What Strategy did you use to prepare for and eventually pass your CISSP?

[Bayshob]

What Strategy did you use to prepare for and eventually pass your CISSP? Strategies vary. Which strategy did you use?

[ro83]

I have used web courses and official study guides for preparing for the exams. Answering to the example questions is really valuable for me. It is also quit important to find author who is suitable for your learning style. My personal preference is Mike Chapple. And of course do not forget years long experience in the IT industry.

[Bayshob]

Well done. Good strategy

[alan2308]

I was fortunate in that I have access to Books 24x7 which had a number of great titles available.  I selected two books, the official guide and a second who's writing style clicked with me.  Always go with the official guide, but have a backup because sometimes a writer just doesn't click with you on a particular topic.  You should get a feel for the author thumbing through it at Barns and Noble. I also had access to a great video series on FedVTE through work, though there are plenty of other quality video sets available to buy and free on YouTube.  If you want videos, again find a set that clicks with you.

What I did was hammer one domain at a time until I felt confident I mastered it.  Read the corresponding chapter from one book, then the videos, then the chapter from the second book.  At the end of each reading I would do the practice questions.  After all the reading and videos, I went through another book that was just practice questions a couple times just to build up stamina on answering hundreds of questions over several hours.  You'll also identify any weaknesses in your knowledge doing this. I also heard a lot of good things about the big question bank on www.cybrary.it, though I didn't personally use that.

[Tolga]

The company I used to work for bought at that time the latest edition of Shon Harris's All-in-One CISSP Exam Guide. The book contains a quiz CD, which I initially used to see how up to date I was on the matter. The quiz application on the CD gives you a neat overview how you performed on certain topics.

After that it was quite easy, I went on to to learn about the things where I hadn't been so good at, and did a brief review of the things where I was performing quite well.

Sadly, in 2014 Shon Harris passed away, and since then her book hasn't been updated and I haven't been really able to suggest a good learning source.

[ScottB]

I used a virtual training environment to review all of the material. I spent quite a bit of time on the cccure.org site using their quiz engine. I also used the Shon Harris book and accompanying CD for more questions. Once I felt good with my comprehension of the material, I attended a boot camp that coincided with my scheduled test.  It seemed like overkill at the time but I did pass on my first attempt.

I hope this is helpful.

[bobwyzguy]

It helped that I had many years of cybersecurity experience.  I had already passed the Certified Ethical Hacker exam.  I read the CISSP CBK.  I also read several books on encryption, since that seemed to be a weak spot.  Specifically Crypto by Steven Levy, and The Code Book by Simon Singh.  A 40 hour boot camp.  Plus participation in a CISSP Study Group put on by our local (ISC)2 chapter with the local ISSA chapter and the State of Minnesota IT department (MN-IT).  And I had a practice exam that was helpful, but nothing at all like the actual exam.

Took the test, was pretty sure I was failing, but passed it on my first go.

The training I had already for the CEH and the career experience were probably the most important factors that contributed to my success.  Can't really beat experience, which is why you need 5 years of experience to complete your certification.

Security+ might be an easier way to get some success in testing before trying the CISSP.

[Zadfrleus]

I worked in communication in the military and later in a civil service position so I had experience before I started working on the CISSP cert. I bought and read Sean Harrison's CISSP All in One book. I also took lots of practice tests on Cccure.com. Passed first try.

[Jco5059]

So besides reading a lot of the study materials, one thing that helped me was to listen to some of the audio books when I was in the gym or went for a run. I personally tend to tune non important things out when I exercise so that helped me focus on the key learning objectives.

[Jco5059]

Definitely agree with scheduling and exam as a general best practice. It helps to keep you accountable and focused on studying.

[procloudadmin]

By reading answers on this subject proves that we need to evolve as individuals and as security professionals. We need to train others and find ways to create a new position for junior and apprentices to work shadowing and guided by those who have the expertise and have been on the industry for longer periods of time.

Take the civil engineering as an example, the aspirants need to work for a long period under the sponsorship of a senior engineer and after a few years they get their full title and certification

I salute all the community and send a call for change in organisations worldwide

Bests
Fernando Cabal consultant