Another August CASP Casualty

So I failed the CASP 8/31

I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

Before taking the exam I had everything all planned out that I was going to get the certification and move right into the CISSP, now it feels like the exams are like the Mjölnir and I am not worthy. I'm not sure where the disconnect was between what I studied and what was actually on the exam. I just know by question 35 I was already feeling defeated (and that was skipping over the sims). I pretty positive that it was my fault, I studied - BUT I have to ask myself did I really study? I read the Sybex book, watched the Cybrary.IT videos, did the skillport training only to figure out that apparently none of the material really stuck when it was test time.

The bright side of this is that was Aug 31 and that experience is behind me. I can take that as my lessons learned and take a new approach to ensure I'm successful the next time.

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JC Denton

Damn....sorry to hear that, man. But I would say you don't need to feel bad or defeated as CASP is by no means an easy exam. For example, I have a fair amount of experience with hands-on security stuff and I recently decided to pursue this as my career (away from sysadmin and network admin positions). So, I took and passed Security+ in Decembar last year. After that, I studied for SSCP and by March 2016. was, I would say, 100% ready, but at the last moment I decided to skip it and go for CASP. Then I studied for CASP for almost 3 full months (even took a week off from my job to do it)...Even after all this, when I was sitting the exam, I was stunned how complex questions were. Also, PBQs were very tough on average.

The point of this monologue of mine is that CASP is tough. Very. More and more people are saying that it is even tougher than the CISSP. So there's absolutely no reason to feel bad. Just keep your chin up and optimistic spirit and you'll get it next time.

jeremywatts2005

Man do not feel bad a lot of people are getting their arses kicked by CASP. I did mine shortly after beta and there was almost no study materials. I studied everything I could. I thought wow I am good to go 4 or 5 months of intense studying and I failed. I was shocked at the difficulty of some of the questions. I have not attempted it since.

Ertaz

DntH8Me wrote: »

So I failed the CASP 8/31 I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

Before taking the exam I had everything all planned out that I was going to get the certification and move right into the CISSP, now it feels like the exams are like the Mjölnir and I am not worthy. I'm not sure where the disconnect was between what I studied and what was actually on the exam. I just know by question 35 I was already feeling defeated (and that was skipping over the sims). I pretty positive that it was my fault, I studied - BUT I have to ask myself did I really study? I read the Sybex book, watched the Cybrary.IT videos, did the skillport training only to figure out that apparently none of the material really stuck when it was test time.

The bright side of this is that was Aug 31 and that experience is behind me. I can take that as my lessons learned and take a new approach to ensure I'm successful the next time.

No shame in that bro. Very hard test. You will get them next go round. I recommend the Pearson book.

DntH8Me

Thank you all, and by that I mean I thank everyone who has posted in this thread as well as everyone who has created or commented in the other threads on the site. I'm going to order the Pearson book, start with a month of ITpro.tv, and build a couple of test VMs to practice some of the concepts. At first I was pretty discouraged and felt like I wasted time that could have been better spent on the CISSP, now I look at it as a challenge and a chance for self improvement. I look forward to being able to post about passing the CASP and how my experience can possibly help others who find themselves in the same position.

Mike-Mike

DntH8Me wrote: »

I read the Sybex book, watched the Cybrary.IT videos, did the skillport training only to figure out that apparently none of the material really stuck when it was test time.

I did those 3 things as well, and the CASP kicked my ASP. good luck, let us know how you feel about the Pearson book

Ertaz

DntH8Me wrote: »

Thank you all, and by that I mean I thank everyone who has posted in this thread as well as everyone who has created or commented in the other threads on the site. I'm going to order the Pearson book, start with a month of ITpro.tv, and build a couple of test VMs to practice some of the concepts. At first I was pretty discouraged and felt like I wasted time that could have been better spent on the CISSP, now I look at it as a challenge and a chance for self improvement. I look forward to being able to post about passing the CASP and how my experience can possibly help others who find themselves in the same position.

In my opinion, this is a more difficult exam than the CISSP. The CISSP has a crutch in that you can lean toward a "Sunday-School management" type of answer. The CASP has very little of that inclination, the only time it wants a management answer is when it asks a question in a management scenario.

