CISSP Passed

Hi All,

I took the exam for the first time on 2nd December 2013 and passed.

Techexams was a HUGE help and even though I never posted or participated, its been like a support group for me. Specially advice and suggestions from @JDMUrray, @emerald_octane, @kalkan999 (really inspiring!) Thank you all.

So as per the norm, here are my two cents!

Study Resources -

Eric Conrad - The best of the lot.
Eric Conrad 11th Hour (it's good just for that...11th hour panic revision)
Shon Harris AIO 6th Edition (Very detailed and verbose. I won't recommend it as a single source of study, but its good for topics you need to study in-depth.)
Shon Harris Practice Exam (Most helpful. This will actually give you an idea about how the real exams are going to be.)
Trnascender Practice Exam (questions are way more simplistic than the real exam, but its good for reinforcing concepts. I found it helpful.)

Having worked in InfoSec for past 8 years did help, but that's just not enough for clearing the exam. You need to sit and study. This is a very, very tough exam and to be honest I had creeped myself out worrying endlessly about it. And rightly too!

Lots of questions are scenario-based with no finite answer. I mean you have to take a call on it, there seems to be no right answer or 2 right answers which is worse If you have the experience, it might be easier to make an informed choice.

I took a 5-minute break after first 100 questions, and then another after 200 questions. After 250 questions, I took a 15-minutes break and had a sandwich. Then I spent the rest of the time going through the test again. I did that twice. And although everybody says that one shouldn't change one's answers, I did that. And mighty glad I did that too!

I am a working mother and primary care-taker for my 4-year-old, which means that I am almost always stressed and busy. I got time to study only after putting my kid to bed. I had to go without sleep for weeks, had to give up on TV, on reading (something I am addicted to) and generally work very hard. I haven't studied anything in 12 years since I left college and took an exam after 6 years. So my confidence was rock-bottom and so were my scores in the practice tests. I had scheduled the exam in September but due to an urgent family situation I had to reschedule it to December. All in all, a hugely stressful situation. It didn't help that people around me put me down at every opportunity - co-workers, friends, some family members too. You know how it is....everybody cracks a joke at your expense. The toughest part was having to sit down and focus on studying and not worry about the dishes, the laundry, the deadlines at work, the kid's flu shot or his settling down at school and whatnot. I was so stressed that I broke down a day before the exam blaming myself for attempting a thing like this in the first place. If I can manage to do it, I am sure anybody and everybody can!

Cheers!