It’s been about 2 years since I took the CISSP exam. Needless to say, I wanted to write about the experience sooner than later, but a little thing called life got in the way. Ah well – below is my recollection of this long but rewarding journey.
I was hesitant to begin studying for the CISSP heading into the Winter ’18-’19. Coming off from the highs of successfully passing the PMP, I wasn’t sure if I could hunker back down and study again. After all – the mountains are calling, K and I purchased the EPIC season pass for the first time, and our snow gear was calling to be dusted off. But with the insistence of my CISO, and my own ambitious goals, I’ve decided to forge ahead.
I signed up for a live, 8-week training course with CyberVista that ran Tuesdays after work, 6 to 9pm ET. The Instructor stressed the importance of digging into the study material outside of the classes as well. I had a class of 10 students; chatting via the chatbox as our Instructor was the only one with the ability to speak. I found the supplemental material was also helpful in understanding the material. That, and good old-fashioned notecards, notebooks, and quiz-taking online.
So on and on the winter weeks dragged. Five AM wake-ups, reading on the treadmill, work, eat a quick dinner, then find a quiet study corner in my building to squeeze another hour or so. It was doubly-worse when the workload seeped into longer hours. Triple-worse – when we travelled to a mountain for a short weekend trip. Shred all day, and attempt-to-study-but-can’t-really at night. I tell myself that I’d be productive on the plane; that failed 70% of the time.
We were experiencing early signs of spring when the last day of class arrived. I followed the advice that was given – to schedule the exam about 4-6 weeks out, so I chose Thursday, May 9th (unsure why – maybe I usually work from home on Fridays?) Thankfully, the winter season was also coming to a close – while a fun and amazing experience, it compounded on the anxiety factor. In those 6 weeks, I poured precious time I wasn’t spending on work, on studying (Sorry, K). Weekends – all dedicated to studying. Three to two weeks out, I started to sleep on the couch during weeknights, so I don’t disturb my husband with an early morning start.
I put together a study plan, to divide and conquer the behemoth of the CISSP book. I spent as much time as needed in the weaker areas like Encryption and Network Security. I perused governance and audits to determine if there are official terms I may have missed in my years of experience in those sections. I surprised myself at how well I understood concepts in the Software Security area, having little to no experience in it. I remember frustration – when taking and failing the quizzes for Physical Security and Risk Management. I even purchased a CISSP study app for $10, to quiz myself commuting to and from work.
I showed up at PearonVUE about 45 minutes before my test was to begin, feeling ready for the exam. I followed all the standard protocols – bring as little as possible, two forms of identification, etc. I was so nervous, I started to write my brain dump during the standard 5-minute intro (the monitoring staffer took my sheet away and I had to start with a clean sheet over again…after the intro, of course).
I took my time with the first 30 questions, then slightly quickened the pace. I had to fight the emotional response in my brain, whenever I came across what I perceived an easy question (“EFFFF me, am I doing poorly?!”) I knew my test pacing based on the practice exams I’ve taken, but it still felt like the clock was ticking fast…plus, what if my test went all the way to 150 questions?!
At the 100th question, I felt a tingle of adrenaline. Submit – the screen shows the 101st question. Crap. It’s OK – take it one question at a time. Submit – the 102nd question comes up. I’m starting to feel the pressure…how am I supposed to divvy up my last 30 minutes if it goes up to a solid 150?! Submit – the screen shows that I’m done and to go outside for my results.
Making sure that I followed all the exit protocols, while trying to hide my trembling, I stand at the proctor’s desk as he prints out my paper results:
I skipped out of there and went back to the office (in hindsight – I should have just taken the day off!) by then, it was about 10AM, and so, SO happy and feeling accomplished.
May 9th 2019 was an unforgettable day for me. Not only did I pass my CISSP, but my best friend gave birth to her daughter! I share the same specialness on May 9th with little Kaia girl. Here we are, when we finally met for the first time:
Later in the summer, I received my ISC2 Package, welcoming me into the CISSP family! (PS: I totally got lazy and didn’t actually apply on the ISC2 website until the end of June. Too much summer happening.)
I LOVE the presentation, though I didn’t quite love the length of time it took from application to receiving this (~10 weeks!).
So that was my experience with the CISSP. I’m sure each person’s CISSP journey will be unique, and I can only hope yours was as positive as mine. This is the program I followed:
- CyberVista’s CISSP Training Course – INCLUDES:
- 100 question diagnostic exam – Taken at the very beginning of the live courses (to determine your baseline)
- 1 CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) Final Exam – I absolutely LOVED this because it is very similar to the real exam.
- 700+ digital flashcards – I didn’t make much use of this, I liked old school flashcards better
- 100 question mid-term practice exam
- 140+ 5-15 minute on-demand training
- Performance Tracker (on a dashboard) – This was a good thing to glance at; to tell me where my weak spots were
- 1:1 Private Study Session – I didn’t take advantage of this but I’m sure it’s valuable
- 800+ practice question bank
- Summary Notes – This was a notebook with a spiral binding and all, that you can write so much in
- Summary Videos – you watch these within the week of your exam date.
- Offical ISC2 Guide to the CISSP 8th Ed – this is the behemoth book
- CISSP CBK Student Handbook (ebook)
- Voucher for the exam (optional)
MeganSoriano.com 