Before I go on with what I want to say, I'd like to first thank ISC2 for the One Million Certified in Cybersecurity initiative. I was so delighted when I read about it online. Having access to resources and standing a chance to be certified all for free was too good to believe until I registered, began studying the resources, scheduled, and wrote my exam which by God's grace I Passed.
With that said, I'd like to talk about the major problem I had with the CC exam which is Exam Center.
Nigeria is a very big country with 36 States that are grouped into six geopolitical zones, the North Central (NC), North East (NE), North West (NW), South West (SW), South East (SE), and South-South (SS). ISC2, I was so disheartened when I was ready to schedule my exam and saw on the Person Vue website that the only approved exam centers are in just three States and the distance from my State to any of the enlisted States is like 500km and above. If help hadn't been offered to me when I almost gave up on the exam, I wouldn't have traveled to take the exam. The One Million Certified in Cybersecurity initiative is a great opportunity that many Nigerian youths want to utilise but the issue with the few exam centres in Nigeria is drawing a lot back. Most of us don't have the financial capacity to make that long travel, and/or to pay for accommodation (in a situation like mine where the individual doesn't have any relatives in any of the enlisted States to stay with).
ISC2, I'm imploring that you consider approving more Pearson Vue centers in Nigeria. If possible, one in each geopolitical zone. This would go a long way in ensuring that the initiative is most effective.
At this point, I'd like to advise anyone studying to sit for the CC exam, especially if you don't have any prior IT knowledge to please study hard. The resources provided by ISC2, in my opinion, are honestly not enough to answer exam questions. Make research on topics that were not extensively explained. If I hadn't gone through the Cybersecurity courses on Cisco's skills for All at skillsforall.com before I jumped into the ISC2 CC resources I don't know what my fate would have been inside that exam hall. Also, read the topics discussed in the CC resources in this book: cissp all-in-one exam guide by Shon Harris. This book was a big help as it explained everything I needed to know bit by bit.
I wish everyone about to take their CC exam success and congratulations in advance😀
