I firstly want to thank this board for all the help in my passing. I would not of been able to do it without you all. The board gives the necessary motivation, resources, and skills to identify what is required to be successful.
My path of CISSP exams:- Took 1st exam September 2012 (planning wedding, in school getting my MS, and not enough time for CISSP study)
- Took second exam January 2013 (Fail...rushed, got baffled with CBT, frustration with time management, and still in school final semester)
- Took 3rd exam September 2013 (PASS!!! - studied nothing but CISSP, school was finished and wedding was over
*** Key note not listed = I HATE Standardized tests and have never been good at them. A pretty good part also to my unsuccessful first two attempts****
IF you see my breakdown, this basically says devote REAL time to CISSP. It is hard to have to split focus on many other things while trying to pass this exam.
My path of study for CISSP for the first 2 FAILED attempts:- Read Shon Harris 5th edition. Basically tried to fiddle my way through all of the wording. It is a very good book because like some, I need some of those analogies to help me remember, but in the end, it is just a lot of information overload.
- Purchased CCCure exams - studied them but just had a hard time wrapping my brain around them. Seemed like it was a lot more technical and had a lot of older questions. I could be wrong but this is just what I remember from a year ago.
- Did A LOT of writing. I basically wrote myself a book. Probably did not help much because it was not focused enough. It was SUPPOSE to be a quick go to guide but I ended up got through like 4 pens of ink and writing a book. I would advise against this.
- Used James Stewart CISSP Study Guide 6th edition testing software that I received from my boot camp.
- Was in a week long virtual boot camp (cannot remember who it was through. Was not SANS, I know that)
My path of study for CISSP 3rd PASSED attempt:- PURCHASED Eric Conrad CISSP Study Guide 2nd Edition - perfect read and good over depth and not 1000 pages.
- Used SafariBooks online - this was a HUGE help for me. It opened the door to many other sources for reading which included Shon Harris 6th edition, Conrad 11th Hour, CISSP Rapid Review, and CISSP Exam Cram, CISSP for Dummies. All good sources if you ask me. Shon Harris...is still 1000 pages but you can jump around and get a different perspective on weak domains(this book is good for that). I took the exam provided in each of these books.
- Purchased Transcender CISSP practice ($120) - A rating for me. Its not that the questions are really difficult, but it basically burns in the information and helps to easily identify your weak domains. Also has 4 preset exams which I took all of them and scored roughly between 85-90%. When I first started, I was in the 60% range.
- Shon Harris Audio and online tests (McGraw-Hill Education | CISSP Practice Exams) - A+ for me. Downloaded the mp3s and put them on a jumpdrive and listened to them in my car for the months leading up to the exam. Literally..no music in my car for 3 months. And the tests are AWESOME. Perfect confusion as that is what you will see on the exam. By the end of it, I was passing each in the 85% range. Knowing the information is key here but the more you take it, it will become second nature and you will memorize it.
- Watch SANS webcast(https://www.sans.org/webcasts/successful-passing-cissp-95594) - good overall knowledge about how to take the exam. As well if you go to the archives(https://www.sans.org/webcasts/archive/2013), Eric Conrad has a couple that are of sample questions and how to figure them out.
- ITMasters offered free class that I found on here. Signed up and listened. Also had a lot of resources.
- Used PDF found here on the site. Cannot locate it but I will. It has a big Sun on the front with all the domains color coded.
Day before Exam 3- Logged into SafariBooks and read BCP, Networking, Crypto, Access Control chapters of Conrad 11th hour book. Quick read, good for confirming final information.
- Still on SafariBooks, I went and took Shon Harris 6th comprehensive exam of 143 questions. This was good because I had not seen any of these questions which would let me gauge my knowledge learned over the past months. Tough questions...good gauge.
- Took Transcender Random exam of 250 questions. YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO TAKE 250 QUESTION EXAMS...IT HELPS BUILD MENTAL ENDURANCE.
- Ate a good dinner and relaxed. Went to sleep around 9:30pm but woke up at 4am and worried myself for the rest of the time.
Day of EXAM- DID NOT eat McDonalds Steak/Egg/Cheese Bagel. I had did this on the first 2 attempts. I would say I was a little superstitious. Instead, got up around 5:45am and fixed me a bacon/egg/cheese biscuit and a coffee. It is important that you eat good.
- Left the house around 6:15 and arrived around 6:45 at the test center. Cracked open the PDF study guide and hit the key spots. Again BCP/DRM, Common Criteria, Software Maturity Models, Networking Ports and which got to what.
- Walked into exam area at 7:35am and got all the paperwork and palm scanning and such down. Sat down at the desk at exactly 8am. HINT for those who have not taken the CBT. You will get about 5 minutes to read the contract stuff. If you are like me, and already read ahead, you should use this time and maybe try to write down things you remember.
- Followed the plan I set in place which was to complete the exam in 4.5 hours. I did it in exactly 4.5 hours. I had about 50-60 questions flagged just because I wanted to review them. I refused to sit and stay stuck on any question. I knew that would do nothing but frustrate me and get me off my game plan. After the 4.5 hours, I walked out, used the restroom, ate a small snack, and STRETCHED. I whole heartily think you should stretch and move to get the blood flowing.
- All in all, I don't think it was really that bad. This just goes to show that putting real time and effort to it you could be successful. Like I said I have and never will be a standardized test person. I felt pretty good throughout the entire exam. I never felt like I was off my mark or that I was not going to pass. I never got flustered or got mad at myself. I just stuck to my game plan.
I am not sure if this helps anyone, but I wanted to let people know my progress. It was not an easy road, but it was very rewarding. I don't think I have ever wanted something so bad and put this much effort in for anything. I am happy to be done and I now think I am going to try to learn Spanish. Hopefully this will help someone, because people here helped me.
Basically a picture of me as I walked out the Testing Center!!
