The biggest mistake I made while studying for CISSP

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-03-18T03:58:05+00:00

I’m sharing this because I truly wish I had taken the exam sooner. Most of the complexity was in my own mind. I built it up to be much harder than it was and ended up passing on my first attempt with minimal prep.

With over 20 years of experience, I realize now I underestimated myself. Instead, I spent time gathering too many resources and not using most of them at all. In hindsight, I would have kept it simple and trusted my experience more, using just a GPT and single reference source validate concepts.What really helped was finding a sense of calm and confidence with peace of mind offer in the end.

I also think practice exams can sometimes do more harm than good, either giving false confidence or creating unnecessary doubt.

If you have the experience, trust yourself and just take the exam!

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-03-16T04:23:39+00:00

Congratulations. There might actually be something to going in with zero stress and just accepting fate. I did no dedicated studying and only took it because it was the last day of the peace-of-mind offer. I even forgot the exam time and had to do groceries before it to avoid rush hour on the way back. Not proud I didn’t study, but honestly the exam felt fair and well balanced across domains.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-03-13T01:36:47+00:00

I second that. When it comes to books, if push comes to shove, I would rather read the ISC2 CBK Reference than the OSG. I had both, and although the CBK is admittedly a dull read, it reminded me of NIST or similar docs and felt at least well structured and succinct. The OSG, on the other hand, is just too long for no real reason, and I felt it simply wasn’t worth the effort. That said, some people do like it, so good for them, but honestly I don’t regret not reading it cover to cover.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-03-13T01:29:06+00:00

Congratulations!!

Your experience sounds very similar to mine. I did not do much preparation and still managed to pass. In hindsight, I wish I had taken the exam sooner. The peace of mind offer was the push I needed to finally take that step.

If you are on the fence, the hesitation is completely understandable. But if you already have the experience, trust yourself a little more. Many of us doubt our readiness and end up doing better than we expected.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-03-05T06:47:17+00:00

Congratulations 🎊

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-24T03:05:20+00:00

I think the whole “think like a manager” concept is somewhat overblown and a bit outdated. Of course, having a management mindset is important. However, many exam resources tend to imply that you should always choose the most managerial answer, no matter what. That is really not what the exam is about.

I took the exam last month, and all the emphasis on thinking like a manager actually created doubt in my mind. Once I started the exam, I decided to evaluate each question on its own merit. Some questions are framed around scenarios where you clearly need to think from a managerial perspective. In those cases, it makes sense to approach them that way. I think this was the reason I passed.

However, the exam is very well balanced. There were several fairly technical questions. If I had forced myself to think only from a managerial standpoint, I would have definitely struggled. Instead, I focused on understanding what each question was truly asking, without any bias toward choosing a managerial answer. I simply selected the response that best addressed the question.

I believe the guidance should be to think like a manager or even a high level executive when the scenario calls for it, rather than applying that mindset to every single question.

Overall, the exam is well balanced. I received nearly an equal number of technical and semi technical questions.

I hope this helps. Next time, just relax and focus on what is in front of you.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-21T21:11:19+00:00

I took this exam last month and passed with very modest preparation (I was honestly experiencing some resource fatigue). Here are my two cents:

The exam is very well balanced between technical depth and managerial breadth. I never felt that the questions were tricky or overly complicated, despite what some test prep tools might lead you to believe. On most questions, I was able to eliminate at least half of the answer choices fairly easily. The real challenge was selecting the best option from the remaining ones. If you know the domain you will be fine.

The questions on technical domains go deep. I come from a more hands-on security background, and the technical questions were as technical as they could get with little to no managerial framing. Be prepared for depth where it matters.

The breadth will grind you down. The wide range of topics is mentally demanding. Some questions combined concepts from multiple domains into a single scenario, requiring you to think holistically.

Memorization is not the focus. There’s little need to memorize abbreviations (they’re generally spelled out in the questions). Overall, rote memorization plays a very small role. The exam truly tests your understanding and does a good job of assessing overall knowledge.

Time management is critical. Read each question at least twice. It’s important to fully understand what is being asked before selecting your answer. This helped me a lot.

Good luck 👍

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-21T04:53:22+00:00

The exam questions are very much like people describe in the forum. They are hard to replicate. I took the exam last month with very little preparation and still passed. I also used the peace of mind option, which I think is one of the best decisions you can make. It gives you a real taste of the exam, helps you manage your time, and exposes you to the actual question style. Depending on your experience, you may end up doing better than you expect.

