CISSP Exam in 1 Week

Humbe

Hello fellas

I'm new to the forums but I've been a long time reader (never took the time to register). I've been preparing for the CISSP exam for a little more than 1 month now and I will be taking it in 1 week. I recently received the Shon Harris 6th Edition AIO since I owned the 5th Edition.

My question is should I stick reading the 5th edition which I find easier to read (quick tips) rather than the 6th edition ?

Some how I find that 6th edition quite hard to understand as she jumps from one topic to the other. Is the 5th Edition so outdated that will not allow me to pass the exam ?

I've also printed the cccure study guide (96 pages which I find kinda ridiculous) but I'll be going through those as well as the Shon Harris videos before the big day.

Any help is greatly appreciated !!

emerald_octane

One month??
...
hmmmm........
I....
....
wow...

ok umm. Well to answer your question, i've heard that the 5th edition is sufficient. Not much has changed since the last update. Just added something and moved some things around.

I'm not gonna lie though. Six or so weeks of prep unless it's for 8 hours a day or you are some sort of infosec prodigy, I don't think it'll be enough.

Humbe

Thanks octane.

Im averaging 80% on Shon Harris tests as well as cccure quizzes. Hopefully by putting some good hours this last week will get me to pass the exam.

Thanks for your help!

cyberguypr

Hundreds (maybe thousands?) have taken the test after the 2012 "revision" kicked in but before harris 6th edition came out. I was one of those. No biggie, 5th will do just fine.

Now, a month seems like a really short time to prepare for this test. Do you have an InfoSec background?

Humbe

Thanks for your reply cyberguy

I've been working with a CISSP coworker for over 4 years now and I've picked up a lot of the concepts throughout those years. I also took the InfoSec bootcamp about 1 month ago as well.

bobloblaw

You should be acing the quiz prep that came with the AIO by now. If you have one week, I'd go insane on the practice quizzers nonstop. Even buy another one. Tell your friends and family not to call, turn off your phone, and ring in the new year well. You can close that gap in a week. Good luck.

Humbe

That's the plan boblo !

Thanks

t17hha

Good luck Humbe, I've been on the forum on and off for some time now and thought it's time I'd register

I have been going through the AIO book for a couple months, which is definitely verbose and been using that with the Eric Conrad Study Guide. I'm hoping to try and remember most the material from the Eric Conrad book and then have a go at practice tests with a view to sit my exam within the next month or so.

I can't seem to find the focus to sit and do more than a few hours a day, if you or anyone has any tips please let me know!

bobloblaw

It's very difficult to read anything remotely technical for me for more than a couple hours a day. I'll start trailing off and thinking of winning the lottery, sports, Nadine Velazquez, etc.

I found out what helped me was when I would get burnt out on reading, I would hit the quizzer(s) for a while. It's more active and kicks your brain into problem solving mode. I would also hand write my notes while reading. When I got burnt on reading/note taking, I would then transcribe them. I have 24 pages of solid typed notes. If you make your study sessions more active than just reading, I think you'll have the propensity to extend the time and retention.

Humbe

I've been taking CCCure quizzes for 2 days now and I'm doing pretty good on 7 of the 10 domains. I'm going to be reviewing those 3 I'm having issues with and hopefully iron out any issue very soon.

holysheetman

i just passed the CISSP on December 22nd so, what I would say is... the best way to pass to (obviously) know the material. Overall, you can reason through the questions. For example, most times I wasn't able to put my finger on the correct answer, HOWEVER, I was able to eliminate the 3 other answers that weren't correct, hence revealing the correct answer. That's my best advice. Good luck!

wes allen

Which three are you having issues with? Some domains are more important and scored higher then others.

Humbe

Software development
Security Architecture & Design
Legal

wes allen

I would really hit up the security architecture and design domain, not so much with the other two.

There are other threads out there as well, but this is one I used to guide my study a bit toward the end.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/isc-sscp-cissp/35023-order-cbk-domain-importance-cissp-exam.html

wes allen

You need to have a free account (separate from the quizzes) but there are some good docs here: https://www.cccure.org/downloads-cat10.html The CISSP Summary v1.1 pdf was very helpful to me for final review the couple days before my test.

Humbe

Thanks Wes Allen !!

t17hha

Thanks bobloblaw, I am making notes, so much so that my arm is aching and the ink in the pen has run out
I find the only way I can take anything in is by making detailed notes along the way, once I have been through the modules I may try and make more specific overall notes.

I guess studying at home doesn't always help with kids running around so may need to hit the library or something. I was thinking of beginning the quiz's once I had been through all the modules, I have noticed I was fairly strong at the first few modules in the AIO but seem to have lost my way a little....maybe an idea to go back and forth to retain some information.

Humbe,

You seem to be doing well, I think I will take wes allen's advice and pay more focus in order of importance and then from my personal strong and weak modules.

Jake007

The order of the domains are key... I can tell you I had a lot more Access Control and BCP/DRP question than... Copy Right and Trade Mark questions. Also it's critical to know the concepts down pat, don't get caught up on the names of things as the wording for a certain concept maybe called something else on the test that you never heard of before. So if you know the concept the "name" won't matter.

bobloblaw

t17hha wrote: »

Thanks bobloblaw, I am making notes, so much so that my arm is aching and the ink in the pen has run out
I find the only way I can take anything in is by making detailed notes along the way, once I have been through the modules I may try and make more specific overall notes.

I guess studying at home doesn't always help with kids running around so may need to hit the library or something. I was thinking of beginning the quiz's once I had been through all the modules, I have noticed I was fairly strong at the first few modules in the AIO but seem to have lost my way a little....maybe an idea to go back and forth to retain some information.

Humbe,

You seem to be doing well, I think I will take wes allen's advice and pay more focus in order of importance and then from my personal strong and weak modules.

You're going to have a ridiculous amount of notes initially. A couple weeks prior to the test I redid my notes along the same system. Quiz on 2 separate quizzers on the same domain, and write notes on what I didn't know. I didn't go over a page for any domain at that point. In retrospect, I really think flash cards could have sped up my preparation as well (especially for the security models).

Humbe

I had to reschedule the exam to do it in another 2 weeks. I've been with the flu for over 3 weeks now making it really hard to focus on studying.

Thistleback

Probably a good move, Humbe! You need to be in top shape for the test. Good luck in your studies!

cyberguypr

Agree. Totally not worth it to show up sick.

Humbe

I'm now fully recovered and finishing up the Eric Conrad CISSP Study Guide v2 which I find a lot easier to read than the other books. Also, I'm planning on buying the 11 hours book as well before the exam.

*Crossing fingers now*

Humbe

Just a quick update:

I took the exam on Thursday and I passed it.

What can I say... full of surprises !!

Looking forward now to the endorsement process !

paul78

Congrats!

emerald_octane

congrats.

ajs1976

congrats

Humbe

Thank you so much guys !!

It was quite a trip. I will probably post my thoughts and what material helped me the most for those of you looking for some help.

Jake007

Humbe wrote: »

Just a quick update:

I took the exam on Thursday and I passed it.

What can I say... full of surprises !!

Looking forward now to the endorsement process !

Congrats, good thing you waited after your Flu.. Endorsement wont take long took me two weeks to the day to come back.

Humbe

Jake007 wrote: »

Congrats, good thing you waited after your Flu.. Endorsement wont take long took me two weeks to the day to come back.

I think it was a good move too. I had headaches for weeks I couldn't even sit down and study for 2 hours straight before I had a migraine. On the endorsement side I just sent it to my old boss which is a CISSP and knows me for over 5 years.

Thanks Jake!

bobloblaw

Congrats!