Here is my obligatory post regarding the test.
Background
I have worked in IT now almost 19 years and I'm not 40 yet. The past 8 years have been Security based (this helped a lot). Before that it was standard System Admin stuff. Five years ago I took the test after a bootcamp and only 3 years of security. I scored a 572.
Current
Since then I've wanted to take the test again but haven't had the drive to push it. Some recent changes in my work environment prodded me to try again. So on January 24th I started reviewing again. My goal was to review one domain a week, and then use the last week as a full review of all domains. IE: Domain 1 - Week 1. Domain 2&1 - Week 2. Domain 3&2&1 - Week 3. You get the point. However, after week 7 I was at a point where I knew I could go ahead and finish Domain 8-10 within a week (Physical/Law/BC&DRP). That would provide me 4 weeks of full review. Glad I went this route.
Study Material
For me personally, I'm not a person who can sit down and read, then read some more, and well... read again. I will fall asleep. I relied on Video and Audio mostly. Don't get me wrong. I read most of Eric Conrads book and his 11th hour I read the last two days before the test. Regardless here is what I used:
Shon Harris Audio (and the quizzes)
CBTNuggetsCybrary.it - Great stuff IMO. I went through all the videos on the last week before the exam.
Eric Conrads 11th Hour and Study Guide
Shon Harris AIO - only the questions. Never read that book... couldn't. Which is funny because I have 4 copies of it (different versions) that I have accumulated over the years via funding in the sector I work for.
Transcender Questions
CCCUre Questions
Eric Conrad Practice Exams
Total Tester
My Personal Tips
- a healthy meal is good. And by healthy I mean good carbs and fruits/vitamins.
- Don't panic. Out of the first 20 questions, I flagged 15. Stay the course and pace yourself... which leads to my next tip
- Take a break(s). At almost two hours in I took a break. My brain needed a reset. Make sure you have another healthy, good carb snack to refuel with.
- I took a second break when I was done initially. All the questions I wanted to review I wanted to review after a 5 minute break. I flagged a good 30+ questions. I changed probably half of them and finished the exam with 1 minute to go before the 6 hour mark.
- Read the questions
SLOWLY. One word can make it, or break it.
- There will be "fluff" information within questions. Identify it and ignore it.
- Try your absolute best to eliminate 2 of the 4 answers. I found this happening to me often. I knew two answers were just out in left field and had no right being listed. The other two answers would make me read the question again and look at the wording.
Good luck.