Z0sickx

Its ok man just got to keep grinding through, like every one said its a HARD exam and no material i could find that could mimic the actual exam. When i took the exam the 2nd time i still felt i got my ass handed to me. I encourage trying to remember the SIMS, i believe the SIMS are weighted a lot heavier and was the reason why i ipassed (i felt)

danny069

2nd time around should be easier because now you know what to expect. Train more and take it again in a short time span, that's what I did with my CCNA. I didn't pass the first time, took it a week later and passed. CCNA was the hardest exam I took thus far, followed by the CASP. So doesn't matter how many times you fail, what matters is your fortitude to get the job done.

luciano.fe

Hi all,
I passed CASP today. I can confirm that the exam is hard. Without proper experience, you cannot pass it. I have 8 years of experience inside the Security field. I had 10 simulations and 73 questions. I studied from April using the official guide plus Cybrary video. I red the book 2 times.
I passed it at the first attempt!
So study and take notes but it is not enough without experience. I do not know the CISSP but some of my friend said that is more about Management.

DatabaseHead

The CASP is starting to sound like it's harder than the CISSP. On another forum someone mentioned that the CISSP was closer to Security + than the CASP. I thought that was interesting.

Z0sickx

DatabaseHead wrote: »

The CASP is starting to sound like it's harder than the CISSP. On another forum someone mentioned that the CISSP was closer to Security + than the CASP. I thought that was interesting.

my CISSP is scheduled for Nov... so i guess i'll find out which is "easier"

to the OP just keep grinding away, after i failed my exam i just reopened the book and started reading over my weak topics which was at least 50% of the book. Also try using other methods like Videos...just another way to view/hear the information and felt the topics stuck better after watching videos, and searching Youtube vidoes on other topics i didn't really understand

Mike7

DatabaseHead wrote: »

The CASP is starting to sound like it's harder than the CISSP. On another forum someone mentioned that the CISSP was closer to Security + than the CASP. I thought that was interesting.

I took the CISSP and CASP within weeks from each other. CISSP is more security management exam in that it is more high level. CASP is more for security practitioners in that it tests your practical knowledge. For example, a CISSP knows what a firewall is while a CASP knows how to configure a firewall to block/allow a certain application traffic. Which is "easier" depends on your background; someone who is actively involved in securing systems and networks will find CASP easy while a person who does security policies and auditing may find CISSP easier. So if you do not have hands-on experience, the CASP will be tough.

Besides hands-on practice, I encourage OP to download exam objective from CompTIA CASP page, go through the acronyms and technologies listed and find out more about them. I found a couple of terms that were not covered in CASP study guides or videos. As a guide, you are almost ready if you can explain each and every term covered in the exam objectives.

Moldygr33nb3an

Oh as I get closer to my test date, I'm starting to have cold feet....

DntH8Me

Moldygr33nb3an wrote: »

Oh as I get closer to my test date, I'm starting to have cold feet....

Don't get cold feet, as I'm going back through the book I'm catching things that I didn't pay as much attention to as I should have. There are some concepts that are only briefly mentioned in either a single paragraph or a sentence or 2 (federated identities or Oauth). Also I can honestly say that even though I covered the materials I probably only casually studied. Looking back I started in March reading the Sybex book and going through the modules in both SkillPort and Cybrary. I finished the SkillPort modules and the book sometime in July and Cybrary in Aug, there were times that it would take me a week+ to finish a chapter. During this time at work we were in the tail end of completing an accreditation package and are currently making the transition from DIACAP to RMF so by the time it came to study I would be just mentally drained. I'm not saying this as an excuse (plenty of people here are also married w kids, have full time jobs etc... there will always be distractions).

This time around I'm not going to try to read anywhere near a pc and I leave my phone on the opposite end of the house that I'm reading in. I'm pretty scatter brained by nature (my attention span rivals a 2nd grader) so now I can't read for 3 minutes then surf google for an hour. I'm amazed by threads where people say they have powered through a book in a week or two, but I also realize the reason it takes me so long is because I spend so much time and energy thinking about how many pages are left instead of reading what is right in front of me.

So going back to my original statement to 'Moldygr33nb3an' Don't get cold feet and don't loose focus, If you have time review those topics that you may have memorized the acronym for but haven't quite mastered the concept.

