Passed CISSP! - Aug 23, 2013
This was easily the hardest test I have ever taken in my life. I was so physically tired afterwards that I had to take a nap, even after the excitement of knowing that I passed.
How I studied:
-Read cover to cover the Sybex fifth edition book (2011). It was a little old, but I bought it last year in anticipation of taking the exam about a year ago. It just didn't work out that way. I had the physical copy of the book so I was able to bring it everywhere with me and I enjoy reading a physical book vice a digital copy.
-Had the digital copy of Shon Harris sixth edition (2013). I did not read it all the way through, but used it for searching and brushing up on the areas I was weak on.
-Used Clement's CCCure test engine. While his questions are not like the ISC2 questions, I am glad I bought the test engine. His questions were harder than the ISC2 questions, and it really gave me a feel for which domains I needed to focus on.
-I broke down and bought 3 official ISC2 CISSP tests from the studiscope. These things were almost 300$ for all 3 tests. I am glad I did this because a lot of the formatting and wording were similar to the actual exam. Yes it was pricy, but I wanted to ensure a first time pass.
Over all I spent about 3 months solid, every night reading, or testing.During the exam, I thought to myself that I don't recognize any of this stuff. It seemed like the domains I was weakest in were all i had questions on. When I clicked finish, I thought I straight failed. I was sad and miserable, but I got a congratulations you passed!
My advice: Do not take this lightly. Most of the knowledge I gained was from hands on experience as a Cyber Security manager in the Marine Corps. Experience just outweighs book knowledge any day of the week. Really be familiar with the material. There is no quick way with this one.
I am currently pending approval from my endorsement, but after this beast I would like to do a CISSP concentration since the material is fresh on the brain. Any recommendations as to how to proceed with ISSAP/ISSEP/ISSMP?Thanks all and good luck!
Edit: Endorsement came back approved on 9/25/2013! Took 32 days from when I passed the test and 28 days from when I sent in the Endorsement! w00t!
How I studied:
-Read cover to cover the Sybex fifth edition book (2011). It was a little old, but I bought it last year in anticipation of taking the exam about a year ago. It just didn't work out that way. I had the physical copy of the book so I was able to bring it everywhere with me and I enjoy reading a physical book vice a digital copy.
-Had the digital copy of Shon Harris sixth edition (2013). I did not read it all the way through, but used it for searching and brushing up on the areas I was weak on.
-Used Clement's CCCure test engine. While his questions are not like the ISC2 questions, I am glad I bought the test engine. His questions were harder than the ISC2 questions, and it really gave me a feel for which domains I needed to focus on.
-I broke down and bought 3 official ISC2 CISSP tests from the studiscope. These things were almost 300$ for all 3 tests. I am glad I did this because a lot of the formatting and wording were similar to the actual exam. Yes it was pricy, but I wanted to ensure a first time pass.
Over all I spent about 3 months solid, every night reading, or testing.During the exam, I thought to myself that I don't recognize any of this stuff. It seemed like the domains I was weakest in were all i had questions on. When I clicked finish, I thought I straight failed. I was sad and miserable, but I got a congratulations you passed!
My advice: Do not take this lightly. Most of the knowledge I gained was from hands on experience as a Cyber Security manager in the Marine Corps. Experience just outweighs book knowledge any day of the week. Really be familiar with the material. There is no quick way with this one.
I am currently pending approval from my endorsement, but after this beast I would like to do a CISSP concentration since the material is fresh on the brain. Any recommendations as to how to proceed with ISSAP/ISSEP/ISSMP?Thanks all and good luck!
Edit: Endorsement came back approved on 9/25/2013! Took 32 days from when I passed the test and 28 days from when I sent in the Endorsement! w00t!
Comments
And there are plenty of posts here about prepping for the concentrations.
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After reading around for a few hours I believe that the ISSAP is the path I would like to pursue next. I know there are a few older books out right now and a new official book will be available in the near future; until then, what are some good ISSAP resources to use? Are their any practice test engines like cccure or studiscope for the CISSP concentrations? I seem to do well at studying when I take exams vice just reading a book.
Thanks for any help!