Passed GSEC

I passed my GSEC exam today. Took about four months of on demand self study but I passed with a 93%. I know only I'm probably the only one who can answer this, but is CISSP shooting for the stars at this point? I'm thinking about studying and going for it but didn't know the level of difficulty compared to GSEC.

Is there anyone who has taken both who could weigh in on what they think difficulty wise?

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GirlyGirl

Off Topic:

SANS says that the GSLC and the GSEC certification has some overlap. Have you considered it?
I am going to buy a GSLC practice exam in the next month or two and see how I do with a GSEC index. If I do well, I will purchase the self study. If not, I won't.

Considering the time you took to take the exam, do you really think you retained 4 months of information? That is a serious question I have.

Any suggestions for those taking the exam in the near future? What were you techniques if you don't mind.

I don't think that the CISSP is aiming for the sky. If you are going for the associate or the CISSP, from a Department of Defense standard they are equal. Outside of the DOD, I am not sure because I have never been in that realm.

That is a great score. Great job!

I like Dr. Cole. He definitely keeps my attention through OnDemand lectures. He is a funny individual. He has a sense of humor, which I like. I think it's good to keep the readers/listeners attention. I wouldn't mind doing a class with him in person.

TechGuru80

The CISSP relies on experience and knowledge...so how much experience do you have? I would say the GSEC reaches a lot if not all of the CISSP domains but from a technical perspective instead of management.

jam022316

GirlyGirl wrote: »

Off Topic:

SANS says that the GSLC and the GSEC certification has some overlap. Have you considered it?
I am going to buy a GSLC practice exam in the next month or two and see how I do with a GSEC index. If I do well, I will purchase the self study. If not, I won't.

Considering the time you took to take the exam, do you really think you retained 4 months of information? That is a serious question I have.

Any suggestions for those taking the exam in the near future? What were you techniques if you don't mind.

I don't think that the CISSP is aiming for the sky. If you are going for the associate or the CISSP, from a Department of Defense standard they are equal. Outside of the DOD, I am not sure because I have never been in that realm.

That is a great score. Great job!

I like Dr. Cole. He definitely keeps my attention through OnDemand lectures. He is a funny individual. He has a sense of humor, which I like. I think it's good to keep the readers/listeners attention. I wouldn't mind doing a class with him in person.

Completely agree on your take on Dr. Cole. He was great. That 4 months was me reading and making a solid index that I could understand under different circumstances (word the same thing 3 or 4 different ways). My index was around 25 pages and i had a dictionary around 6 pages. My techniques were read around 30 pages and then go back and make an index over those 30 pages. And just kept that up. For my index if the topic was "Configuring a Security Template" I'd have an entry for that and then I'd also have an entry of "Security Template (configuring)" that way no matter how I looked at it I could get to it in my index. That was a big help for me.

I haven't looked into the GSLC I'll check it out.

jam022316

TechGuru80 wrote: »

The CISSP relies on experience and knowledge...so how much experience do you have? I would say the GSEC reaches a lot if not all of the CISSP domains but from a technical perspective instead of management.

Been in IT for 12 years about 4 of that has been security related.

E Double U

jam022316 wrote: »

is CISSP shooting for the stars at this point?

If we say yes, will you let that discourage you from pursuing it?

jam022316

Honestly no. I just want honest opinions. I feel I'm ready but I don't know until I start studying for it. If it's all Greek to me then I guess I'll know. I would rather learn from others past mistakes/regrets instead of reinventing the wheel.

quogue66

You can easily pass the CISSP. Like all exams it comes down to how hard you study and what you put into it. I know a desktop tech that had his CISSP. He studied hard for about 6 months and passed it.

TechGuru80

jam022316 wrote: »

Been in IT for 12 years about 4 of that has been security related.

Get it...by now you should have a decent amount of exposure to start studying.

jam022316

quogue66 wrote: »

You can easily pass the CISSP. Like all exams it comes down to how hard you study and what you put into it. I know a desktop tech that had his CISSP. He studied hard for about 6 months and passed it.

Wow, ok then I'll get started!

jam022316

TechGuru80 wrote: »

Get it...by now you should have a decent amount of exposure to start studying.

Excellent. Thanks for your advice.