Passed GSEC Today
As the title indicates, I passed the GIAC GSEC exam today! It was a really cool process from beginning to end, and I'm happy to add this credential to my resume'.
Score: 90% - A decent score; however I was tallying about 94% through the majority of the exam so I was slightly disappointed. The killers for me in that regard were the 'skipped' questions from earlier in the exam. As one might expect I skipped the questions that would be most difficult for me to answer. Unfortunately those questions hadn't gotten any easier by the time I had to answer them at the end
Method of study: SANS SEC401 in-person bootcamp with Dr. Eric Cole himself. The conference was in Chicago and it was a great time. I was also able to meet another TE'er who was there for the same reason so that was really cool. I was fortunate enough to be accepted for SANS Work Study and my employer stepped up to the plate to pay the fee. The Bootcamp was great and needless to say Dr. Cole is a great teacher with a unique ability to drive points home.
Thoughts on the exam: I thought the exam was fair and the practice tests granted to me beforehand were an excellent representation of the real thing.
Thanks to - My employer. Even though I do not mention my employer's name on this site, I would like to thank them for funding and supporting my goals of expanding my skillset and taking on more responsibility. Since attending the bootcamp last November I have been moved into a role as an L1 Security Analyst - I truly enjoy the work and I learn every day.
After each exam I like to reflect on the path my career has taken and the progress that I have made; I also take the time to assess mistakes I have made and learn from them. At the time of the SANS bootcamp I was doing Desktop Support for a number of sites and it was quite the coup for me to get a SANS education for free. It has been just under three years since I earned my first IT certification (A+) and I am pretty happy with my progress so far. The point I would like to make is that I don't believe I'm smarter than the average bear and if I can do it anybody can do it.
I have been pretty fortunate in the sense that anything I have wanted to accomplish or learn I have done so with a good amount of success; but as we all know it doesn't come easy. Not everyone is willing to sacrifice time with friends, family, and other hobbies to manufacture success in this field and that is what sets everyone here apart. Thank you to everyone here who supports one another. Keep working hard, I know I will.
Score: 90% - A decent score; however I was tallying about 94% through the majority of the exam so I was slightly disappointed. The killers for me in that regard were the 'skipped' questions from earlier in the exam. As one might expect I skipped the questions that would be most difficult for me to answer. Unfortunately those questions hadn't gotten any easier by the time I had to answer them at the end
Method of study: SANS SEC401 in-person bootcamp with Dr. Eric Cole himself. The conference was in Chicago and it was a great time. I was also able to meet another TE'er who was there for the same reason so that was really cool. I was fortunate enough to be accepted for SANS Work Study and my employer stepped up to the plate to pay the fee. The Bootcamp was great and needless to say Dr. Cole is a great teacher with a unique ability to drive points home.
Thoughts on the exam: I thought the exam was fair and the practice tests granted to me beforehand were an excellent representation of the real thing.
Thanks to - My employer. Even though I do not mention my employer's name on this site, I would like to thank them for funding and supporting my goals of expanding my skillset and taking on more responsibility. Since attending the bootcamp last November I have been moved into a role as an L1 Security Analyst - I truly enjoy the work and I learn every day.
After each exam I like to reflect on the path my career has taken and the progress that I have made; I also take the time to assess mistakes I have made and learn from them. At the time of the SANS bootcamp I was doing Desktop Support for a number of sites and it was quite the coup for me to get a SANS education for free. It has been just under three years since I earned my first IT certification (A+) and I am pretty happy with my progress so far. The point I would like to make is that I don't believe I'm smarter than the average bear and if I can do it anybody can do it.
I have been pretty fortunate in the sense that anything I have wanted to accomplish or learn I have done so with a good amount of success; but as we all know it doesn't come easy. Not everyone is willing to sacrifice time with friends, family, and other hobbies to manufacture success in this field and that is what sets everyone here apart. Thank you to everyone here who supports one another. Keep working hard, I know I will.
Comments
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kriscamaro68
Member Posts: 1,186 ■■■■■■■□□□
Congrats on the pass and also on the move in sec position at work last year. What is up next for you? -
YFZblu
Member Posts: 1,462 ■■■■■■■■□□
kriscamaro68 wrote: »Congrats on the pass and also on the move in sec position at work last year. What is up next for you?
Thank you - I have a few things I'd like to get to:
-Currently learning Python
-Just purchased TCP/IP Illustrated and I'd like to get through that
-Open-source IDS (Snort). Going to set this up at home and get with the IDS subject matter expert at work
-Advance my Linux abilities -
webgeek
Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats!BS in IT: Information Assurance and Security (Capella) CISSP, GIAC GSEC, Net+, A+ -
docrice
Member Posts: 1,706 ■■■■■■■■■■
Great job on the pass. Did the SANS training and GIAC certification experience live up to the hype?Hopefully-useful stuff I've written: http://kimiushida.com/bitsandpieces/articles/ -
JDMurray
Admin Posts: 13,097 Admin
Congratulations!
I had Dr. Cole in SANS 401 as well and I still hear his voice in my head! -
YFZblu
Member Posts: 1,462 ■■■■■■■■□□
Great job on the pass. Did the SANS training and GIAC certification experience live up to the hype?
Thanks! I thought it did, I learned alot. The bootcamp was a great networking opportunity as well. -
YFZblu
Member Posts: 1,462 ■■■■■■■■□□
Congratulations! I had Dr. Cole in SANS 401 as well and I still hear his voice in my head!
Thank you - It's so funny you say that, because I heard his voice when I was reading the material back at home. -
YFZblu
Member Posts: 1,462 ■■■■■■■■□□
Certificate arrived in the mail today - I thought that was pretty fast, just over a week from the date I passed. The envelope was practically as thick as cardboard and had to be placed in the larger mailbox typically reserved for packages; effectively defending it from harm!
I wish all vendors would do that. Most of the time the certificate gets folded in half and stuffed in my mailbox. -
ChooseLife
Member Posts: 941 ■■■■■■■□□□
Congrats on the pass! Well done!“You don’t become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.” (c) xkcd #896
GetCertified4Less - discounted vouchers for certs -
Psyco32
Member Posts: 104 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats!!!2014 GOALS
> GMOB [MAR_2014] OSCP [MAY_2014] GREM [OCT_2014] -
Concerned Water
Member Posts: 338 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats!!!:study:Reading: CCNP Route FLG, Routing TCP/IP Vol. 1
SWITCH [x] ROUTE [ ] TSHOOT [ ] VCP6-NV [ ] -
YFZblu
Member Posts: 1,462 ■■■■■■■■□□
That is awesome! Congrats!! Will you take any more GIAC Certs?
Thanks all! My employer just hooked me up with a GCIH voucher, so that's my next project. I will do this one On-Demand.
