Passed CISSP - 04/05/2014. Demystifying CISSP

I just took CISSP yesterday; it took me 5 hours to complete. I did take 5 breaks though, each break about 10 minutes. So total "exam" time was 4 hours.

I have been reading the forums for the past 3 months, and there seems to be this perception that the CISSP exam is one-of-a-kind unique exam. I felt the exam questions were fairly normal in complexity. The only other tech certificate I took was Security+. So I may be biased.

I have studied for 4 weeks after taking the official week long CISSP bootcamp offered by ISC2. My employer paid for it. The boot camp wasn't really that helpful, I think it was mainly being away from your desk and focusing on the material. I wouldn't pay for a boot camp, I'd rather take a week off work and study at a Starbucks, but that requires discipline.

Materials I used:
AIO Shown Harris - very dry material, skipped to the end of the chapter summary.
Eric Conrad's 11th hour - good summary of the bigger book.
CBT Nuggets Series - I like that series a lot, you can get a 7 day trial for free. Enough to watch the series.
Sunflower CISSP Summary - outdated, but is a good assessment of what you should know going in the exam.
Student handbook from the boot camp- I read the whole book, since it was the "official" text and it had a good amount of questions (pm me if you are interested in obtaining it).
CISSPPracticeExam questions. Took them all, averaged about 80% each domain.

Overall,

1. I think you should diversify your reading material. Different authors give you a different angle of the same subject.
2. This is not a techncial exam. The test was less technical than Security+ in terms of the technical depth
3. Comprehension is critical. You really need to read between the lines and understand the idea behind the question.
4. Endurance is just as important. The last 20 questions took me about an hour because it got real hard to focus. Taking breaks is a must. Just to give your brain a quick rest.
5 Good night sleep.

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Comments

Benchwarmers

Congratulations, babble! Great analysis, too. What's next on your cert list?

Chassidic1

Congrats Babble! What was your total study time for this exam, and what is your job experience prior to taking the exam?

Best of luck in any/all of your future certifications,

Dovid

PS. It was a refresher not to see something like "nothing can prepare you for this exam" "I felt like I didn't read any books", etc.

JDMurray

Congratulations!

babble wrote: »

I have been reading the forums for the past 3 months, and there seems to be this perception that the CISSP exam is one-of-a-kind unique exam. I felt the exam questions were fairly normal in complexity. The only other tech certificate I took was Security+. So I may be biased.

Since it was release eleven years ago, changes in the style and content of the Security+ exam have been heavily influenced by the objectives and quality of exam item of certs like the CISSP and SSCP. I'm seeing more new CISSP candidates remarking how similar the CISSP exam items are to those on the Security+ exam when, in reality, it's the other way around.

jvrlopez

Great write up! Thanks for the input, I got my exam in a week!

Referencemonitor

Hi Babble,

Congratulations for passing "the" CISSP. It is really great that you did that in 4 weeks time.

I am scheduled for this Saturday,12th April...Revising the stuff from AIO- Summary, My own Notes, 11th Hour ,Sunflower PDF and Questions from AIO chapter end. Any suggestion from your end?

Thanks

DAVIS NGUYEN

Congrats on the pass

cgrimaldo

Congrats!

smoten

Hi Babble, Many Congratulation on superb achievement, no doubt its an great milestone which you been achieved. I am also planning for CISSP in end of May and I am following ISC official CBK and Eric Conrad 11th Hour so please recommend me is there any other material need to use or is it enough. also please recommend me which practice test is good for exam and if possible please do mail me Student handbook which you got it from the boot camp.

Doyen

Congratulations on passing the exam! I sent you a PM.

TheProfezzor

I tried to send you a message, but it didn't go through. Kindly message me and share the CISSP handout, if you can. Thanks.

Referencemonitor

Hi Babble,

Not able to PM you. Request you to send the handout across to me if you can. Thanks. m taking exam on 12th,April, coming Sat.

Thanks

james.swayze

Same here. Can't PM you but would love to have a copy if possible.

Thanks.

victor58

Babble, Congratulations on passing the CISSP exam. It is indeed a big feet. I have been preparing for the CISSP exam for quite some time and the exam is approaching next month. Would you be able to mail the student handbook? If it is a soft copy, kindly email it to me at davidsztyk03@gmail.com. If its a hard copy, i can give you my address and you can mail it to me. Please suggest likewise. Thanks for the help.

TheProfezzor

victor58 wrote: »

Babble, Congratulations on passing the CISSP exam. It is indeed a big feet. I have been preparing for the CISSP exam for quite some time and the exam is approaching next month. Would you be able to mail the student handbook? If it is a soft copy, kindly email it to me at davidsztyk03@gmail.com. If its a hard copy, i can give you my address and you can mail it to me. Please suggest likewise. Thanks for the help.

He has a paperback and he's selling it for 180$ on ebay.

mzery

Did he sell it already? I don't see it on ebay.

babble

Its on Amazon