My take on CISSP

I wrote CISSP in Dec 2011. While writing the exam I realized I would have better prepared if I knew few things about the exam. When I was preparing for the exam I searched/read many blogs and articles on net but none of them described what actually one should expect in the exam. Well I will provide my experience of CISSP drill and hope it will help you in your preparation -

Material I used for the preparation of the exam -

• Shon Harris book set (All in One Study Guide, CISSP Practice Exams, Bonus CD with 250 questions)
• Exam Cram by Michael Gregg
• CCCure.org
• Testking

The question with which I was struggling before preparing for the exam was - What is the best book to study for the exam? After writing the exam I realized it was a pointless question. There is no book in the market which will prepare you for the exam better than other. Content of the exam is not inferred or referenced from any of the book. You need to understand every topic and every concept in detail. It is the applicability of the concept which will help you prepare for the exam. This is where your industry experience of different CISSP domains comes into play. So pick a book and study it thoroughly. It is the only mantra to crack the exam.

While preparation of the exam, I wanted to understand what type of questions are asked in exam. Is there any question bank which prepares you best for the exam? Unfortunately the answer is again NO. I went through CCCure.org, testking, Exam Cram and Shon Harris question bank. To my surprise, CISSP questions, in terms of content, were not even close the questions mentioned in these question banks. ISC2 has done such an excellent job to keep the level of questions higher than question banks available in market. After going through these question banks I got an understanding that it is very important to remember exact sequence of various concepts like TCB level with there assurance ratings, speed of different T1 lines etc. But in the exam, there was no question which challenges your memory power. Questions are more of scenario based.

Based on my experience, testking was not at all helpful. There were few questions in testking where I felt answers were incorrect and no explanation was given for those answers. CCCure.org is better option considering the price and level of questions. Basically do not waste money in buying many question banks. If you are reading Shon Harris then buy complete package of Shon Harris ($66 or may be less now) and register on CCCure.org ($40). The intent of buying a question bank is to check your understanding on CISSP domains.

At the end, I would say that CISSP exam is not very technical but it is extremely exhausting. ISC2 wants to gauge your understanding and experience in different security domains along with your decision making capability.

Disclaimer: All contents provided in the blog represent the personal view of the blogger. The owner of the blog makes no representation as to the accuracy and completeness of the information. The owner is not liable for any losses if occurred by the views presented in the blog.