Passed CISSP exam today 27/07/2015

tuabuikiatuabuikia Member Posts: 52 ■■□□□□□□□□
Hi guys. I have passed the CISSP exam today. Here are my study regime and some study + exam tips for you guys:-


Experience: 5 years total security experience. Started off as a security engineer at an MSSP deploying network security solution. Have a few security product certs as well. I then transitioned to IS security management; worked for 2 local bank in my country and currently in an international bank.


Prep time: 3 months in total; not strict. I even went on 2 week vacation in between. :P


Materials:-
  • Shon Harris AIO 6th Edition
  • Shon Harris Practice Exam 3rd Edition
  • CCCure Learning Portal (paid sub)
  • CCCure Quiz (paid sub)
  • Eric Conrad's 500 CISSP questions
Study method: First and foremost, the AIO is still a very valid study material. Even if the book is not relevant to the CISSP certification anymore, it still makes for a good work reference with the depth it provides. I finished each chapter on the AIO and proceed through each chapter's quiz on the AIO and Practice Exam. Once I finished the AIO, I move on to CCCure to brush up on the new 2015 CBK materials. Then it's just quiz all the way until exam day. I am working full time so I spent about average 2 hours every night just studying and quiz; weekends slightly a bit more.


Study tips
  • Don't cram or study last minute. It'll not work. I can guarantee you.
  • Relate what you've read to your working / professional experience. That will help you gain solid understanding of the concept rather than plain memorizing which is somewhat burdensome.
  • Use flashcard to touch up on the points that you're weak at; not for points that you already mastered. A good way to gauge this is when you do quizzes. Note down the points that you got a wrong or misinterpreted and construct a flash card and retest yourself.
  • Quiz, quiz and quiz. The more you do, the more you know where your weaknesses are. It also exposes you to different angles a question may be asked.
  • Don't speculate what will come out. Will never work as well. Master each domain.
Exam Tip
  • Don't cram on the day before exam. Instead, do some quiz. Eat healthy and get a good rest.
  • On the exam day, stop touching quiz, cram sheet or flash card. Prepare yourself mentally and calm yourself down.
  • Understand the context of the question. Wording on a question may catch you offguard. Also understand if the context is before or after. Some example of this is "What could have been done to avoid?" or "What is the best solution to ensure it does not occur". For questions like these, there may be 2 similarly perfect answer. But knowing the context and understanding the requirement of the question will help you choose the right answer.
  • When you pick answer, you should know and understand why the answer fits the question. Answers on a CISSP question can be blatantly straightforward to very closely related. Justify with yourself why it is the 'best' answer.
  • Don't rush to submit and end the exam. I completed the exam in 4 hours but I took an addition 1 hours 30 mins revisiting everything including those I had answers to. Doing so sometimes can help find questions that you have misinterpreted.
  • The first 1 hour is the most difficult for me. You're battling fear and doubt. But don't worry. It'll wear off once you're settled in to the exam environment.

With that, feel free to hit me up with your questions here. And best of luck to you if you're taking the CISSP exam soon. :)

Comments

  • grungeisevilgrungeisevil Member Posts: 39 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Congrats buddy! What's next for you?
  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    Congrats on the pass!
  • NetworkNewbNetworkNewb Member Posts: 3,298 ■■■■■■■■■□
    Gratz! and thanks for info! icon_cheers.gif
  • praminpramin Member Posts: 138 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats and great study approach
  • jt2929jt2929 Member Posts: 244 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats on the pass!
  • OM602OM602 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Congrats and thanks for the writeup
    The world chico, and everything in it
  • g33k3rg33k3r Member Posts: 249 ■■□□□□□□□□
  • sesha437sesha437 Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Hearty Congrats!!!!!
    am also preparing for the exam on sept 26th.

    wanna know about questions..Most of the questions are scenario based I think. Is it correct?

    more over these scenario questoins will be related to the topics in AIO ? or very tough to guess which topics/concepts they are asking the questions?
  • tuabuikiatuabuikia Member Posts: 52 ■■□□□□□□□□
    sesha437 wrote: »
    Hearty Congrats!!!!!
    am also preparing for the exam on sept 26th.

    wanna know about questions..Most of the questions are scenario based I think. Is it correct?

    more over these scenario questoins will be related to the topics in AIO ? or very tough to guess which topics/concepts they are asking the questions?
    Hi sesha437. There are 3 more types of question in the exam aside from the usual single question. You would get drag & drop, point & click question and scenario-based in the exam. There will be a few scenarios and each scenario has a few question that is related to the scenario. Understand the scenario and the context of the question in relation to the scenario. Shouldn't be hard if you have mastered the domain and continually expose yourself to different quizzes.


    Like I mentioned, don't waste time speculating which domain will come out more or less. Be safe, master all domain.


    Good luck in your endeavour.
  • sesha437sesha437 Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
    The scnerio based questions and few questions related to that scenrio will be like in Shon Harris AIO book end of chapter questions?
    because i saw few questions, she has given one paragraph of scneario and 3-4 questions regarding that?
  • aftereffectoraftereffector Member Posts: 525 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congratulations!!
    CCIE Security - this one might take a while...
  • dustervoicedustervoice Member Posts: 877 ■■■■□□□□□□
    well done... congrats
  • tuabuikiatuabuikia Member Posts: 52 ■■□□□□□□□□
    sesha437 wrote: »
    The scnerio based questions and few questions related to that scenrio will be like in Shon Harris AIO book end of chapter questions?
    because i saw few questions, she has given one paragraph of scneario and 3-4 questions regarding that?

    Yes scenario question will be like that
  • melvinfzmelvinfz Member Posts: 44 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Hi Congrats on passing the exam . I attempted the exam on the 23 rd of this month and failed . Anyways I have booked for the exam for the end of next month .Hopefully i should pass this time . :)
  • ArchonArchon Member Posts: 183 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats on the pass.
  • Sam_aquaSam_aqua Member Posts: 72 ■■□□□□□□□□
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