxed over to ISC2. I don't worry about the possible audit, or the time it takes to get that cert in the mail...this story was ten YEARS in the making.
Please, Please do yourself a favor if you failed this test and want to actually be a CISSP for the right reasons: TAKE the test again!!!! Take it as many times as necessary if you are truly experienced enough to take this exam. Let the world benefit from your knowledge and let your family benefit from your hard work and sacrifice. NEVER listen to anyone who gives the CISSP little credence, or holds it in low regard. If you don't re-take if you fail, you will look back at that moment you chose not to endure this again and wonder why? If it takes you another year or two, then take another year or two, but make the choice to take it again.
Comments
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cyberguypr
Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
Well-deserved. Thanks for the encouragement. Now spend some serious time celebrating. -
the_hutch
Banned Posts: 827
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am scheduled to take my CISSP exam in August and I am scheduled to graduate with my bachelors in September. If I do pass this test, I will consider it a far greater accomplishment than the bachelors. Its that important to me. Its the single 6 hours that is the culmination of all of your knowledge and experience of security. I ended up registering for an official ISC2 course and I'm hoping it pays off. But major congratulations to you. An accomplishment of a lifetime.