Moldygr33nb3an

DntH8Me wrote: »

Don't get cold feet, as I'm going back through the book I'm catching things that I didn't pay as much attention to as I should have. There are some concepts that are only briefly mentioned in either a single paragraph or a sentence or 2 (federated identities or Oauth). Also I can honestly say that even though I covered the materials I probably only casually studied. Looking back I started in March reading the Sybex book and going through the modules in both SkillPort and Cybrary. I finished the SkillPort modules and the book sometime in July and Cybrary in Aug, there were times that it would take me a week+ to finish a chapter. During this time at work we were in the tail end of completing an accreditation package and are currently making the transition from DIACAP to RMF so by the time it came to study I would be just mentally drained. I'm not saying this as an excuse (plenty of people here are also married w kids, have full time jobs etc... there will always be distractions).

This time around I'm not going to try to read anywhere near a pc and I leave my phone on the opposite end of the house that I'm reading in. I'm pretty scatter brained by nature (my attention span rivals a 2nd grader) so now I can't read for 3 minutes then surf google for an hour. I'm amazed by threads where people say they have powered through a book in a week or two, but I also realize the reason it takes me so long is because I spend so much time and energy thinking about how many pages are left instead of reading what is right in front of me.

So going back to my original statement to 'Moldygr33nb3an' Don't get cold feet and don't loose focus, If you have time review those topics that you may have memorized the acronym for but haven't quite mastered the concept.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. You and I are similar as far as scattered brains. I'm doing the skillport now and reading the Robin Abernathy Cert Guide. I do a module on skillport then I run through the chapter in the book - highlighting anything I see as important. I do practice questions every few days, but I am going to pick up the pace. A friend of mine gave me a 200 question PDF he received when he went to the CASP bootcamp. He said the questions were almost identical. I'm going to read the book one more time and run through all the practice questions until I can answer them without looking at the multiple choices.

CIO

Now, i'm getting cold feet. I finished the CASP videos on Cybrary and currently reading Robin Abernathy's book. Can you give some more insight on the sims? Are we talking about configuring a Cisco switch, configuring a host/network firewall etc...

CIO

Moldygr33nb3an wrote: »

A friend of mine gave me a 200 question PDF he received when he went to the CASP bootcamp.

Can you PM me a copy of the PDF?

joelsfood

Be careful with those. Plenty of "bootcamps" out there hand out ****. You don't want to pass and then find out your results are rejected by analytics

jojothewhale

What does 'rejected by analytics' mean? You can pass the CompTIA still fails you? How?

Ertaz

joelsfood wrote: »

Be careful with those. Plenty of "bootcamps" out there hand out ****. You don't want to pass and then find out your results are rejected by analytics

They aren't selling classes, they are selling "passes."

No_Nerd

Yep just stick with secure ninja or InfoSec institute and you should be ok. It does no good to pass CASP or CISSP with a ****... what are you doing to do when you get to work the next day? Tell the boss " hey sorry I don't know how to do what you asked.... it was not in the test **** I bought"

Moldygr33nb3an

I am no way shape or form doing a bootcamp - nor am I trying to memorize answers, however, at 411.00 a voucher, I will take all the resources and help that is offered to study for the exam. I don't need any certs for my job, I am simply doing it to learn, have fun and most of all, invest in my future. Trust me, I have witnessed the byproduct of several certs and incompetence, due to these "boot camps."

No_Nerd

Moldygr33nb3an wrote: »

I am no way shape or form doing a bootcamp - nor am I trying to memorize answers, however, at 411.00 a voucher, I will take all the resources and help that is offered to study for the exam. I don't need any certs for my job, I am simply doing it to learn, have fun and most of all, invest in my future. Trust me, I have witnessed the byproduct of several certs and incompetence, due to these "boot camps."

This is like saying " I don't drink any Caffeine, but I enjoy drinking a pre-workout supplement before I go to the gym..."

Good Luck brother....

Moldygr33nb3an

No_Nerd wrote: »

This is like saying " I don't drink any Caffeine, but I enjoy drinking a pre-workout supplement before I go to the gym..."

Good Luck brother....

I disagree. They are practice questions just like other practice questions scattered across the web. Someone who took the CASP said the questions are similar and they may be, however, this is merely a subjective analysis. There really is no way of verifying unless I take the exam.

Thanks