Re: CISSP Boot Camps

[Brian Keefer <chort () amaunetsgothique com>]

On Thu, 2003-12-11 at 16:32, Patrick Beam wrote:
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> All,
>
> I am currently studying for the CISSP and I
> was wondering are the CISSP boot camps worth the money? I really like
> the idea of taking 7 straight days to study for the exam and then take
> the test immediately afterwards.  I am currently considering taking a
> boot camp class from The Training Camp who appear to be the official
> (ISC)2 training program.  I would be interested in hearing from people
> that have taken this course in the past and I would also like to hear
> from people that have taken courses from other training organizations.
>  Thanks for the advice in advance.
>
> Regards,
> Patrick

It totally depends on how much background knowledge you have and how
much you've studied so far.  If you intuitively have a good grasp of
"best practices" and you've read one of the Bible-like CISSP study books
cover to cover, chances are you don't need a boot camp.  If on the other
hand, you have trouble understanding the reasoning behind some common
best practices, or you're unfamiliar with best practices in general,
then a boot camp would probably be beneficial, even if you have read a
very thick book.

I would suggest taking a number of the online test exams (I found the
test section of cccure.org very useful) and gauge your readiness from
there.

One last thing:  Don't expect a boot camp to get you past the CISSP exam
if you haven't studied much other material and don't already have a
strong background.

I had a lot of hands-on experience with implementing best practices and
I read one of the prep-guides cover to cover, then re-read the summary
of each chapter (took me 5 months).  I was able to pass without a boot
camp and honestly, I don't think I would have found them to be useful in
light of my prior experience.

HTH.

-- 
Brian Keefer, CISSP
Senior Field Engineer, Professional Services
CipherTrust Inc, www.CipherTrust.com


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