Elizabeth Beacom

Passed the CISSP Exam

Elizabeth Beacom -

As I mentioned in my last post I scheduled my attempt for the CISSP exam on August 19, 2021. I'm happy to announce after 100 questions and about an hour and 20 minutes the test ended for me and I provisionally passed. This week I started the endorsement process and await the confirmation of my certification.

I thought it would be a great idea to  share about the resources and methods I used to pass the exam.

Resources

  1. Sybex CISSP 8th edition - This book is massive as it encompasses all of the content on the exam. I made the mistake with my earlier attempts to study thinking I had to read this book cover to cover. I never did, it's way too massive and detailed to really read cover to cover. What I did use this book for was as I tested myself was refer back to it on material where I found significant gaps on my knowledge.
  2. Mike Chapple's CISSP Cert Prep (2021) on LinkedIn Learning - Since the exam underwent some changes in May 2021, I knew there might be some gaps in my existing resources. I found the videos easy to follow and Mike's pace and method of leading the courses worked really well for me. Many of the notes that I took were from these videos.
  3. Eleventh Hour CISSP audiobook on Audible - This book is a little more dated but I used one of my monthly Audible credits to get it and listened to it a couple of times. I usually listened while doing chores around the house and while commuting to work. It was really good at narrowing the content to some really key points in each of the 8 domains.
  4. Pocket Prep iOS App - I started using this just a few days before my actual exam and I wish I had started using it sooner. Up until the point I had just used the practice tests that accompanied the Sybex book and the (ISC)2 Official App which compared to the questions I experienced on the exam this one was far better.
  5. Sybex and (ISC)2 Official App Practice Questions - These were ok for doing quick checks on my knowledge levels. I did appreciate the Flash Card capability on the Official app as it was nice during a lunch hour to test my knowledge on words, concepts, and abbreviations.

Methods

So my methods are mine this is what worked for me, it might not work for you but gives you an idea. Yes, I gave myself nearly 6 months of time to study; unfortunately, with kids, work and the rest of my life, time passed way too quickly.

In the end I gave myself a solid 8 weeks of committed study, a week per domain and probably about 2-3 hours a day. I started the week watching the domain specific course on LinkedIn learning and taking notes. At that point I tested my knowledge with the practice questions, I usually did about 100 to get a good gauged of my knowledge. After marking the questions I took notes of the ones I got wrong and then and either reviewed the LinkedIn learning again, or would often pull the Sybex book out and read a few paragraphs on the subject. At the end of the week I'd do another 100 questions and compare my first round of questions and see if there were any on going gaps in my knowledge.

When I got to the end of the 8 weeks I still had 2 weeks left before my test, at this point I knew there were a couple of domains I was still week so they became a bit of a bigger focus for me. With 1 week left before the exam I focused entirely on just quizzing myself either with flashcards, or the practice questions from any of the resources I used.

Bonus, it's a short video but I watched the Kelly Handerhan - "Why You Will Pass the CISSP Exam" video on YouTube the night before I wrote the test and again while I was in the parking lot waiting to go into the testing centre. It really helped I think grounding my mindset for the exam.