Passed yesterday....

leyash · July 2013

Hi,

Passed yesterday..first attempt

..Tough exam for sure...mentally exhausted at the end and glad to see "Passed" on the printout...

Thank you to all in this forum for offering invaluable advice.Also to my family as without their support I wouldn't be able to do this..My 5yr old was so relieved I passed ..she said ..Yay.. now we don't have to whisper when we talk so dad doesn't get disturbed

What I used..
Shon Harris - 6th edition and Eric Conrad 2nd Edition - read these a couple of times. Briefly went over ISC2 second edition to read on some topics not mentioned in above 2 books.

Eric Conrad 11th hour, and tons of practice questions including cccure.org.

Couple of tips.
While reading the material don't concentrate on memorizing, instead understand the concepts and try to visualize what could go wrong if things don't work as expected. The exam does not test you on your knowledge of how things work but more on what would you do if they don't work as planned.
Making notes helps to drive home the point and also for quick and repeat reference.

Also always have your manager hat "on" while attempting the questions. Choose the most inclusive answer always. So if 2 answers are right and one includes the other in it choose that one. For eg - if answer includes "Social Engineering" and "Phishing" choose "Social engineering".

Try to parse and remove irrevelant information in the question and to find out what the question is really asking you. This will help you speed up the process of finding the correct answer rather than wasting time digest unnecessary information.

Be certain before marking the answer and my advise is to not review all the questions again..you will only end up changing the right answer as the other one you eliminated suddenly starts looking more convincing..

Take at least couple of breaks during the exam and don't fret if you get a hard question. Just mark what you feel is the best answer..forget about that question and move to next one..

Best wishes to everyone attempting in future.Study hard..apply your experience and you should pass...

Ash

joebanny · July 2013

Congratulations on the pass! Your hard work paid off. Go get some deserved rest now.

Falcon56 · July 2013

First of all CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks for posting the tips. I know the Conrad book talks about a 2nd pass thru the questions and also mentions the 'controversial' 3rd pass. I like your take of making sure you answer the question and then move on. After reading some of the comments about cccure.org, I have gone with Transcender and have to say that, so far, I really like their stuff. Of course, this coming from a wannabe and not someone who has passed the exam.

Again, kudos on the first pass....now go enjoy your summer!

NavyIT · July 2013

Great job @leyash! Congrats!

This post is inspiring and gives me motivation to work hard and be successful! Can you share a bit of your background? How much exposure to management and information security did you have going into this?

da_vato · July 2013

Congrats. Now you'll find you have so much more time on your hands and the hard part is figuring out what to do with it...

Now on to the endorsement process, I hope yours goes smoother than mine.

JDMurray · July 2013

Congratulations!

So what's your next cert? CCNA Security?

TBRAYS · July 2013

leyash wrote: »

Hi,

Passed yesterday..first attempt ..Tough exam for sure...mentally exhausted at the end and glad to see "Passed" on the printout...

Thank you to all in this forum for offering invaluable advice.Also to my family as without their support I wouldn't be able to do this..My 5yr old was so relieved I passed ..she said ..Yay.. now we don't have to whisper when we talk so dad doesn't get disturbed

What I used..
Shon Harris - 6th edition and Eric Conrad 2nd Edition - read these a couple of times. Briefly went over ISC2 second edition to read on some topics not mentioned in above 2 books.

Eric Conrad 11th hour, and tons of practice questions including cccure.org.

Couple of tips.
While reading the material don't concentrate on memorizing, instead understand the concepts and try to visualize what could go wrong if things don't work as expected. The exam does not test you on your knowledge of how things work but more on what would you do if they don't work as planned.
Making notes helps to drive home the point and also for quick and repeat reference.

Also always have your manager hat "on" while attempting the questions. Choose the most inclusive answer always. So if 2 answers are right and one includes the other in it choose that one. For eg - if answer includes "Social Engineering" and "Phishing" choose "Social engineering".

Try to parse and remove irrevelant information in the question and to find out what the question is really asking you. This will help you speed up the process of finding the correct answer rather than wasting time digest unnecessary information.

Be certain before marking the answer and my advise is to not review all the questions again..you will only end up changing the right answer as the other one you eliminated suddenly starts looking more convincing..

Take at least couple of breaks during the exam and don't fret if you get a hard question. Just mark what you feel is the best answer..forget about that question and move to next one..

Best wishes to everyone attempting in future.Study hard..apply your experience and you should pass...

Ash

CONGRATS on the achievement. FYI, its best that you put CISSP Pending instead of CISSP because you aren't certified yet.

leyash · July 2013

@navyit - I have 10+ years of IT experience..not much exposure to mgmt though..

@jdmurray - not decided yet..planning to get into auditing..probably CISA..

Passed yesterday....

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