Passed CISSP (1st Attempt)

I passed the CISSP exam this morning on my first attempt.

Resources used;

Shawn Harris AIO 6th Edition (Read twice)
11th Hour Study Guide by Eric Conrad
A book I got from my CISSP boot camp
CBK (rarely used)
CCCure practice tests (paid). I think I took around 3500 questions.
Sunflower PDF

A typical study session for me was comprised of doing a 100 question practice test, going through all of my incorrect answers, and thoroughly understanding why I missed the question. If it did not make sense to me, I look for help in the AIO, if that did not make sense I would look at the CBK, if it still did make sense I would Google it. After about 1000 questions it was evident that Software Development was my weakest domain. I read everything in all of my books on Software Development. Near the end of my studies i was getting around 80-85% on the quizzes.

Test experience:
It took my 2.5 hours to answer all of the questions. At that point I took a 10 minute break and went back over my answers. I had 5 questions marked for review, I went over those first. After going through all of the questions again, I ended up change 5 answers. I would say that I was 100% sure on 30-40 answers. I was 75%, meaning it was between 2 answers but I was heavily leaning towards 1 of them, on around 40-50 answers. I was 50% sure, meaning I narrowed it down to 2 answers, on maybe 75-100 questions. The rest of the questions I could either eliminate one wrong answer, or zero.

I went out of the test room and grabbed my results. I folded the piece of paper up and put it in my pocket because I thought I had failed for sure. After a 30 minutes drive home I handed the sheet to my wife so she could let me know the results. She says; "You have to wait 30 days to take it again?". Followed by "JK".

The test was not anything like I thought. There were so many questions that I honestly had no idea what the right answer was. Judging by my percentages above, I was not confident in over half of my answers. My whole drive home I was thinking about what I could have done different, what more I could have read. i am just relieved that I do not need to take it again.

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Comments

j.petrov

abrunn1133 wrote: »

The test was not anything like I thought. There were so many questions that I honestly had no idea what the right answer was. Judging by my percentages above, I was not confident in over half of my answers. My whole drive home I was thinking about what I could have done different, what more I could have read. i am just relieved that I do not need to take it again.

Congrats on the pass!

I had the same feeling, thought it was a definite fail. It felt amazing to see that I passed though! Hard work does pay off.

veritas_libertas

Congratulationz!

shyguyIT

Congrats!

warmkitty

Congrtulation...
By saying that " The test was not anything like I thought. There were so many questions that I honestly had no idea what the right answer was. Judging by my percentages above, I was not confident in over half of my answers ", what all CISSP's can advice us to get through it ?.
Is there any other advice than " Think as a Manager " ?.
Thanks you all in advance.

abrunn1133

In all honesty, I feel that there is a lot of luck involved with passing this test. Luck in which questions you get, luck in answering with the right questions, etc. If I had not passed, I do not think I would have taken this exam again. I got one question that was "similar" to this;

Q: Which of the following are the most peanut-buttery?
1. Jif
2. Skippy
3. Peter Pan
4. Planters

Of course they were not asking me about peanut butter, but you get the idea. As long as a person knows that these are all peanut butter, who cares which one is the most peanut buttery? So for a question like this you take a guess and hope it is right.

"Think like a manager" may be good advice, but I can not really remember having that mindset. Maybe I did and did not realize it.

I think if a person were to fully understand all/most of the concepts, have some decent common-knowledge, be able to sift through he crap in the questions, and have some luck on their side, they should be able to pass.

JDMurray

abrunn1133 wrote: »

Q: Which of the following are the most peanut-buttery?

There is no right or wrong when it comes down to an individual's own personal opinions about "peanutbutteryness." If there were a standard for peanutbutteryness, this question would be testing your understanding of that standard when compared to four actual products. Exam items must be written to reflect the standards, patterns, and best practices that all peanut butter lovers share. This is the knowledge and understanding that is necessary to pass the exam.

Thistleback

Then we all know that the correct answer is "none of the above" because Adams sets the standard for peanutbutteryness!

jvrlopez

Peanutbutteryness, heh.

Congrats on the pass and getting it done with!