Failed the CISSP on the First Try

[JoeB_IG]

All concerned, 

I post this not looking for pity or guidance, but simply to share my experience with you.  Today, 25 June 2018, I failed the CISSP exam.

Background: 

I have only been in the InfoSec space for about 2 years.  I have experience in physical security, incidence response, access control, and otherwise arguably enough experience to satisfy the CISSP requirements for certification.  However, until early 2016, I didn't start learning about IT security.

In August of 2016 I started my MS in Information Security and Assurance.  While the class load wasn't particularly tech-heavy, I can see now that the classes were preparing me for the CISSP... especially those concerning risk management and business continuity practices.

So anyway, to the exam.  I arrived at PearsonVue an hour early and they let me start before the scheduled time.  I took nearly 160 (of 180) minutes to complete 150 questions.  By the time I was at question 125, I really figured I had bombed the exam (I have heard if the exam stops at 100, it means I earned enough points for provisional certification).  With my intent to respect the (ISC)2 code, I can say that none of the questions I had looked anything like the prep questions I had from the (ISC)2 CISSP exam book or from the Shon Harris or 11th Hour books.  Most of the questions were of a technical nature.  I went in "thinking like a manager" but I didn't think like a "manager" that knew a whole lot about technology.  

My exam did not seem to be "heavy" in any particular domain; but I would say that I wish I had learned more about penetration testing.

Admittedly, I scanned my text books rather than actually did a deep-dive into any of them.  I typically studied anywhere from 1-2 hours a day, 4 days a week, for the last 3 months.  Clearly, it just wasn't enough studying married with experience.  I would take practice tests and consistently scored in the 80s... but it was a lot of the same questions over and over again as the question bank was only about 1200 unique entries.

My plan is to take a break, focus on some other training opportunities (log analysis, network security, and vulnerability management) and reassess in about six months.  

Anyway, not passing doesn't impact my life too much.  I don't need it for my job (not right now, anyways) but it was painful to my pocketbook.

My recommendation is if you are new to InfoSec, you should probably study more than 1-2 hours a day for 3 months... and you should probably have a solid understanding of both the technical and managerial aspects of IT.

Good luck!

[mikesquire64]

Joe, did you get a breakdown after the exam showing the marks you scored in each domain and consequently areas you should perhaps work on ??

[billclancy]

I took the CISSP over 12 years ago, and still remember how difficult it was. I read the official CBT, and did practice questions daily for 6 months. I did pass on the first try

 In February 2018 I took the CCSP and flunked by one question! ...It was awful, but I just marched on, & continued to read and do questions every day. I passed in early June!

 YOU CAN DO THIS!

Clancy

[j_M007]

Spot on Mr. Clancy! Congratulations, by the way.

[billclancy]

Hang in there! I mentored a co-worker who took it 6 times and flunked, but passed on the 7th try! The special circumstance is that Hindi was his native language, and he was taking it in English. I'm pretty sure the Hindi version would kill me!

[rslade]

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@billclancy wrote:

Hang in there! I mentored a co-worker who took it 6 times and flunked, but passed on the 7th try! The special circumstance is that Hindi was his native language, and he was taking it in English. I'm pretty sure the Hindi version would kill me!

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When I was doing the seminars, I did have some candidates who had taken before, and sometimes they did not have English as a first language.  All who had taken the translated versions said that it was easier working from the English version.  (Believe me, when a German and a Frenchman say that the English versions are better, the German and French versions have *got* to be pretty bad ...)

[lightkun_yagami]

You are not alone in failing the test on the first try. I failed too two months ago (5/2018). I felt down, feeling that I wasted so much of my time studying and to top it, the $699, which is almost a month of mortgage payment. But instead of kicking myself and thinking that I just wasted $699, I took it as a challenge that I will continue to study and beat the test. My wife was a good motivator too, telling me to not put all the time I spent studying to waste by not trying the test again. So, when I failed the first time, I remembered how the questions were worded and incorporated it to my studies. I studied with the thought in mind, "which one of these solutions is the best." or "which step goes first." And just this month, I passed the test and I couldn't be happier. Just like what @Flyslinger2 said, don't take too long to take your second try, I remember I was starting to lose what I studied faster than I thought it would.