Did the CISSP exam today, a few comments and thanks...

Hey everyone,

Just did the CISSP exam today and passed on the first try. I was really excited to see the "congratulations" on the result page they give you...

I have to say that I got a lot of interesting hints from here that helped me diversify my study scope. Many different ways work for the many different people coming here, so I won't pretend to give anyone a way to pass...

I'm a father of young twins, saying I had limited time to study would be an understatement. I made the most of it with the following (please note that I purchased the ISC2 package at 2500$ including live training, CBK, student handbook, and 3 assessment tests):

- Did a lot of the 3 assessment tests to identify my weaknesses first, that helped me figure out where I needed to invest my limited time (in my case, crypto, network, access control and architecture and design)
- Reviewed all the responses that I got wrong and I wasn't sure I understood WHY I was wrong and started creating a Brainscape deck with cue cards. Ended up with 165 cue cards that I went through over and over as soon as I had some free time (work breaks, time off, night, etc...)
- I structured study around formal texts in the student handbook (slightly shorter version of the CBK) to deepen my understanding of key concepts
- Used a bit of the Kilala CISSP summary (didn't find it amazingly helpful but every bit helps)

I would say that what people have said in general is entirely true. The exam is not so much about your understanding of what the key lengths for algorithm X is as much as it wants you to put your "manager" shoes on and say what a prudent person would do.

I'm not saying there's no technical question, there ARE But at the very least half of the exam for me was context related questions

I would lie if I told you that the exam is not brutal. Follow the recommendation of the person who said to take a good breakfast, a red bull or coffee or whatever, and make sure you had a good night sleep if at all possible. You need ALL your head for that exam.

So, that's my 2 cents.

Thanks to those who took the time to provide references, I know I appreciated it.

Don't hesitate if you have questions, whatever I can answer, I will