Question about CISSP boot camps

What is your take on them?
Which do you recommend?
How much do they cost?
<insert other relative information>

I'm not a big boot camp kind of guy. I would rather just read a book and watch some videos. I was hoping to learn from your experiences. Thank you in advance.

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Comments

Iristheangel

If you have a great instructor, it's awesome. I went thru the official CISSP boot camp and my instructor had the best personality/teaching style. I would highly recommend asking for Gwen's class if you went that route. She really solidified a lot of the topics for me and out of 25 people in my class, 23 passed.

I know Shon Harris does boot camp videos and live seminars also. I can't attest to her live seminars and she's a rather intelligent lady, but she has the MOST monotone voice I have ever heard in her videos. That's just my .02

Reyniel

Thank you Iris. What was the cost of the official boot camp?

ajd86

Bottom Line, Up Front: Bootcamps are a great way to study, but not the best to learn.

I'd highly recommend you go into bootcamp with some knowledge of the material. At least have some background in most (or all) of the domains. Otherwise, the sheer amount of information is pure overload for a 5 day course. I found my bootcamp to be helpful in focusing my attention to testworthy items, but I wouldn't use it as a forum to "learn everything". However, if you've got the necessary requisite experience, a bootcamp is a great way to bring everything together before your exam.

Reyniel

Absolutely agree. I just don't want to fail this exam -- it would be supplemental.

Iristheangel

I got my bootcamp through CISSP.com for $2195. It's the same official bootcamp from ISC2 but just a touch cheaper

Thistleback

Reyniel:

I agree with Iristheangel - Gwen's bootcamp is top-notch. I enrolled through Training Camp for an all-inclusive package. Training, 2 meals a day, hotel, and test fee. I had read Shon Harris' book in advance and used the practice tests. The cost for boot camp was about $5k - but my employer paid for it. I passed the exam on the first try.

Reyniel

Iris, thanks for the additional information.

Thistleback, if only someone else would pay for it

Thank you for the information.

wenzthis

I just took the INFOSEC Institute/Intense School CISSP 6 day bootcamp and it was awesome. Instructor focused on what would be relevant for the test and skipped over the rest. I studied for the 6 days of the course plus three after and passed first try. No previous studying. You have to have some semblance of a security background or no amount of studying will get you past that test. Too much is drawn on experience.

!nf0s3cure

On the same question, can someone shed some light on how are SANS boot camps for CISSP, like their course number 414?

the_hutch

I'm registered to start my bootcamp on monday (in 5 days) and take the test on friday. Its one of the official ISC2 bootcamps for $3499. To be honest, I kind of already regret purchasing it though. I may just be over-confident, but I'm pretty sure I could pass it right now without even attending the bootcamp. So I guess in that sense, it should make passing a sure thing.

the_hutch

!nf0s3cure wrote: »

On the same question, can someone shed some light on how are SANS boot camps for CISSP, like their course number 414?

I'm surprised SANS even offers a course. Seems like a really stupid idea to me though. SANS has pretty high prices for any of their courses, so if you are going to spend the money anyway, why not go with an ISC2 bootcamp? I can understand spending money on a SANS course for a SANS certification, but can't imagine why somebody would pay SANS to teach them ISC2 content. CISSP is as much a security theory and management cert as it is a technical cert. And theory and management practice, unlike technical aspects of IT, are open to interpretation. When you get the information from the source, you get indoctrinated into those biases or interpretations that will be helpful for the test.

Iristheangel

Good luck, Hutch. I hope you get Gwen or an equally awesome instructor

JDMurray

SANS just had a couple of Webcasts on the CISSP:

Change Has Come: The New CISSP® Exam

How to be Successful at Passing the CISSP

More SANS WebCasts can be found in the SANS WebCasts Archive.

beads

For what its worth the SANS course also has the GISP or CISSP lite exam. Let me emphasize lite in comparison to the actual CISSP. Eric Conrad has done a awesome job of distilling the content both into a book and writing the courseware. Its a matter of preference. If your familiar with SANS courses and intensity its probably a good fit. If this were to be your first foray into SANS - probably not.

Pass rate probably needs to be updated but appears from comments to still be very high, speaking well of the level of instruction. On the other hand, haven't really seen any hard statistics on the pass rate, so there is no comparable apples to apples comparison across the board. That can be said for any instructors teaching these bootcamps.

- beads

paul78

I did the SANS 414 on-demand. It was the first SANS class that I ever took and I thought it was decent. Lots of entertaining sidebars which I sometimes found tedious so I skipped ahead when those occur to save some time. I liked the layout of the course and it was quite comprehensive. Depending on your background and if you already have the requisite experience, the SANS course can be a great resource. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have spent the 3k on the course. But taking the course very likely assured a pass for me.

Good luck

!nf0s3cure

I was planning to do a 414, so it is good to know that it is of benefit. But going by what I read might try the on-demand course too.