401 / 504 - Exam Dilemma

chanakyajupudi

I have the 504 voucher expiring in September. I have the 401 expiring in December. I am doing the 401 in July ( The class. )

I have On Demands for both.

I am wondering if I should get an extension on the 504 and do the 401 first.

I have not prepared for either anyway !

Wanted to see a more experience perspective !

Any advice / thoughts will be appreciated.

Chanakya

JDMurray

What exactly is the voucher for? Purchasing the On Demand class or just the exam? Have you already taken SANS 504?

Both are great courses. You should try to attend the classes and take the exams for both.

chanakyajupudi

I took the 504 class in May. SANS has given me four months to write the exams. That ends on Sept - 13.

I am taking the 401 Class in July. Sans gives me four months to complete it in December -13.

My question was : Is it better to take the 401 Exam first or the 504 Exam.

In case I need to take the 401 I need to get an extension for the 504 as I might have other commitments and may not be able to study a lot.

JDMurray

I would suggest that because you have already taken 504 you should take the GCIH exam first, and as close to Sept 13 as possible. Take your first GCIH practice exam now and see how well you do. Use the exam's assessment to discover what areas you need to study better (one star categories first, two star's next, etc.). Starting studying your 504 books. A week before your GCIH exam, take the second practice exam and restudy the areas you are still not doing well (1-3 stars). You should do fine.

chanakyajupudi

Thanks for the advice. Or should I get an extension for the GCIH. Finish the GSEC and then move to the GCIH.

azmatt

JD nailed it, do them in the order you took the classes. I was in a similar situation where I took two SANS courses four weeks apart and due to other responsibilities I wasn't able to take the the test from the first course before I attended the second. It's annoying and a bit stressful but I crammed as much as I could for the first exam before I took the second class and looked at the second class as a one week break from studying.

Both of those those tests are VERY passable with proper studying and index creation. Read the books, make a quality index and you'll likely do fantastic on both.

ChooseLife

I'd do GCIH, then GSEC. You've gone through the training for GCIH, you have everything you need to pass the exam, why reverse the order?

chanakyajupudi

I have not really prepared for either. GSEC is a baseline for GCIH in my opinion. So i thought it would be better for me to do the GSEC first. I also want to join the MSISE so the 80% rule also comes up. Need to nail both the exams !

Let me see how I can plan for both without undermining my full time work commitments.