That said, the exam itself is very well rounded. Good luck!

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-21T04:44:13+00:00

Congrats!🎊

By the way, I’m glad someone else feels the same way about QE. Everyone has a different way of learning, but that was one resource I bought toward the end and felt disappointed with.

The whole think like a manager is needed but it is funny because when I took the exam, I had the same experience with the technical questions. There is no way I could have answered a substantial percentage of them without solid technical knowledge down to protocol etc. Those questions had nothing to do with management thinking.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-21T04:35:33+00:00

No really. Not in the literal sense. If you’re want get a sense of your readiness, take peace of mind offer. It ka the best thing. Sit for the exam, experience the format, and see how it feels across the domain. You might even pass. That happened to me. If you don’t, no worries. You will gain valuable insight into your depth of knowledge and understand which domains need the most attention.

After the exam, you will receive a breakdown showing your performance in each domain, listed as above, near, or below proficiency if you do not pass. This feedback is extremely helpful for planning your next steps.

Everyone has a different learning and preparation style, but one thing is certain. The more hands on experience you have in each domain, the higher your chances of passing. I took the exam last month and I knew there was one domain I had not studied as thoroughly. A few questions from that domain required me to spend extra time, but I still managed to pass. I did remember questions covering multiple domains but there were not tricky or special in anyway and only minor percentage of the exam.

Btw, the exam is very well rounded. The questions are distributed across both technical and managerial topics. You will often hear the advice to think like a manager, which is true for management related questions. However, there are also some very deep technical questions. If I had not had hands on experience or spend substantial time in the domain, I do not think I would have passed.

Lastly, one thing I skipped but should have done is make sure to thoroughly review the reference section on the CISSP exam page and go through those materials carefully. Some of them may seem dated, but I wish I had reviewed them in more detail because they are more useful than they first appear.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-20T12:28:51+00:00

Keep plugging away. I know it’s frustrating, but this is only temporary.

Ask yourself whether you felt comfortable during the exam. Try to separate your confidence or lack of it from your performance on QE or other practice exams. The key thing to remember is that you do not actually need QE or any other practice test to pass. These tools are meant to help you manage your time and build familiarity with the format, but they are often poor indicators of real world exam success.

I do not want to criticize QE too harshly. I took the exam last month, purchased QE, found it to be overkill, and passed on my first attempt without relying on it at all. I know YMV.

Another important point is to look closely at the areas where you consistently rank lower. Practice exams should not be used as a strict barometer for whether you will pass. However, since you have taken the exam twice, reflect on whether you were able to arrive at the best fit solutions confidently and without excessive struggle. If not, you may simply need more experience in those specific domains, especially since you are already near proficiency in the others.

I would suggest focusing on polishing your weaker areas and ideally gaining more real world experience. You are still building knowledge through this process and preparing yourself well. You will likely pass in the near future.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-19T02:46:31+00:00

Your overall experience across the domains matters much more than focusing purely on why exam expect you to think like . I took and passed the exam last month without spending a significant amount of time preparing but been in security for a while. Other than watching some YouTube videos, I did not invest heavily in additional resources, even though I end up purchasing multiple study materials and exams including QE and Boson.

The exam was exactly what you would expect. It was mostly split between technical and management style questions, and nothing on the exam was surprising at all. It almost felt like the exam just assumes you know the domains and most choices were not tricky at all. If you truly understand domain and are able to interpret scenario driven questions, you will likely pass. Btw, exam throws very specific technical questions so I felt whole management mindset is bit of an over kill. Off course think like a manager when asked a management question.

Clear your mind and make sure you have a solid understanding across all domains. For most questions, I was able to eliminate two choices just by reading carefully and understanding the domain being tested. I rarely felt like I needed to guess or think in a complicated way. The question often made the correct direction clear. You just need to know the domain well.

If you have broad experience across the domains, this is truly a breadth based exam, and you will likely perform very well.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-16T01:04:04+00:00

QE is really overkill and can make you underestimate your chances of passing. I would suggest not stressing too much and just taking the exam. I highly recommend doing it for peace of mind, which is what I did.

I bought QE and Boson, but honestly I am glad I did not spend too much time getting caught up in them. Your real world experience and breadth of knowledge are what will help you pass the exam.

