Should I give up on the CC Exam?

Schewniie · ‎10-30-2023

Hi all,

I just took the CC exam this morning and failed it with 3/5 "below proficiency". I took and re-took the training exam until I got to the 90's, Mike Chappelle's class on LinkedIn, and Thor's Course on Udemy still failed. I am very discouraged, especially knowing I can't afford to retake the exam. I thought I studied well and took my time answering the questions, most of them were " Which is the MOST ..." 3 answers look acceptable for various reasons. The wording is not being reflected on ISC2, I understand they want you to use critical thinking, but seems like they are trying to make second guessed you at every question feel very very stupid failing something that most see as a "entry-level" certs .

What should I do

dcontesti · ‎10-30-2023

Sorry to hear that you were not successful. Please, never feel stupid (your word). Unfortunately not being successful, does happen for a number of reasons.

- You may tense up in an exam situation, I do this all the time. I know the material, etc. but it has caused me to fail more than one exam

- You might be overthinking the questions

OR

- Like many of us, you may speed read the question (thus missing words or inflections)

You do not mention your experience only your study materials, so it would be difficult to make a recommendation on next steps. Also, you do bring up financial issues.

If your are new to the field, I would recommend that you stay the course, keep studying, maybe gain some first hand experience in the field and then try the exam again at a later date.

If you have more experience, take time, and potentially study for the SSCP or even Security+.

MHOO

d

Schewniie · ‎10-30-2023

I am not new to Cybersecurity and I have actual professional experience working in the industry, which makes it even more depressing. That may actually not be for me at all.

Thank you for your advice

ericgeater · ‎10-30-2023

"I am not new to Cybersecurity and I have actual professional experience working in the industry"

Feel free to cut yourself some slack. But know that "entry level" doesn't mean it will be a walk in the park, either. Did you use the training tools offered here?

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A claim is as good as its veracity.

JoePete · ‎10-30-2023

I wouldn't give up, but you can always take a break. One of the challenges is trying to learn material in domains with which you may have limited experience. Rather than asking how do I improve my studying, seek out opportunities that might help round that experience. A simple example, find some non-profit in your community and volunteer to do something outside your current experience (e.g., governance, risk, business continuity, etc.). What you might find is all the vocabulary and concepts you're trying to learn become more digestible when you can connect them with something you've done.

juvuderm · ‎10-31-2023

I took the exam almost same time as you, getting very similar questions like what you quoted. It is not an easy exam to me, many questions not direct came out from ISC2 online course, takeaway sheet and Mike Chappelle's LinkedIn class.

This is how I deal with the exam (tricky) questions.

- I used elimination approach to eliminate the answers that is out of CC domains. e.g: some keyword is totally out of scope (never appear on ISC2 online course), most of the times you will get 2 close answer, pick the best answer fit to the question.

- Used my networking experience to cover some questions related to networking which I'm not seeing on online materials & managed to clear the exam.

Finally, will this certification value-add to your career/profile? If yes worth to have 2nd attempt by studying something out of scope but which is related to 5 domains.

hsous81

I have failed today for the second time, I'm so depressed, the questions are vague and not clear. I have studied for two weeks on both materials and the Udemy courses, but nothing works!! I'm working in IT domain since 2004 and I'm certified in AWS and Azure, MCSE. all of them was good to obtain after hard study, but here in this CC exam I'm still struggling. I'm thinking about finding another Cyber security certificate that makes more sense to study and obtain, rather that spending 200$ plus time for nothing.

dcontesti

I would not give up.

However if you have specific comments on questions on the exam, I would submit those concerns to Exam Administration ( @CBMExamTeam might be able to point you in the right direction).

I have not sat the CC exam, so cannot make comments on the quality (whether questions are vague, etc.) of the exam BUT I can say that the exams that I am familiar with one MUST look for the best possible answer. All exams follow a strict betting process (they are written, reviewed by a panel of experts, pre-tested, reviewed once again and finally make it on to the exam).

As I stated earlier, one cannot speed read the questions.....read every word. Sometimes when we speed read, we can miss a critical word.

Also remember the training materials may not cover everything that appears on the exams. You may need to do some additional readings, or maybe grab some work related to Security.

The main thing is not to be discouraged.

d

hsous81

My budget is limited since I failed two times in this exam, then I would think twice about applying to this exam again, It would be good If I could get another chance without paying 200$ again.

Regarding your hints about reading the questions slowly, you make me feel like I'm a junior in this industry, I already mentioned that I had been a Microsoft-certified engineer since 2004 plus AWS and Azure, I passed a lot of exams before and I'm familiar with it as well.

After all, thanks for your reply.

Hint: Since this CC certificate is the first one in your whole course, then It would be good to make it in the middle of the difficulty level to encourage more people to apply and get as much as can benefits.

JoePete

@hsous81 wrote:
My budget is limited since I failed two times in this exam, then I would think twice about applying to this exam again, It would be good If I could get another chance without paying 200$ again.

Realize that if you do pass the exam, you still need to pay your annual maintenance fee to the (ISC)2 and also do what you have to collect CPEs. Maybe you have factored that in, but if the cost of the exam worries you, just be aware there are other ongoing financial commitments that can add up, too.

I already mentioned that I had been a Microsoft-certified engineer since 2004 plus AWS and Azure, I passed a lot of exams before and I'm familiar with it as well.

I think one of the distinctions about the (ISC)2 common body of knowledge is that it is mostly strategic in nature whereas exams like the MSCE are more operational and related to a specific vendor.

Hint: Since this CC certificate is the first one in your whole course, then It would be good to make it in the middle of the difficulty level to encourage more people to apply and get as much as can benefits.

This is the first and only "no experience required" credential by the (ISC)2 (hence why maybe there are some pains with it). Personally, I consider entry-level security credentials as qualifications with system administration, directories/AD, networking, etc. (something you may already have). I can teach security to someone with the background in technology. But if someone says "I know how to compute ALE" but looks at me funny when I refer to 0755 directory permissions, I'll be as lost as they are.