Passed CISSP CBT exam 5/3/2013

I passed my exam today - CBT version - VUE

Brief Bio:
38 years old
MS - IT Management from Florida Tech
BS - Networking
Security +
NT 4.0 MCSE and 2000 (yes I have been around a while)
15+ years IT experience, Admin, Design, Engineering, Security Management
1st PC was in 1986-ish IBM "Turbo" XT 4.77/8.0mhz

Study Guides:
Transcender Online CISSP prep - Rating A+
CCCure.org - Rating C
Shon Harris AIO - 5th Edition - B-

Preptime 3 months of review 2-3 hours a day M-Thursday (screw study on weekends or Friday happy hour, I run better on Guinness)

Purchased Transcender via website, and ran through those one domain one at a time. $99-129?

2nd month, purchased CCCure test questions for ~30$ I think?. If you want user submitted questions so down in the weeds it makes Bill Gates look like a moron, go for it. This is a MANAGEMENT level exam people...REMEMBER THAT! I also didn't like the constant repeats of the same question asked 10 different ways. Either you know it or you don't, and if you don't the explanations they give are from those 10 different people that submitted those questions and you get 10 different "versions" of their theory of what is what (some with no reference!) F that! That site has potential but lacks standard consistent explanations.

Last month / weeks prior I was able to pass each of the transcender preset 250 question exam simulations with 90-95% scores last week of study before my exam.

Also, in the last week of study I answered all questions from each chapter of CISSP AIO guide - never read the entire book, no need. Use the test prep to find your weak points and review those ONLY. Don't waste your time with things you already know.

Final thoughts on the exam, easy to moderate difficulty. All of that prep time for that? I am just a genius? I KNOW that isn't the case at all! I took some of those CCCure questions in the 2nd month and thought that would be the level of detail needed and almost quit.

Anyway, use the transcenders to learn the concepts, get the AIO book, score 90% + on each of the presents, take the exam. Read the question 2-3 times, apply common sense, add tech details, and you will be fine. The transcenders are the best resource I used to LEARN the concepts I needed to fill the gaps in my knowledge bank.

Ryan

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Comments

JDMurray

Congratulations!

datacomboss

NoVaCISSP, great info. I have a similar background (only a little older) and I was wondering what would be the best route to take for the CISSP.

paul78

Welcome to TE!

Congrats on the pass. Good writeup to read.

webgeek

Congrats on the pass!

jfitzg

So how much would you say you already knew vs how much you had to learn?

NoVaCISSP

Hey guys....@ data like I said AIO and transcender will get the job done - just make sure you can score 90%++ on each exam sim. Take one domain at a time, max out the questions in each section and rock those out until you can know and understand the concepts. The give great explanations and anything you need more on, just wiki or google it.

I'm a "technical" type guy, love "doing" so the security angle I have moved towards in the last 5 years or so is different for me. I think the process and operations (minus the tech part of that) were the biggest pain. If it says know this, know that, after a few times that stuff sets in when technical like the crypto stuff. The "order" of things was my biggest catch and remembering the process BIA, BCP, stuff like that.

Question for you guys....

I am getting ready to send in the resume and endorsement form.....how long does it take to get the official cert and piece of paper? Also, do you guys start doing your continuing education credits or whatever they are call to keep the cert valid now or after 3 years?

Also is it true there are only 85k CISSP's in the world as of Jan 13? Wiki number, so just curious. Time to enjoy life again and ride my Harley! Talk to you guys later.

Thanks.

marcmen

Excellent write up - I passed my exam on the 1st of the month and I was surprised to find it was not that hard if you use common sense!! The most challenging part for me was crossing the three hour mark. I am a smoker (I know) and I was starting to loose focus. IMHO don't just study the material but learn how to manage your time and take unscheduled breaks away from the computer. For me I stopped for 10 minutes every 50 questions and I still had 60 minutes to complete the test.

Good Luck to all future CISSP's - piece of cake!!

cyberguypr

Congrats!

ssehg

Congratulations. You wrote really nice..

keri2000

Hi! I was wondering which of the options you purchased through Transcender. There are quite a few, each around $150, so I am looking for which one you got to help you. I heard the practice exams were great because they go into a lot of detail with the answers, but I was thinking the e-learning module would be good too. Thx, Keri

chaand

Congrats to both of you!
I have to agree with Ryan on the cccure questions. They are too granular and not really management level.

I seem to average 7x% on the cccure questions but am in the 80's with Shonn's questions. Is this good enough for the exam?

Mn19.89z

Congrats, I know a little late. Reading your BIO, feel the same, started with Novell 3.11, WordPerfect 5.1, did the Cisco Certs, etc. Returning for CISSP as the competition gets younger and cheaper, but, age has its experience.

Thanks for the inspiration ....

Mn19~

techbebe

Congratulations ! Which site did you get the Transcender questions from? I failed the exam with a 661- studying for retake. Appreciate any advice .Thank You

joedain

chaand wrote: »

Congrats to both of you!
I have to agree with Ryan on the cccure questions. They are too granular and not really management level.

I seem to average 7x% on the cccure questions but am in the 80's with Shonn's questions. Is this good enough for the exam?

Do you know if the Transcender are more management based? or if there is a test bank out there that is geared towards management.

JoJoCal19

techbebe wrote: »

Congratulations ! Which site did you get the Transcender questions from? I failed the exam with a 661- studying for retake. Appreciate any advice .Thank You

Transcender IT Certification Prep Training Products - Practice Exams and More

JoJoCal19

joedain wrote: »

Do you know if the Transcender are more management based? or if there is a test bank out there that is geared towards management.

I'm using them right now for prep and I'd say they cover more technical and details, while also throwing in some scenario or management based questions as well. The one thing I'm finding is that Transcender questions are based off of and references information from Shon Harris' CISSP AIO Guide, which means I'm finding questions on stuff that I didn't find in either of Conrad's books. In my opinion the Transcender questions probably cover some stuff you wont likely see on the exam. If you want the most realistic questions, use the Studiscope questions from ISC(2). I will be picking them up the beginning of September.