I can very happily say that I have passed the CISSP exam!

I originally posted that I first started studying for the CISSP in January, but I stopped for a couple months as I switched jobs, and wanted to be able to get acclimated with the new workplace.  Finally around April I started studying for the CISSP from the moment I got home until I went to bed.  Pretty much I spent any spare time I had studying.

My study materials included Shon Harris’s All In One CISSP Study book 5th edition, Shon Harris’s additional questions, the Official ISC2 CISSP Study guide, and a paid test subscription to cccure.org’s test questions.  While I had all these materials, the two biggest sources of information was Shon Harris’s AIO book, and the cccure.org test engine.  I believe just constant studying and constant test taking forced me to learn the material, and I was able to use it to take and pass the exam!

I sat for the exam on June 12th in Reston.  I was maybe the 5th person done taking the test at exactly 2 hours and 59 minutes into the 6 hour exam.  I walked away feeling fairly confident that I did well, and just hoping that I passed.

Waiting to find out the results is the worst.  I kept taking one small practice test a day just in case I would have to retake the test again so I could help keep it all fresh in my mind.  It took just about 2.5 weeks to find out how I did.  I was at a conference when I got the e-mail from ISC2 on June 29th.  Very nervously I opened up the e-mail, and was very very very relieved when I saw the “Congratulations”.

It was a long time studying, and required a lot of time to learn all the material, but it was well worth the effort in the end.  As of now I have passed the exam, but I will not receive the actual certification until around April of 2012.  Needless to say, I think the hard part is past me.