Passed the CC Exam Today. First Attempt, No Prior Tech Knowledge or Experience
Hello guys,
I just wanted to share my experience regarding the CC exam.
For context, I only discovered this study group around midnight last night, and while reading through the different posts and testimonials about the exam, I felt so discouraged and almost wanted to not go for the exam which held at 1PM today. I didn’t know I needed to study anything else besides the ISC2 CC course modules. That was the only thing I had studied. I didn’t even do a google search about anything in the course while studying. Yeah, that bad. I only decided to go because: 1. The exam was free 2. I had put effort into studying the course modules 3. I’m not actively pursuing a career in cybersecurity, so it wasn’t a do or die (I’ll explain later)
Well, I did go for the exam and passed on this very first attempt. It took me 50 minutes to finish.
Here’s my impression of the exam:
1. You need to have a strong understanding of the English language to pass this exam (as a native English speaker, this really helped me since I had to think of the meaning of several words I didn’t find in the module in order to understand and answer the questions).
2. The ISC2 CC course module is not enough. Lots of questions in the exam were not reflected in the modules; maybe the concepts were, but they weren’t discussed in depth. Sadly, I cannot offer advice on what other materials to study because I have no experience in this career and didn’t study anything else.
3. I think the exam can be easily passed if you understand the concepts of information security, study the necessary materials and have a good knowledge of the language.
Finally, to explain not pursuing a career in cybersecurity: I’m a healthcare professional with absolutely no prior knowledge or experience in tech. I very recently had a baby and have to sit for hours every day breastfeeding, so I wanted to do something else productive while at it. I stumbled on the link to access the ISC2 free course and free exam so I jumped on it. I actually found it interesting and kept going until I finished the entire course. It took me 43 days from start to taking the exam today.
I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that I found this course really interesting and would enjoy a career in this field.
I second that part of having a good understanding of the English language. It is true that you can easily pass the exam if you have studied the course materials well with a strong English foundation. Lucky for me, I just passed the CC exam on my first attempt. However, I would encourage you to check https://www.certmike.com/cc and https://www.linkedin.com/learning/isc-2-certified-in-cybersecurity-cc-cert-prep/cybersecurity-151212... provided by Mike Chapple <>. These resources played an important role in my success story. Thanks.
Congratulations on passing your CC exam on the first attempt! I completely agree with your recommendation to explore Mike Chapple's courses on LinkedIn Learning. I've personally utilized his resources before and am currently relying on them to prepare for my own CC exam.
Additionally, I found his Udemy practice tests to be immensely beneficial in grasping the exam concepts when I used them previously.
Thank you so much for posting this testimonial! I am in the same position as you (working in healthcare, recently gave birth, and breastfeeding), but I am trying to pursue a cybersecurity career so this gives me a lot of confidence.
