u/crown_vic17

I passed the exam today at 100 questions with 65 minutes left on the clock!

I'll keep this brief for ya'll:

• 13 years in IT, 8 of them doing SecDevOps and Security Tooling.
• I took a SANS CISSP bootcamp at the start of January 2026.
  • Don't recommend unless your employer is paying for it ($$$$$).
  • Material was okay in my opinion. But the big ole Sybex book would suffice for most I think.
• I wouldn't recommend this, but I scheduled my exam 3 months later in March 2026.
• I also don't recomend this, but further procrastination ensued. I didn't start studying until the end of May after a Memorial Day weekend trip. Materials I used:
  • QuantumExams - I can't recommend this enough; the money is worth it. QuantumExams has high-quality CISSP practice questions. The only caveat is that you have to ACTUALLY READ. All of it. The questions, the answers and the explanations.
  • Udemy: Complete CISSP Course, Exam and the Mindset by TIA Training, Andrew Ramdayal - This was a good refresher course. I primarily only made use the CISSP Ultra Hard Questions and Mock Exam sections. They're a great supplement to QuantumExams. But again, ACTUALLY READ. All of it. The questions, the answers and the explanations.
  • The key is putting yourself in the CISSP mindset and understanding what the question is actually asking!
• I focused on the Udemy course for a week while simultaneously doing the 10 question quizzes in QuantumExams. Probably did 3-4 quizzes a day during the weekdays. No study on the weekends. My philosophy is that you should give your brain a break, even if the pressure is high.
• Last Monday, I started making use of the CAT simulation exam in QuantumExams. Only did 6 of them between last Monday and today, scoring 550, 886, 683, 889, 599 and 953.

Now, this might not work for everyone. I think that my OJT and past experience with taking exams at testing centers helped a lot. I'm also not one to cram for months on end so the 1-month crunch was virtually business as usual for me. But for what it's worth, if you're someone like me and are looking in this sub for some reassurance, YOU GOT THIS. Trust yourself, trust the process.

If you're not like me and you need to grind for these things, guess what; YOU GOT THIS. Trust yourself. Trust the process.