I tried studying for the CISSP
and passed.
If you spend any time reading about the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), you’ll eventually see things like:
“How I passed the CISSP in 7 days!"
Is it possible to do this? Sure. Is it realistic? No. Anyone who does it will either be the G.O.A.T. at test taking OR will already have plenty of necessary experience in cyber security. This is not going to be about the contents of the test itself, but what may help YOU pass.
Personally, I took a much slower approach.. The six-month approach. The kind of approach where I started with 2 kids and ended with 3 kids.
Yes, I had a kid along the journey. Yes, I’m insane.
I studied for six months, typically about 2-6 hours per week. Some weeks I didn’t even study. I said I had a third kid, remember?
What helped was the consistent exposure over a long period of time. This helped immensely with knowledge retention! There is one more secret to my success, years of experience in several domains of the CISSP. Here are the SIX resources I used, all less than $100 each.
Syracuse University’s O2O Program
Since I’m a veteran, I was eligible to go through Syracuse University’s Onward to Opportunity (O2O) program. I understand not everyone will qualify.
They no longer offer CISSP, which sucks.. but what it really gave me was structure.
Their program forced me to watch videos and take practice exams. If you sign up for Mike Chapple, Jason Dion, or any other highly rated course that comes with practice exams, you’ll be fine. You need a QUALITY online course that gives you structure and practice exams to dive into at the end.
Mike Chapple’s LinkedIn Learning Course
Mike Chapple is one of the go-to instructors for CISSP. His content is high quality.
His LinkedIn Learning course was great and provided a walk-through of all eight domains. I used it as a refresher and to help to provide a mix-up from the O2O material. The eight domains cover a WIDE range of knowledge.
You are almost never going to be in a job that hits all of them regularly.
Pocket Prep
Live with Pocket Prep. Breathe with Pocket Prep. Sleep with Pocket Prep.. Okay.. maybe not all that. This was easily my most used resource.
In the bathroom? Pocket Prep. Insomnia? Pocket Prep. Waiting in line? Pocket Prep.
The ways to use it are endless. It explains every question and where it is in the ISC2 material.
It helped me reinforce the material in the online videos I was watching, without allowing me to fully memorize practice test answers. As I watched a video about a CISSP domain, I would do some questions in that domain. Pocket Prep allows that.
Kelly Handerhan’s CISSP Mindset
Her video is the most important video you can watch. Period. I found it very late in the game.
Watch her video at the beginning of your journey. Watch it AGAIN 1-2 weeks before your test. Then watch it ONE MORE TIME on test day. Yes. Watch it many times. Worship it.
Be one with the video. You’ll get it once you take the test.
CISSP Exam Cram
This video is a strange one.. I’m not sure if it helped. I think it helped in the sense of giving me structure to my last week. Pete Zerger’s cram video covers all of the domains in 8 hours.
That is a LOT of content in a short time frame.
The last ~7-8 days you can basically watch ONE domain per day and then do practice questions on that domain. This is a method of reinforcement learning..
So I think it helped.
The OFFICIAL ISC2 Study App
You may wonder why I mention the OFFICIAL app last. Honestly.. I only found out about it literally one week before my test day.
I found ISC2’s official app to accurately reflect the STYLE of questions on the test. Who would have thought that ISC2 made their study app be an accurate reflection of the test?
Why do I mention it last? I suggest you DO NOT touch this app until 2 weeks away from test day. Use it at the end so you do not memorize the test and answers it has.
Why? You are using it to confirm readiness rather than to learn new content.
As I answered the ISC2 questions, I felt I knew the material. The answers made sense. I was thinking the way a cyber security leader does. It was coming together. No answer memorizing happened.
Use the app to do a knowledge check during your last week.
My summarized strategy
My overall study strategy simplified:
Study casually over a long period
Use Pocket Prep and a Udemy or LinkedIn learning course to LEARN
Review wrong questions in Pocket Prep over and over
Go through practice tests
1-2 weeks from exam day start CRAM week
What does CRAM week look like?
Start ~8 days in advance
Watch content on ONE domain per day
Do ISC2 official app questions in that domain after watching
Ensure you are answering the official app questions at least 80% right
If you are not answering the questions well, move your exam day out
Final Advice
This is a test of your mindset. Not a test about remembering ports, protocols, or how to capture network packets.
Think like a leader.
Watch Kelly Handerhan’s video. You WILL pass the test with the right attitude.