Going for my third attempt at the CISSP - What I've learned

O.K…here’s my story………………..
Scheduled to take the exam for the 3rd time in less than two weeks....I will let everyone know how it turns out.

Here is my history on taking the exam..1st attempt I took a week long class, studied material from class, a little of the Shon Harris book (questions at end ofchapter and summary for each chapter). Took a few months off...then crammed for a month, sort of and spent the last week in the library (took off work). You really need to know your stuff when taking this exam...I was 9 minutes shy of taking the full 6 hrs. I waited until I got to my vehicle and checked the printout...I got a 692 on the first attempt meaning I missed itby 2 questions (went back and changed some answers-burnt me). Wasn't prepared mentally to take the long exam-didn't have a game plan-thought it would be like any other cert exam I've taken (I had a half cup of coffee and a hashbrown from MCDonalds before rushing to an early exam that I thought would take maybe 3 hrs).

Second attempt...my exam got cancelled due to bad weather. Geez...had to wait two more weeks which means two more weeks of nonstop studying which is tough with a job, kids,wife, ect-you all know what I’m talking about.

2nd-second attempt (ha ha), thought it was easier and didn't even bother to review the questions I marked to review because I felt like I passed, my strategy going in (thinking I learned how to take the test better) was to read a question twice and if I didn't know for sure, I just marked it for review and kept going like a race…wasted too much brain power last time. Took a few breaks, was in good spirits since the questions didn't seem so foreign this time around. When it came time to review after finishing…I didn't even bother since I felt like I passed...last time around I stopped marking questions for review because it would of been every other question. Bad idea again (3.5hrs and got a 672). REMEMBER 25 of the 250 questions don't count so maybe I felt I passed because even if I got all of those right, it doesn't count. Going into that exam I had a good breakfast with OJ, some decent sleep and felt confident because CCCure.org seemed to prepare me well for the exam. What I learned from that exam attempt.

1) Don’t schedule a party to celebrate becoming a CISSP the same day of theexam. Yes, mine was cancelled.

2) If you don’t know an answer, after reading the question twice…my advice is don’t even put an answer, just mark it for review (at the end of the test you will be allowed to see any unmarked and marked questions, I assure you. When reviewing the unanswered questions you marked, you will have a fresh look at the question again and not second guess yourself by changing an answer you selected previously because you didn’t put much thought into the first round.
3) Don’t rush, the exam is $600, get your money worth and make a day out of it. Geez you prepared long enough for it-this is your day. Also by reviewing the questions, you will remember what to study for better the next time, god forbid you have to face this beast of a test again.

4) Take your time, read, re-read, then re-read again the questions carefully and take unscheduled breaks (that’s what they call them). I believe you can takeup to 6 and you should. Don’t feel bad raising your hand and having the proctor check you out for a break. That’s their job and yours is to keep a focused and clear mind.

This time around (had to wait 90 days for the third attempt), I scheduled the exam later in the day (10:30am) and am gearing up. During my 90 day wait….
1-I’ve registered on SANS and watched the Eric Cole CISSP SANS webcast- thanks techexams.net for this advice. You need this and the advice is invaluable…gonna watch this again before I take the exam. http://www.techexams.net/forums/isc-sscp-cissp/93407-cissp-passed-09-14-2013-my-story-took-3-times-long-read.html
https://www.sans.org/webcasts/successful-passing-cissp-95594

2-I purchased the ISC2 CISSP Studiscope questions –they sent me a promo code after taking the free 30 question exam and registering. I think it was worth the money and it helped me identify a few of the questions I thought I answered correctly on the previous exams only to find out I was wrong. It is good for 90 days but they will extend it another 90 days if you ask. Https://www.expresscertifications.com/isc2/

3-Safari online books membership- Awesome- I’ve read Eric Conrad’s CISSP StudyGuide, Edition Two-GREAT (I liked this better than reading the long Shon Harris CISSP book-I am using the Total Tester that came with the book and it has been great), looked over Conrad's 11th Hour CISSP-OK but it is just a recap to freshen your mind the last week before you take the exam, CISSP Rapid Review book by Darril Gibson (great resource) and still reading ExamCram for the CISSP-good just getting tired of preparing and adding yet another resource.

4-I re-purchased the CCCure.org membership-great (6 months) but haven’t even used it as I’ve been busy with all the other material I have. I will usethe CCCure next week as I feel it really helped me last time. Thanks Clement! I also purchased 1 & 2 of his scenario CISSP question for around $50-went through these once. Links below to save you the hassle of looking for them.

https://www.freepracticetests.org/quiz/index.php?page=dashboard&page_type=
https://www.cccure.com/cart/products/CISSP-Scenario-Based-Questions-Combo-Part-1-and-Part-2-(All-10-domains).html

I’ll let you know how I do. Good luck to all of you gearing up also.

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Comments

techwizard

Yay! good job! Glad you passed.

stryder144

That is awesome news! Congrats!

kccomputerpilot

To my post friends….I want to thank each one of you for your support, encouragement and taking the time to post. Thanks again to coty24, kalkan999, paul78, mayacosta78, beads, Khaos1911, Davis Nguyen, zybane, tprice5, acomo, maddy1, cgrimaldo, techwizard, and stryder144. A special thanks to LionelTeo (your advice was invaluable)!

