The start of a quest - Need help!

First of all, let me apologize for the fact that the title of the post might not entirely be true. I am a CISA and have been preparing in short bursts ever since I got my CISA score for the CISSP. It has been almost a year now and I have read not more than 200 pages from Shon Harris's book. However, working day in and day out in the same grind has corroded my zeal to read, learn and adapt. So now, starting today, I have set forth a plan and the drop dead time for me taking and cracking the CISSP is December this year. For the record, I am also intermittently reading the ISC2 CBK and have access to two of the best CISSPs (one of them has done two concentrations) that I have ever met.
Having said that, I want some thoughts, some tips from all of you out there who are either on the same boat to the year end or have already cleared it. I know that at the end of the day, I will do what I am most comfortable with in terms of learning and practising for the test. However, a good tip here, a shared experience there always is helpful!
So please share your experiences during the preps, the test or if you have any useful tips.

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Paperlantern

I am near the end of my journey with the test this coming Monday. However I got my hands on the newest edition of CISSP for Dummies. I think that would honestly be the best place for someone to start thier journey, and I wished I had it when i started, alas it only came out about 2 weeks ago. I have finished the book and it has good structure, as well as a ton of extra hints and tips to help you on your path. Its a good place to start as it is no where near as intimidating as the 850 some odd page ISC2 CBK or the Shon harris 1000+ some odd pages.

I cant vouch for how well I will end up doing as i have not taken it yet but i am consistently 70% on practice tests or so with still a little time to sharpen the edges before i sit for it.

Good luck in your journey.

AbhijeetBasu

Paperlantern wrote: »

I am near the end of my journey with the test this coming Monday. However I got my hands on the newest edition of CISSP for Dummies. I think that would honestly be the best place for someone to start thier journey, and I wished I had it when i started, alas it only came out about 2 weeks ago. I have finished the book and it has good structure, as well as a ton of extra hints and tips to help you on your path. Its a good place to start as it is no where near as intimidating as the 850 some odd page ISC2 CBK or the Shon harris 1000+ some odd pages.

I cant vouch for how well I will end up doing as i have not taken it yet but i am consistently 70% on practice tests or so with still a little time to sharpen the edges before i sit for it.

Good luck in your journey.

Dear Paperlantern,

Thanks a lot for your heads-up! I will definitely have a look at the book. In the meantime, best of luck for the D-Day

Do let me know what comes out. Hope to hear the good news next week!

Vik210

I thought I was the only one!
I did my CISA and I think the only reason I was able to do it is because of the exam deadline. With CISSP, every time I have to force myself to read and the fact that I can give the exam any time I want makes me lazy.
I think I should just take a date for Dec/ Jan and I will start studying.
See if this self-pressuring things works with you!

AbhijeetBasu

Vik210 wrote: »

I thought I was the only one!
I did my CISA and I think the only reason I was able to do it is because of the exam deadline. With CISSP, every time I have to force myself to read and the fact that I can give the exam any time I want makes me lazy.
I think I should just take a date for Dec/ Jan and I will start studying.
See if this self-pressuring things works with you!

Oh no you are not alone at all!!! That is the whole reason I gave myself a target date. I have scheduled the exam for January

Hope this does put enough pressure on me to pick up the books and read!!

Vik210

Good luck with it! I will attempt it more or less the same time.

AbhijeetBasu

Well.. I give up! I need more time if I have to take this and get it over with. I have let go of my December plans for now and the new D-Day is March 2013. Hopefully, I will have enough time from my day job till then to read and get ready for the gruelling 6 hours.

And what is with the new version of the CBK coming in domains?! Not that I dont want to read them but I am way too underpaid to buy all the 10 domains for THAT amount. I mean, we are talking close to 100 GBP!!! Well, the CBK 2nd ed was 42 and Shon Harris's bible cost me 45 and helped me make some biceps as well!!! Not sure if I am going to put that kinda money for small updates.

kalkan999

Hello AbhijeetBasu. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. My suggestion is to use Shon Harris as a reference. She goes into EXHAUSTIVE detail on a lot of things, but if you are using other study material and cannot seem to 'get' what they are saying, or it doesn't seem to stick, refer to Shon. I had about a gazillion certs going into this exam and nothing prepared me well for this test. Here's what I did to prepare:

-Shon Harris 4th, then 5th edition and Exam prep test book that I bought as a bundle with 5th ed.
-CBK 2nd edition (Tipton). This was the best way I prepared. Remember: There's the right answer, and the right answer as suggested by ISC2.
-3X500 Flash Cards. Helpful but overkill. Here's why. While it helps to remember all the details (cryptography and Networking), tying the domains and the concepts together is how to pass. Anyone can memorize given enough time.
- InfoSec Bootcamp. Didn't pass, but came within 5 points.
- CCcure. Helpful, and the tests were decent preparation, but lots and lots of antiquated questions and references to same.
- Anything I could get my hands on that was released by Clement Dupuis and the SANS Institute.
- A trip to Costa Rica. Read my March - April posts for some Monday morning amusement.

