Passed First Try
Hi, everyone! Long time lurker so want to share a bit about my background and what helped me.
Background
I am a young professional who is finishing my first year of employment as an IT Auditor. My goal was to pass the exam before my work anniversary and do whatever I needed to overcome my lack of experience in the field. I also have a degree in data analytics which I feel helped me a little bit in the stats and hardware sections of the exam.
Studying
• Started with the Doshi textbook mid February ‘26 and liked how it was written like a novel. Gave me a great taste of the material.
• Purchased the QAE and was originally only scoring around 65%. Felt like I was just missing core content so decided to look into the Review Manual.
• ISACA Review Manual: Took detailed notes in particular around Domains 4 and 5 since I don’t touch those subjects in my daily job. Felt like this was for sure worthwhile and provided the basis of knowledge I needed to answer the QAE questions successfully.
• Took the QAE database once again and practice exam one (83%). Then went through each question in the database and made sure I understood why it was correct/incorrect. Called on AI all the time for clarification/breakdown.
• Days before the exam, I went over some Domain 5 questions in Pocket Prep and took it real easy.
Exam Day
• Decided to take the exam in person. Knew I’d have less distractions and would be in the zone at a secondary location. Would recommend if able.
• Felt like my study method for me was perfect. Gave me the content knowledge for the simple questions and the discernment to navigate around the tricky questions.
• Zoomed through the exam, took quick breaks, and had a feeling I at least had a fighting chance at passing.
Concluding Thoughts
CISA is just like any exam you’ve taken. If you put your mind to learning the material, you’ll feel very confident and have a good time on test day. The exam was much easier than I feared it would be.