CISSP is a baseline certification offered by ISC2 and it has become an industry standard certification that is also approved by the DoD 8570 mandate, and it covers several foundational cybersecurity topics. Many organizations and corporations are actively searching for certified cybersecurity professionals and the average salary of someone with a CISSP certification is $110,000 a year according to PayScale.
1. Know the Exam
The CISSP exam is known to be one of the most intense exams out there. What is CISSP? CISSP stands for Certified Information Systems Security Professional. It is a certification created by (ISC)2in 1991 and is still going strong. In order to be qualified for this exam, you do need to meet particular prerequisites in order to take the exam. You would need at least five years of full-time work experience in at least two of the domains listed below. Then, you must agree to the (ISC)2“Code of Ethics” and mention any criminal activity you have done or interaction with black hat hackers. This exam consists of 250 questions with a 6-hour duration. You must pass the exam with a minimum of 70% in order to achieve your certification.
2. Study the Domains
The CISSP exam covers eight different domains and each domain is weighted differently. The eight domains are as followed:
- Domain 1 – Security and Risk Management 15%
- Domain 2 – Asset Security 10%
- Domain 3 – Security Architecture and Engineer 13%
- Domain 4 – Communication and Network Security 14%
- Domain 5 – Identity and Access Management (IAM) 13%
- Domain 6 – Security Assessment and Testing 12%
- Domain 7 – Security Operations 13%
- Domain 8 – Software Development Security 10%
The best way to cover all of these domains is to study and find out which ones you are strong in confident in and work on those which you may need some more help. Some of the domains will overlap so it will speed up the study process but be sure to be confident and master a domain before moving to the next one. The domain changes every year so make sure you up to date with the updated domains on the “(ISC)2” website!
3. Take a Practice Test
The best way to see if you are ready to take the exam is by taking a practice test or quiz, I highly recommend checking out a website known as “udemy” they seem to have over 250 practice questions you can use to study for the CISSP exam. Hopefully, by the end of this year, SecureNinja will have a brand-new quiz engine where students will be able to use similar practice questions from the exam itself which will be held on our portal!
4. Rest Well and Stay Focused!
This is probably really simple advice that everyone has heard before a big exam, but it works. Being well rested and eating a light breakfast will help greatly while testing. Studies have shown that stretching, taking deep breaths, and drinking water help with focus while test taking and generates better results.
Bottom Line
I hope you found this blog post helpful. I tried to give you the information that you would find useful if you are going to use self-study as your primary method to prepare for the CISSP exam, but not everyone learns the same and some prefer a classroom-based session. SecureNinja is here to help and with our CISSP Certification boot camp, you can be certified in less than 5 days.
Ready to get started? Enroll in CISSP today and receive $400 off or a $400 Amazon gift card! Call 703-535-8600 today to qualify for this special promotion and get enrolled in less than 5 minutes!
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