My list of Dont's:

-Shon Harris DVD's. They are ummmm, well, dry. And lots of the information is pre ISO 27001-2, and Common Criteria.
-Buying into any CISSP test engines or advertised CISSP Brain **** thinking you'll gain some competitive edge. If you do your Internet Due Diligence, you will find that it's not only against the rules, you'll be flushing your money down the drain. I am not speaking from my own experience here, rather from others who posted how much these materials stink! If you try to prepare with what's out there for sale, you won't, WON'T pass.
-

AbhijeetBasu

kalkan999 wrote: »

Hello AbhijeetBasu. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. My suggestion is to use Shon Harris as a reference. She goes into EXHAUSTIVE detail on a lot of things, but if you are using other study material and cannot seem to 'get' what they are saying, or it doesn't seem to stick, refer to Shon. I had about a gazillion certs going into this exam and nothing prepared me well for this test. Here's what I did to prepare:

-Shon Harris 4th, then 5th edition and Exam prep test book that I bought as a bundle with 5th ed.
-CBK 2nd edition (Tipton). This was the best way I prepared. Remember: There's the right answer, and the right answer as suggested by ISC2.
-3X500 Flash Cards. Helpful but overkill. Here's why. While it helps to remember all the details (cryptography and Networking), tying the domains and the concepts together is how to pass. Anyone can memorize given enough time.
- InfoSec Bootcamp. Didn't pass, but came within 5 points.
- CCcure. Helpful, and the tests were decent preparation, but lots and lots of antiquated questions and references to same.
- Anything I could get my hands on that was released by Clement Dupuis and the SANS Institute.
- A trip to Costa Rica. Read my March - April posts for some Monday morning amusement.

My list of Dont's:

-Shon Harris DVD's. They are ummmm, well, dry. And lots of the information is pre ISO 27001-2, and Common Criteria.
-Buying into any CISSP test engines or advertised CISSP Brain **** thinking you'll gain some competitive edge. If you do your Internet Due Diligence, you will find that it's not only against the rules, you'll be flushing your money down the drain. I am not speaking from my own experience here, rather from others who posted how much these materials stink! If you try to prepare with what's out there for sale, you won't, WON'T pass.
-

Dear Kalkan,

Thank you very much for your exhaustive comments and tipe. I can not tell you what it means for an aspiring CISSP to have tips like these coming across.

Yes, from my CISA experience, I have learnt two things. One, stick to the official publication. There is a reason why they are official. Two, no braindumps can make your brain ready for the test. If you know your job and how it relates to what you read and if you know what (ISC)2/ISACA are asking for, you are there.

I am happy that I am not the only one who is tired with Shon Harris's more than exhaustive reading material. I am concentrating solely on the CBK and will be doing so till I am through with the domains. I plan to take quite a few practice tests, more to know where I stand, than to guess what I might see on the screen on D-Day.

Again, thanks a lot for your help and comments. Appreciate it

Ragster12

Just wanted to add my two cents.

I totally get how life gets in the way as it did for me. You have to set the date and don't change it. Push yourself to get the study time.

I also totally agree that the Shon Harris AIO is filled with too much fluff. I had it for reference but did not read it. I actually used the CISSP Study Guide, 2nd edition, by Eric Conrad. Very easy to read and great flow. I also had access to Shon Harris DVDs, derived from 4th edition AIO. She is very dry. The other individual in the videos was a much presenter. I did not use anything from more popular "guaranteed to pass" exam sites as I did not trust the material with one exception: I purchased (for like 3 dollars) a printable practice quiz but I did not use it as a practice quiz. The material had questions/answers and definitions as to why an answer was correct and not correct. I rewrote every question and definition into statements as if they were notes that I took during a college class or something similar. I also took notes while I was reading the CISSP Study guide and watching the videos. I ended up with 27 legal pads full of notes. I used index cards sparingly.

As the title of my reply states...I took the exam last week and passed - 1st time. It is very doable provided you push yourself to study. The (ISC)2 CBKs on iPad came a little too late so I cant provide any feedback on those.

Hope this helps and Good Luck...diligence and determination

Thistleback

AbhijeetBasu:

Having a deadline is an excellent incentive. My employer OK'd a request for boot camp and testing, and gave me great latitude on scheduling time. However, my immediate supervisor had in mind a fairly aggressive timeline for it, which I adhered to. I had about three months to prepare. I had Shon Harris's book, and I read about 75% of the way through. I used the practice exams on the CD included with the book. That was the only prep I did in advance of the boot camp. (Official ISC2 sponsored - through Training Camp) I passed the exam first time after this prep. I must add, though, that I have 19 years IT experience, 12 years of it at the management level, so that helped a lot with the "management mind-set" perspective of the exam.

All in all, I feel that my best impetus was the firm deadline . . . it really made me push . . .

AbhijeetBasu

Dear Ragster and Thistleback

Thank you both very much for your comments. Yes, having a deadline helps in being consistent in your efforts.

I will definitely keep the points in mind and hope for the best

Thanks Again

AB.