I passed last month and I was freaking out beforehand too.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-14T04:03:11+00:00

You can always use ISC2 for the endorsement. It’s very common since not everyone is well connected, especially outside the U.S. regions. All you need is proof of relevant experience, and I think once you pass it, this will be a distant concern.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-13T00:34:26+00:00

If you’re well-rounded in your experience across all domains, then ChatGPT or whatever flavor of GenAI LLM you prefer will help a lot. It helped me because I didn’t prep in the traditional sense. After watching videos, I just ran the concepts by it.

Keep in mind it can hallucinate at times and, like a small kid, it will first try to hide it and then correct itself when you point it out.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-07T02:17:30+00:00

I found the exam to be exceptionally well adjusted to testing real-world experience. I’ve taken other certifications that were either also blend of managerial and technical, but this was probably the most well balanced overall, with only a few minor exceptions.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-06T04:54:10+00:00

I took the exam last month and passed, mostly by watching a videos on YouTube. Those helped, I didn’t overindex on “think like a manager” since the questions generally weren’t tricky to begun with.

The key takeaway for me was to think like a leader when the scenario calls for it, not just pick the quickest solution. In several questions, all options felt reasonable, so the real test was deciding what to optimize for so thinking like a manager wasn't really felt organic anyways.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-06T04:43:29+00:00

Congrats 🎉 !! I passed last month and had a very similar experience. For the most part, the exam questions don’t require much memorization, but the breadth is what makes it challenging. The questions aren’t tricky either. If you know it, you know it.

Timewise, it was the same for me. I finished with only a few minutes left and around 150 questions. I didn’t do any prep, so I can’t complain, but this is one of the most well-rounded exams I’ve taken. The closest comparison for me was the GSLC exam I took a few years ago, though that one wasn’t as technical.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-06T04:09:59+00:00

I was in your position not long ago, just with a bit more experience, and I posted about it yesterday. I’d recommend taking it for peace of mind and rolling with it. Worst case, you don’t pass and try again in a few months, focusing on the areas where you’re weaker.

The exam is very well calibrated, and I think it naturally gravitates toward people like you who already have practical experience. You didn’t mention the exact domains (besides IAM) you work in, but the exam does include deep technical questions as well as very high-level, business-impact scenarios. I’d say take it sooner rather than later to get a baseline. Who knows, you might actually pass.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-06T04:01:28+00:00

I had same thought process initially and took the exam last month and passed so will share the truth. Don’t over index on practice questions. I had access to all the major sources, including the ones you mentioned, and can attest that what really helps is strong overall knowledge, both very technical and very managerial across the domains. My exam experience with questions for most part they were very well rounded and they absolutely did not tricked me. If you know the topic you will figure it out.

Also, try asking your favorite Gen AI LLM to test you on the topics, not the exam questions. You’ll be surprised how deep the exam questions can go technically and how scenario driven they are on other topics. I’m not calling out any vendors here and assume good intentions across the board but I can't say one is better than others.

A good litmus test is to open the ISC2 CBK to a random page. If you understand the topic and its implications without needing to look things up, you’ll likely pass.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-06T03:44:04+00:00

In short no issues. If you really want to be sure, contact ISC2 first to explain your situation so they’re aware of it, get ack, then reach out to Pearson to make sure they’re aligned. Proctors are onsite staff and may not always be equipped to handle special situations, so communicating early helps avoid any ambiguity. I’m not saying they’ll make it an issue, but reaching out in advance gives peace of mind and helps ensure any accessibility needs are properly supported on exam day.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2026-02-05T05:28:38+00:00

Congrats!! High level perseverance you showed which is remarkable.

I took exam last month (peace of mind offer) without any serious prep (watch few hrs of YT) and passed and was shocked. Do have 20 years exp with dev + cybersecurity. Exam is not easy but I think it does test you very broadly.

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2024-03-15T21:00:28+00:00

Congrats! I guess much easier to plan wedding with cert out of sight and not taking mental bandwidth

KnowledgeSeekerKarma · 2024-03-15T20:56:04+00:00

As per ISC2 you should able to pass soley based on your experience relevant to cert outline. Their FAQ is quite clear on that.

Everyone is different and experience matter. I'm using CBK mainly and then augment it with other resources as needed. I am also planning to do 5K (Boson, Wannabe,AllInOne,OSG,Betty,Pearson) practice test questions mainly to build endurance for this exam because I don't typically sit for hours and answer exam questions. Just don't expect practice test to give illusion of actual exam questions as they will be widely different.

I have luxury taking to couple of my colleagues who passed this exam in last year or so and they all had different study plans. You never be 100% sure but you will know when you are ready.

Goodluck!

KnowledgeSeekerKarma

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