LionelTeo

congrats on the pass, great to hear the good news from you!

kalkan999

i am SO Happy for you bro!!!!!

That was an interesting way to go, wasn't it? folding it up and giving it to your wife to read...must have been the longest ride home of your life!
Was your wife jumping up and down for joy? I know mine was.

Zorodzai

awesome.....so happy for you. Gratz on the pass - well deserved

zxbane

Congrats man! Definitely sounds like it was hard earned

maddy1

@kccomputerpilot..Congrats man!! Guess what?? I also passed it this evening. The PARTY time has finally arrived for both of us.

JoJoCal19

Congrats on your pass!! I know the sense of relief must be overwhelming.

j.petrov

Congrats! Fantastic determination to see it through.

bobloblaw

Congrats!

cgrimaldo

Congrats! Yes!!

samurai86

Awesome job! I think the only thing more impressive than your pass, is your perseverance.

RanMic

Good job man! Way to stick with it! Passing that exam can certainly brighten anyone’s day, so again I'm happy for you and I know you are proud of yourself.

One question. Was it total happiness you felt or relief followed by joy when you knew you passed?

kccomputerpilot

Thank you all for the latest posts. I was shocked that I passed. Truly, it didn't feel real, like I was living outside the moment. At this moment, I just feel relieved and thankful that I finally passed- still doesn't seem real. I gave up tv the last month and a half preparing for the exam and used every free moment to prepare in some way. The scheduled exam seemed to always be on my mind and now that it is over, it feels like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It's nice to get my so called life back!

twentytwenty

Thanks for the advice! I will go take a look at some of the links that you have mentioend.

LillyInBoulder

Thanks for posting your story! As someone who has taken the US Foreign Service written exam three times (passed it every time) only to miss getting in by a few points in the interview/in-person testing process *three times* (long story!) I totally get how frustrating that is but also admire your dedication. On a more relevant note, I'm taking the CISSP exam in two weeks and am just starting to study now. I'm taking a boot camp next week and this week I'm just tearing through the Shon Harris book and watching random tutorials on YouTube on things like Kerberos, Diffie-Helman and PKI. A lot of it is familiar to me from taking the CISA and CISM (albeit 7 years ago!) So, I realize it may take a few attempts but also trying to stay positive as I'm getting about 70-75% of the test questions right pre-bootcamp without any studying. I'm wondering if anyone on here took the "express path" as well and passed?

Humbe

Lilly I wish you good luck in your exam. Hopefully you are not another victim of taking the CISSP exam lightly.

beads

LillyInBoulder wrote: »

Thanks for posting your story! As someone who has taken the US Foreign Service written exam three times (passed it every time) only to miss getting in by a few points in the interview/in-person testing process *three times* (long story!) I totally get how frustrating that is but also admire your dedication. On a more relevant note, I'm taking the CISSP exam in two weeks and am just starting to study now. I'm taking a boot camp next week and this week I'm just tearing through the Shon Harris book and watching random tutorials on YouTube on things like Kerberos, Diffie-Helman and PKI. A lot of it is familiar to me from taking the CISA and CISM (albeit 7 years ago!) So, I realize it may take a few attempts but also trying to stay positive as I'm getting about 70-75% of the test questions right pre-bootcamp without any studying. I'm wondering if anyone on here took the "express path" as well and passed?

"Community wisdom" tells us you should be scoring about 85%+ on quizzes before attempting the exam. That's been the sweet spot for this exam. The CISSP is a bit more difficult than the CISA/CISM though the questions tend to be more direct, believe it or not. No matter what people say about the exam regarding the choose the best of four bad answers questions. Yes, they are there, just takes longer to figure out the least bad answer in comparison to the others.

Also keep in mind some domains are going to be more heavily tested than others. The more technical domains are more likely to show up than the less technical domains. You can figure this out on your own. Meaning the domains that are the hardest will be the domains most likely to show on your test.

From my understanding on the Foreign Service exam. It will probably feel about punching at the same weight class. Its a long boring exam but if you've been exposed to a wide variety of security situations, its actually fairly easy. If not you'll probably be convinced its some sort of management exam - which the exam has little if anything to do with actual management. Maybe some time management but that's a whole different argument.

Learning the TCP vs OSI model is critical to a couple of domains. Just get a blank sheet of paper and write it all out down to examples of both to include where routers and encryption sit on both stacks, etc. This goes for any if not all rote/boring tables and comparisons. Orange book and encryption not withstanding. Legal is, like many other aspects of IT, is really just a history lesson and can be treated as such.

To answer your "express" question? It really depends on how deep your background is in security not the material itself.

- B Eads

LillyInBoulder

Thanks! The 70-75% is before I've read the chapter so I think (hopefully) after the class it will be closer to 85%. Fingers crossed!

kalkan999

FSE was easier but in the same league. But then again, I havee 2 Bachelors (History and English) and a Master of Arts in History as well, so I think I was well prepared for the FSE. And then I joined the FS as a specialist because the pay as an IMS was so much better at the time than being a generalist...ahh well, who knew.

arussnfl

I am on this boat right now. Just failed the second time. When I read this story I heard myself. I was hoping to be wrong but now I hope to be right. I am studying for my third attempt now. 1st I got a 612. 2nd got a 678.