Scheduled my CISSP exam for 4/25 ... really nerveous

NimrodHunter

Well, I bit the bullet and put up my CC and paid the $599 to take the CISSP exam on 4/25. I've been in the IT field since 1997 and have knowledge in quiet A few of the domains as per the CBK.

I have read SH AIO 6th edition, Eric Conrad Study Guide, watched the CISSP video series by CBT Nuggets, planning on reading the CISSP Exam Cram and Eric Conrad's 11th hour. I have also paid the CCCure.org test engine and plan on also doing the Transcender test eninge as well.

Needless to say, I'm a little nervous (a lot nervous) ... I have a little over 3 weeks to refine and drill down into the areas that are questionable, but the uncertainty as to what will be on the test is driving me NUTS.

I have been studying, reading, watching and going over CISSP stuff about 4-8 hours a day M-F for the last month, and have 3 weeks to go.

I keep reading that this is a managers test and to use the basis of the CIA when answering the question but still the uncertainty is driving my bonkers. There is so much information available and not knowing what will be on the test and reading that practice tests are no indication of what to expect is a little scary (a lot scary).

Anyway, wish me luck and if you have any pointers ... Please share.

neb2886

I just took the test on Saturday and passed. I have 6 years in IT security, a few years in project management before. It sounds like you are doing the right things but I will share what worked for me:

1) I bought Shon Harris AIO and took the assessment test in the beginning of the book, and recorded it as a baseline. I scored 44% on it my first time (ouch). A day before my exam I retook that same assessment and scored 84%. I did all of the practice questions in her book, I felt these were more similar to the wordiness of the actual exam questions. I also took all of the quizzes here: McGraw-Hill Education | CISSP Practice Exams and downloaded the MP3s. I tried to listen to the MP3s often. I also took the full practice test on the CD included with the book and took quite a few customized smaller quizzes from the CD test engine.

2) I purchased the CCCure.org test engine subscription and spent my last 3 weeks drilling hard on these questions. I ended up taking every single question on the site. For the last 5 days before the test I did the following: took a 10 question quiz from each domain in the morning and recorded my scores in a spreadsheet, and then did the same at night. I highlighted any domains that I was getting 70% or below on (mainly crytpo and telecom) and read up on the concepts some more. I did this for 3 days, and 600 questions. Averaging 87% overall by the end. The last 2 days before I switched the option on the test engine to only show me questions that I had answered wrong the last time through.

3) Other tips: I made sure to read and know the ISC2-Code-of-Ethics, memorized the different levels of the TCSEC matrix, EAL levels, if you don't already, made sure you know the OSI model by heart, knew the differences between the different security models (Bell-LaPadula, Biba, Clark Wilson, etc. star axiom, simple sec property). Knew from memory which algorithms are symmetric vs asymmetric, the block sizes, rounds. Memorized the common ports and what layers certain protocols work at (i.e. SSH, SSL, etc). I focused on memorizing during the last week. I wrote down everything on 2 sheets of paper and reviewed it various times per day. CCCure was great for memorizing + identifying what you have to memorize. The actual exam is all about knowing these concepts and being able to apply them given an obscure scenario. I think this test would be very difficult without having these concepts in memory + understanding how they apply in different contexts.

Sorry for the long winded reply. I hope this helps out and good luck. If you have any other doubts feel free to PM me.

cgrimaldo

That's a great reply, thank you!

Erinkima

Thanks for the good tips. Well done!