Gents,
I'm a lurker - but I paid great heed to the advice given here (and at cccure.org of course). My thanks for this site as a resource, the folks who contributed, and for the encouragement and advice given here and elsewhere. Place your hands on the screen, and give an internet high five.
As is the norm, here's what I used, and my thoughts.
I read:
Eric Conrad's 2nd edition book
Most of Shon Harri's AIO 6th Ed.
I read Eric's book first - great read. Shon's was later, and honestly, while providing more than you may need to know for the exam, is still a wonderful resource.
I listend to:
Shon's mp3 lectures on her site - they're free, and worthy of your time. Go get'em - play'em when you have time driving, or like me, whilst cooking or other mindless stuff.
I practiced with:
Cccure.org's paid test questions. Probably did around 3000 questions.
Transcender's paid test questions. Did all 900 easily, and probably a few more.
After i'd gone through most of those, I went here and did both tests - really decent questions, and hey, free!
Elsevier: conrad: CISSP Study Guide Certification
So I figure between 4000-5000 total questions I went through. In total, studying 5-6 days a week for about 4-8 hours a day, I started in early June and took it today - so...50-60 days-ish.
Study method:
After every chapter, I would hit up cccure and do a bunch of questions on the domain I just read. I did all 10 domains that way - to me, it helped reinforce concepts I just learned. After I'd completed Conrad's book, I really focused mostly on self testing, but towards the close of my test date, I started to read Shon's book - she gives more detail, but I can honestly say it did help on some areas - and having background is key to understanding the exam questions. You can't self test your way to victory.
So what's the exam like? It's kind of funny - after reading everyone's reviews of the test, and study methods, I couldn't help but compare my expierence - so I made some mental notes.
First, the exam isn't super techncial like everyone says. It's very much business/mangerial. You will see some techy stuff there, but it's in several domains, so you can't ignore it as a study topic. Also, don't get hung up on specific verbs or nouns as you self test - focus on the underlying concepts behind your self test questions - because you will absolutely have to logically walk yourself through questions that don't give a great deal of detail. Speaking of questions, the questions themselves are insidious. Allow me to give you this metaphor/example question:
1) Example Question: You're making a delicous peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. This is the best sandwhich ever, and you are looking forward to demolishing it. On one slice of bread is Peanut Butter, and on the other is Jelly. Oh, and there are some other slices of bread too. One has broken glass on it, the other is covered in Ebola. You don't want those.
Which slice of bread is the better slice? Peanut Butter? Or Jelly? Only one is the correct answer. The other is pain and misery. Choose wisley. Maybe some questions will ask you what flavor Jelly, but we all know grape is the best kind, from the missing 11th domain of knowledge in the CBK - Sandwhich Artist.
Best of luck to anyone taking the exam - if you work hard, and study and self test and push yourself, you can do it!
