A CISSP Odyssey
In this article, I explain how to study hard-to-pass examinations like CISSP…
This is the brief story of my CISSP journey in “scary waters” of information security…
As an internal audit professional, my motive to get CISSP was not to jump into the infosec sector. I challenged myself with something challenging to improve my understanding of IT. CISSP was the next phase essential in the path… simple reasoning why I chose to go with CISSP. The mindset I had, helped me in getting the goal practically and intelligently. It took me almost six months to gain CISSP, and the materials I used during my study are below;
- CISSP (ISC)2-CISSP Sybex Official Study Guide 7th Edition
- Madunix — CISSP Process Guide
- CISSP Study Guide 11 Hours — Eric CONRAD
- Sunflowers CISSP Summary
- OWASP Top 10–2017 cl
- My dear rocker-friend Konstantin’s notes
- My notes those I took when I was reading Sybex
- Cybrary -Kelly Handerhan’s CISSP videos
- Phile Martin — Simple CISSP Exam Guide audiobook version
- Simplilearn Videos from youtube
- Some Youtube videos on specific topics
- Sybex official questions
- CISSP CBK questions
- CISSP for Dummies Questions
- McGraw-Hill CISSP Practice Exams
- AIO Total Tester
- CISSP Pocket Prep
- And Luke Ahmed’s telegram group
Study plan
Because of being a busy, energetic man, I could not dedicate all my time to studying. To use my time most efficiently and effectively, I prepared a Time Matrix. Through this matrix, I matched the study materials and with my free time n a granular manner.
For example, if I drove a car or prepared a meal, I should listen to audiobooks. If I get tired, I should watch videos; if I can’t sleep, I should read books… I hung the pictures of infosec concepts I drew all around the home. When I passed by, I took a look at those pictures helping me in memorizing hard stuff.
I started with Sybex 7th Edition. It took me around three months to get through the book. I read it carefully and took detailed notes. I read it once and did not read any other primary sources. But I reviewed the notes I took, Sunflowers CISSP Summary and CISSP Study Guide 11 Hours, twice.
CISSP Process Guide of Madunix was a great helper. I read it in total six times with a glance. Those quick readings used to be good to train my brain for the terminology and general concept. I read all these materials when I was on Sybex 7th Edition. So that helped me to recall what I saw in Sybex too.
I liked Kelly’s Cybrary video course but could complete only 40% of it. Mainly I watched the network security domains. And I also tried Simplilearn CISSP videos. These were good to recall the things I learned.
I got access to a Telegram group of Luke Ahmed, which is active 24/7. The experts in this group were incredible. I was determined that they couldn’t be normal human beings, so I called them AI and robots. I was able to find answers to all my questions.
Exam day
My exam consisted of 150 questions, and I was given 180 minutes to finish them all. The CAT test system of ISC2 does not let you see the question you pass. So it would help if you were very careful when you chose your answer.
The exam started, and I was in shock… the questions were not familiar. My brain was on overload, but I stayed calm. The first 80 questions were tricky. It became relatively easy after that point, but it was still hard to guess the correct answer at first glance.
I chose one of the best two options. When I was thinking I messed it up, at that very moment, at 120th qs, when I still had 30 questions and 45 minutes left, the test-taking system directed me to “leave the room.” I passed when I began to lose my hope.
I can tell this quickly, during the exam, the RAM of my brain could not get what was going on, but the ROM part knew what it was doing; subconscious learning. Training my brain with different materials allowed me to see the topic asked through other angels during the exam.
Suggestions to the CISSP Aspirants:
- Study hard but intelligently, trust your knowledge and stay calm…
- Do regular workouts… it helps refresh your mind. I had applied for an intense workout program three times a week.
- Book the exam as early as possible. It makes you more focused.
- Set a realistic exam date based on your personal/ professional life.
- It is said that CISSP is an inch deep, but I would suggest getting detailed information about the topics.
- No one book covers all the topics which you will see in the exam. So try to refer to more than one study resource. I wish I had time and patience to read CBK.
- Even if you are 100 % ready, the exam will not look easy, be mentally prepared to fight and win from each question.
- Inter-domain knowledge is a must. In the scenario-based questions, they may include more than one domain.
Good luck…
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