Re: CISSP Study Strategy?

[Chris Clymer <cclymer () gmail com>]

I strongly advocate against a bootcamp approach for any test if your  
goal is to actually learn and retain any knowledge.  If your goal is  
simply to pass the test as quickly as possible in the hopes of getting  
a job, that lack of retained knowledge is going to be detrimental in  
the long run.

Succeeding in security means being able to constantly absorb and  
retain new knowledge.



On Jun 29, 2010, at 11:23 AM, Herndon Elliott <alabamatoy () gmail com>  
wrote:

> We have lots of folks in our organization struggling through the  
> study regimen and testing for CISSP.  What *seems* to be the most  
> successful approach is the boot camp.  This removes the student from  
> the daily workload, phone calls, interruptions etc.  The material is  
> presented in a thorough fire-hosing, with practice tests and  
> reviews, limited discussion etc, then its all consummated with the  
> exam itself.  Of course, not everyone has an employer willing to  
> foot the bill for this.
>
> I went through 6 days of 7AM to 9PM prep/review sessions Monday  
> through Saturday, and it took place is a ratty hotel away from  
> home.  I reached a point of saturation somewhere mid morning on  
> Saturday, and actually left the sessions and did some completely  
> unrelated activities (ran a few miles, went shopping for high-grav  
> beer that's not available in Alabama etc).  The instructor said that  
> most people reached a saturation point somewhere on Saturday.  I  
> came back and reviewed some areas that I knew I was weak on Saturday  
> evening, then went to bed early.  The exam started at 8 on Sunday.
>
> About taking the test:  When I took it, there were many questions on  
> the test that I read and I knew *exactly* what the answer should be,  
> but that answer wasnt available as a choice.  They present you over  
> and over with questions where you must choose the most correct  
> answer of 4 wrong ones.
>
> They escort you to the bathroom, BTW.  And they did allow us to go  
> quietly to the back of the exam room and stretch, which I took  
> advantage of about halfway through.  My ass was starting to hurt,  
> physically as well as metaphorically.
>
> They also seemed fond of the double- triple- or quadruple-negatives  
> - what technique is not the least effective encrytion algorithm of  
> the following 4?  That kind of thing.  Those questions make we want  
> to kick something - I had to draw flowcharts.
>
> When I took it there were 275 questions of which 250 counted, 25  
> were evaluation questions.  Some of these were pretty damned  
> obvious....WTF?  Where did that come from?  Or they were written  
> like English as a second language.
>
> My hat's off to people who pass this test in a non-native language.
>
> HTH
>
> Herndon Elliott
> Madison, Al
> "Washington is broken and we need clear leaders and patriots, not  
> polished political hacks."  -- Ginni Thomas
>
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