For those of you who already took and PASSED the CISM

kalkan999

I have my CISSP, have worked in the business for a number of years, but held off taking my CISM for various reasons. Anyway, I am scoring in the high 70's and low 80's on the assessment tests and transcenders out there without even opening the first CISM book or study guide, so I have to ask: Is the test like the CISSP in that the test questions on the exam are MUCH harder than transcender exams for CISSP, or should I be confident in the knowledge that I am scoring so high without studying, and that I just need to study a bit more without isolating myself from the world as I did when studying for the CISSP?

paul78

The ISACA review material makes an excellent cure for insomnia. I also generally advise against operating heavy machinery after reading any of the materials. If you have small children, it also makes for great bedtime material if you tend to read out-loud in a monotone voice.

IMO - The material in the CISM is fairly well correlated to people with actual infosec management experience. And following the CISSP, passing the CISM shouldn't be to dreadful if you also have the experience required to qualify for the CISM designation.

I cannot compare the questions to Transcenders since I've never used their material. A better method to evaluate if you are prepared is to purchase ISACA's CISM Review Questions, Answers, and Explanations Manual - https://www.isaca.org/bookstore/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?Product_code=CQA12

Good luck.

dover

Kalkan,

Paul pretty much nailed it.

I'm taking the exam on the 14th. I've been using the insomnia laden official material and the much more lively CISM Q&A database. It does have quite a bit of overlap with some of the CISSP material but it really is aimed more at the management side than the CISSP material. I'd recommend getting the Q&A Database and just take a few 50-100 question attempts and see where you rank-up in ISACA Infosec Management world. If you find some weak areas (like I have) then trudge through the ISACA CISM Review Manual and try again.