Passed the CCSP exam - my recommendations

[darie17]

Dear community,

I joined this forum a couple of weeks ago, while I was preparing for my CCSP exam - which I had today and passed 🙂 I would like to sum up my personal recommendations for having good chances of passing the exam. Please do not take these notes as a general "recipe", it's just how it worked out for me.

Reading this post very thoroughly detailed by Radioteacher (who also recently passed the CCSP exam) - btw, congratulations from my side also! - I got a bit scared that maybe I am not doing enough for my preparation. The thing is: it very much depends on your previous experience and if you already have other credentials, like CISSP (or aquivalent). And more training is never bad, it's just a matter of perspective. In the end, what matters is if you go with a "clean mind" to the exam, meaning you feel you have done enough to prepare.

Long story short: I used the following materials to LEARN:

1. The Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CCSP CBK (2nd Edition)
2. CCSP (ISC)2 Certified Cloud Security Professional Official Study Guide (1st Edition)

And to PRACTICE I used:

• the review questions at the end of each chapter in the CBK and Official Study Guide
• the online practice exams provided by Sybex to those who buy the Official Study Guide

I did not participate in any classroom training and did not use any other resources for learning or practicing. But I must mention that I earned my CISSP credential last year in december, which helped a lot during learning and in the end at the exam. And I have approximately 6 years of experience in the IT Security field.

My recommendation: do NOT rely solely on the Official Study Guide, it simply does not cover all topics as thoroughly as the CBK does. Read the CBK at least 2 times to make sure you did not miss any important concepts.

Both books are, in my opinion, well written (like a story), with enough examples from the real world, so I would definitely recommend them both.

How much time I invested? Hard to say (I lost track...), but I started at the beginning of September 2017 and learned every week approximately 6-8 hours, starting with November a lot more (maybe 20 hours a week?) + a bit more in the last week prior to the exam. So I would assume I spent somewhere around 150 hours of study to pass the CCSP exam.

Is the exam time of 4 hours enough? Yes, in my opinion it is more than enough to cover the exam, 1-2 short breaks and a bit of buffer in the end.

I hope this information helps you in getting prepared for your CCSP exam. Wish you all the luck! Let me know if you have questions which you think I might be able to answer (except of those related to the real exam questions, which I will not disclose...).

Cheers,

-darie17

[aegent]

Very good advice. Thank you.

[MoShah]

Congrats on getting CCSP! It's on my certification road map which I hope to sit in the near future. I'm currently studying for my CISSP which I aim to sit in March having already captured SSCP.

I'll keep a note of your recommendations for when I get to the point of looking study for CCSP.

Thanks,

Mo.

[Verma_Arvin]

@Radioteacher, thanks very much for posting this. This has really helped change my approach for my preparation activities.

[upeschier]

Good going Darie and congratulations.

Thanks for the advice, although I have also been doing the same preparation path as you with one exception.

I am also reading Cloud Computing concepts by Thomas Erl.

I have 28 yrs experience In IT and I am CISSP.

[jksyed]

Hi, 

Congratulations,

I am schedule to take the test in April, I am going through Official CCSP guie(CBK) 2nd edition by Gordon.

is that the same book you have used?

Thanks & Regards

Junaid

[jeffevett]

Thank you for your post as I am currently studying for the CCSP and testing on Friday. I've been using the same material.

[tabrasul]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Would you recommend doing CISSP prior to CCSP or CCSP alone is ok?

[darie17]

I would not say it's a must to have it, but it surely helps. But if you have prior practical experience with cloud applications AND hands-on security, that should also do it.

[isg]

Good summary Paul -- Brgds Indra

[Woolman07]

For the test preparations you should be highly motivated. The only objective should be to cover the syllabus with complete understanding of all topics. Also, it is important to take the time for practice and revision close to the test days. I am using Online LSAT Prep course and would try to cover everything at least 10 days earlier the test day.