I just passed. Here is the best I can do while complying with the NDA. I have not commented on any specifics, specific topics/content/domains etc... Consider this a story purely on my approach to the exam before taking it.
I previously passed the version of the test just before it changed in 2007. Ten years later it seemed more brutal but that may be partially my fault. I can offer some advice to those on the upper end of the experience scale. I have about ~25 years of overall technology experience and for security specifically somewhere north of 15 years. Some of my ten year old studying effort helped for sure.
I can't say any particular training resource was better than the others. For what I consider the "core" topics, either you know the concept or you don't. The training material will not matter. You'll know you've mastered them when reading/watching additional resources. These topics will seem like second nature. What are the core topics? I can't say but I believe you'll just know after you go through enough sample questions and training materials.
For what I call "trivia" questions where you must know the meaning of a potentially obscure term/acronym/framework or specific detail of a protocol, the official Sybex book probably covers nearly everything. Of course this means you've actually read and retained every fact in that book. That's tough to do and I did not. I believe I read almost every domain before taking the online Sybex domain-level tests that are part of the Q&A book. I did not retain everything.
At the very last minute, the Sari Greene videos helped me get a few questions correct because the 6 hour version brought up some topics/acronyms/frameworks I had not seen before or did not know very well. I am surprised I don't hear more about these in reviews. I tried to get through the 24 hour version of her course on Safari Online but ran out of time. In retrospect, I would have made time to watch all of those over a longer period of time. It was great displaying this on my Apple TV via AirPlay.
I think my total prep time this go around was about 30-40 days with the second half loaded with more study time. The first half was watching Cybrary videos as a primer.
- I also bought the Conrad full book, the 11th hour, and the latest version of the Shon Harris book updated by someone else since she passed away recently to my surprise. Shon's book was my #1 resource in 2007 and was the hands down best back then. I can't really comment about the current version vs. the current test.
- I read the 11th hour book. There's really no reason not to do this but I don't know that it made a difference.
- I skimmed or read selected chapters of the other books.
- The official Sybex test book / online questions were very good. Although the Sari Green 6-hour course had the only true representation of the non-multiple choice question formats.
- Skillset has real problems with their question pool but I probably learned a thing or two by going through daunting process required to earn 100% completion for the exam re-take insurance.
Overall, I found some questions to be tricky where I honestly believe the answer was subjective. In the real world you would ask a follow up question before making a decision or answering someone's question. The trick was understanding which correct answer the exam author wanted. I think the advice of "answer like a manager" is good advice. At some point in the test I just didn't care, picked an answer, and moved on not caring whether I got it right or wrong. One could argue those questions should be revised. These could have been the 25 beta questions and I am being overly critical. Who knows?
With that said, there were plenty of questions where I felt like they were easy points. This was the reassuring part of the exam experience. Near the end I read them carefully twice and just picked an answer even it only took 30 seconds.
I spent around 3hrs 30 mins mostly because I did not obsess over each question after #150. I had flagged many questions but did not review all of them. Before I initially moved on from a question, I felt I did the best I could do. Did not take a break. Did not use my snacks. I just wanted to get it over with.
I do not feel like I aced it. AFAIK, I passed with a score of 700. Who knows? On the bright side, it clearly can be passed and the prep materials of 2017 are FAR better than what was around in 2007.
