Third Times The Charm

HushLives

Lurked for a very long time here, but I finally felt motivated to join because I passed my exam. This was pretty much an all or nothing situation for me. My job had required me to take the exam and I came up short last time by like 20 points, so I took a bit of a break from studying and I decided that this month was the right time to get back on the horse. Set my date for the end of the month. Figured if I passed I could start the month of April off right. If I failed, I could just use the momentum from March to focus on my study efforts in April. Went in and came out with a passing score. I really did not enjoy the practical pieces of the exam, the way they were positioned was awkward. They have a window that lays on top of the exam question and the exam question takes up the entire space of the screen. You shouldn't have to spend your time resizing and moving the question just so you can see the entire diagram. I used a combination of practice tests and Darril's book. Darril's book was good for laying out the material but I did not like the way the practice questions were laid out. Many times when I took the practice tests in his book, I felt like the previous question was leading into an answer with the current question. IT/Security is not my background but I am trying to learn, I am trying to figure out what I should take next. Another guy who was getting his registration confirmed, talked to me a bit and he recommended the CCNA. I also know that going back and taking A+, Network+ or both are viable options as well. I am really not sure where I want to go. I have a background in political science and ISOM, so I would like to parlay this into something in that field.

webgeek

Congrats on the pass.....what is your ultimate goal in IT? What do you like doing?

NotHackingYou

Congrats! IMO, the CCNA and Security+ Compliment each other very well.

HushLives

webgeek, to be honest, I have no idea. I have been in this industry a little over a year, so I am still learning about a lot of stuff. I understand that there are staple certs that a person should have. As of right now at work I am a low level member on a team that is working to A&A government systems, while the scanning and understanding of the NIST documents are interesting to me, the documentation piece is a bit bland and leaves something to be desired. I have an interest in learning how to hack as well. With my ISOM courses I did a bit of web development and C++. I have worked with Privacy on a very surface level, but what I have worked with that has left me very interested, since it speaks to the political nerd in me. (Sidenote: Can anyone else not hit Enter to start a new paragraph?)

webgeek

Seems like Security + Networking + maybe Linux/Python/Ruby/another language is something you might want to learn

And yes, I hit enter and it works....

HushLives

I guess my computer just hates enter on this forum, working everywhere else, idk. Appreciate the input. I am going to talk to my boss tomorrow since she is a bit of a mentor for me. But I am thinking Network+/A+ and then moving on to CCNA. I would love to get the CISSP just for the heck of it, see people's reaction at my job lol.

Macpro76

congrats on the pass!

Darril

Congrats on the pass. Based on the title, I'm guessing you dropped it the first two times so I applaud your perseverance.

With a fresh Security+ pass behind you, you'll find that you have a lot of knowledge that will help you pass the Network+ exam. You understand the CompTIA question types and methods and had to master some networking topics for the Security+ exam that cross over into the Network+ exam.

Network+ knowledge will also help with you with some of the topics in the CISSP if you choose to pursue it.

Good luck on whatever you decide to pursue.

HushLives

Darril: Appreciate the congrats. You are correct about dropping it the first two times. I had two weeks to study for my first go around and I got a 690, I studied harder for the second attempt and I scored a 720. Just recommended your book to a colleague who has to take Sec+. I've been talking to my supervisors and I think I am going to do a combination of privacy and security. One of them is planning on taking the CIPP soon, so I may study with him. I was thinking of taking the CASP next. I am very green to all of this, so I was thinking that could be a good step. Although perusing the forums here, the CASP does not seem to be well liked. That does not really matter to me, I wouldn't be taking it to gain status or money. I would be taking just to prove that I can take the next step, before I jump into something like a CISSP.

Darril

The CASP is new but it's reputation is building. The Department of Defense (DoD) recently added it to the list of approved certifications for some IT job levels which is a major vote of confidence. If your ultimate goal is CISSP, you might like to consider the SSCP as a stepping stone. Good luck no matter what you decide.

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

_Marauder

Congratulations!

HushLives

Appreciate the congratulations again. With the CASP and SSCP, that's a bit of the debate I'm having with myself, in terms of which one to get. I was complimenting getting both, but the more I learn it seems like that would be overkill. My supervisor prefers ISC2 examinations, she likes their reputation and the way the organization conducts themselves. So any advice on the pros and cons of both tests would be extremely helpful. I'm leaning towards the CASP, because I feel like I would be a bit more comfortable stepping from Sec+ into an exam that is designed to follow Sec+. Both fill the CEUs for Sec+ and the SSCP is cheaper by far, obviously you can tell I am conflicted. I decided that I am definitely going to take the CAP, the type of work I am doing at my current position is exactly what is covered in the CAP, so it makes sense for me to do that. And as I mentioned before if my supervisor decides to take the CIPP, I will try to tag along on that. The CISSP, is something I was told that a person should have in the cyber security field in general because it opens so many doors. So I am hoping that once I have 2-3 more exams under my belt and possibly a year or so more experience, I will try for the CISSP. I've heard it is a beast so that's why I am trying to build up to it.

Darril

If CISSP is your ultimate goal and if you don't want to pursue both CASP and SSCP as interim certs, SSCP is the best choice between the two. It has a lot of crossover with CISSP and also allows you to see how the questions are put together on ISC2 exams.

As an aside, I came across the return problem too. Normally, I'm using Google Chrome for surfing and don't have any problems. I switched over to Internet Explorer 10 for a couple of days and noticed that it doesn't recognize returns in the Reply text boxes. Odd.

Jasiono

It's IE10
I downgraded and it worked. I use IE on my laptop mainly but I will switch back to firefox.

HushLives

Darril wrote: »

If CISSP is your ultimate goal and if you don't want to pursue both CASP and SSCP as interim certs, SSCP is the best choice between the two. It has a lot of crossover with CISSP and also allows you to see how the questions are put together on ISC2 exams.

As an aside, I came across the return problem too. Normally, I'm using Google Chrome for surfing and don't have any problems. I switched over to Internet Explorer 10 for a couple of days and noticed that it doesn't recognize returns in the Reply text boxes. Odd.

Darril- I don't mind getting them both, especially as interim certs. If it's worth getting both then I'm all for that. Then I would take the next step towards the CAP, a privacy cert and then the CISSP.
Appreciate all the advice!

Thanks to you and Jasiono for clearing up the return issue as well. I usually use my work laptop which has Firefox, but my personal I use IE10.