CISSP Bootcamp Recommendations

catex182 · ‎07-17-2018

I took my CISSP last month but did not pass, so now I'm looking into attending a bootcamp. Does anyone have any recommendations which one is good? I have been looking at Training Camp and Secure Ninja. There has been mixed reviews on Training Camp but not much on Secure Nina.

Cousy14 · ‎07-17-2018

I took the InfoSec CISSP live boot camp. I passed the exam a few days after I completed the boot camp. The boot camp is not a substitution for knowing the material but it does help you get in the right mind set going into the test.

Baechle · ‎07-17-2018

Mr. Wong,

I have to echo what Mr. Roeglin said about certification prep boot camps. I would advise against them unless you need help with generic test taking; or it has been a significant time lapse (months) between your focused study and your exam date.

Boot Camps are a very quick and high level review of the material. It's meant to be a reminder about what high level topics are on the exam, and not a deep dive into those optics. Think along the lines of "Hey, remember this? Let's move on." Boot camps are not really there to teach you anything new. A boot camp, no matter how highly rated, is not going to condense 5-10 years of experience in 2 or 3 different specialized occupations into a one or two week lecture.

Most of the time, the feedback that I got from attendees was that the boot camp coach/presenter/teacher was unable to re-frame any of the material in a way that unlocked new understanding or created an epiphany.

So, please consider why you're attending a boot camp. It's mostly just slides with the exam topics pasted up on the screen for about 30 seconds each kind of like a guided flash-card type study with some coaching on exam taking thrown in. In that case, in my opinion, you're best just getting the cheaper offering.

#mythirdhandexperience

Sincerely,

Eric B.

apbanohit · ‎07-17-2018

Great replies from Cousy14 and Baechle. Which domains were toughest for you when you took the exam? Turn your weaknesses into strengths. Use cybrary, wikipedia, and this free site: http://opensecuritytraining.info/CISSP-Main.html as study tools. Take notes while you study and keep taking practice tests until you score 90% or better. Purchase and read the CISSP Eleventh Hour Study Guide next. Use this book to test your knowledge and if you struggle anywhere, go back and re-study. Have confidence and dedicate yourself for 3 or 4 months to study and learn. You can do this without spending thousands of dollars on another boot camp. Sincerely, Tom S.

CISOScott · ‎07-17-2018

I have used Secure Ninja and can recommend them as being a very competent training provider. They provided me more hands-on than book learning. I did my CISSP bootcamp through either Training Camp or Global Knowledge (it's been 10+ years so I can't remember) and I have since taken another course through Global Knowledge on a different topic so that maybe why they are stuck in my head. I would always recommend a bootcamp to be the cherry on top of your studying and not the foundation or only thing you use to pass a certification. My CISSP bootcamp was taken a year after I began studying. I also passed Security+ and Network+ during that year to gain strength in those domains. Since you have already been studying, a bootcamp may help you with test taking skills or defeating the habits of an IT technician to attack the test versus think like management, but not sure how much more you will get out of it. I have also seen some of the cheaper vendors bring in "teachers" of various degree of effectiveness.

catex182 · ‎07-17-2018

@Cousy14 wrote:
I took the InfoSec CISSP live boot camp. I passed the exam a few days after I completed the boot camp. The boot camp is not a substitution for knowing the material but it does help you get in the right mind set going into the test.

Thanks! Congratulations on passing the exam. I inquired about the InfoSec as well. How long did you study for prior to boot camp. I tried the self-study route using the following resources: CISSP Study Guide, Cybrary, CCure Quiz Engine, along with some YouTube videos.

catex182 · ‎07-17-2018

Thanks for the feedback for Secure Ninja. I can across a site that listed Secure Ninja and Global Knowledge as reputable training providers. I agree with your assessment about using boot camp as a compliment to studying. Based on my self-study, I was able to get near proficiency for 3 domains on the exam, above proficiency on 1 domain, and below proficiency on the remaining 4 domains so I guess I'm sort of half way there.

catex182 · ‎07-17-2018

@apbanohit wrote:
Great replies from Cousy14 and Baechle. Which domains were toughest for you when you took the exam? Turn your weaknesses into strengths. Use cybrary, wikipedia, and this free site: http://opensecuritytraining.info/CISSP-Main.html as study tools. Take notes while you study and keep taking practice tests until you score 90% or better. Purchase and read the CISSP Eleventh Hour Study Guide next. Use this book to test your knowledge and if you struggle anywhere, go back and re-study. Have confidence and dedicate yourself for 3 or 4 months to study and learn. You can do this without spending thousands of dollars on another boot camp. Sincerely, Tom S.

The most difficult domains for me were the technical ones where I scored below proficiency. The remaining domains were near proficiency or above proficiency. Thanks for the link to the addition resource. I have been using Cybrary, CCure Quiz Engine, and the CISSP study guide. I will looking into the the CISSP Eleventh Hour Study Guide. Thanks. Dave

catex182 · ‎07-18-2018

@CISOScott wrote:
I have used Secure Ninja and can recommend them as being a very competent training provider. They provided me more hands-on than book learning. I did my CISSP bootcamp through either Training Camp or Global Knowledge (it's been 10+ years so I can't remember) and I have since taken another course through Global Knowledge on a different topic so that maybe why they are stuck in my head. I would always recommend a bootcamp to be the cherry on top of your studying and not the foundation or only thing you use to pass a certification. My CISSP bootcamp was taken a year after I began studying. I also passed Security+ and Network+ during that year to gain strength in those domains. Since you have already been studying, a bootcamp may help you with test taking skills or defeating the habits of an IT technician to attack the test versus think like management, but not sure how much more you will get out of it. I have also seen some of the cheaper vendors bring in "teachers" of various degree of effectiveness.

Thanks for the feedback on Secure Ninja. I've also used Global Knowledge for my ITIL cert. I agree with your assessment about using the boot camp for testing taking tips. The new CISSP is computer adaptive now with 150 questions with a 3-hour time limit. You cannot skip questions and go back to them later. I sort of ran out of time towards the end and was rushing through the last 15 questions or so.

FelixHErn · ‎07-18-2019

Hello, You experience is exactly like mine. Did you eventually pass? If so, can you share your resources for passing the second time?

Thanks