r/cipp

Let's assume I'm new to the privacy field, no lawyer experience, and my work is going to be paying for training to take the CIPP/US exam. Which training(s) would be best to use?

• IAAP Online training
• IAAP training book - U.S. Private-Sector Privacy Fourth Edition
• Book - IAPP CIPP / US Certified Information Privacy Professional Study Guide (Sybex Study Guide 2e)
• Privacy Boot Camps Online Training
• Udemy CIPP/US Certification Masterclass Online Training
• Something else?

The exam prepares you to understand the law. But when people get the privacy officer title and land a role, they often find that the exam didn't prepare them for the organizational reality (unclear authority, competing priorities, leadership that hired you without knowing what to do with you).

I'm curious what caught people off guard in the first 90 days. What did you wish someone had told you before you started?

I asked Gemini how to do it. It gave me Python code that worked perfectly (I already had Python and Git installed).

I had my PFA done on April 28, 2026, at Scripps La Jolla Cardiology. I'm 41, 6'1", 230 Ib. I don't smoke, and I have about 6-10 drinks per year. I eat pretty healthy 80% of the time and work out 3-4 days a week.

I was diagnosed with Afib in 2019. I do not have persistent Afib. My Afib comes and goes once or twice per week, and when I was first diagnosed, I was pretty miserable because I wasn't prescribed medication to keep it under control. Eventually, I started taking atenolol and flecainide. Exercise, eating too much and definitely alcohol brought on symptoms that became increasingly worse with a higher heart rate. I was considered healthy enough that I did not need blood thinners, according to my cardiologist.

My first experience with treatment was at Kaiser Los Angeles. I was referred for a radiofrequency ablation about four years ago.
This was before I did any research on the procedure and was going strictly off my cardiologist's recommendation. Long story short, it was a complete nightmare. The anesthesiologist, nurses, and the whole lead-up to the procedure were terrible. None of my family was allowed to enter the waiting area, let alone the prep room. The anesthesiologist had bloodshot red eyes, and the way they talked to me made it sound like I wouldn't survive the procedure. It was so bizarre that by the time I spoke with the electrophysiologist, I decided I didn't want it done. I literally had them disconnect my IV and left. Looking back, this probably saved me a lot of discomfort and pain.

Fast forward to 2026. In between that time, ! did a lot of research, mainly from Reddit and other forums, that helped guide and educate me about the PFA procedure. I watched videos of the procedure being performed and spoke with several electrophysiologists. After thoroughly researching facilities, I got a referral from my cardiologist for Scripps. It wasn't my first choice, but it turned out to be a huge blessing because my experience there was light-years better than at Kaiser Los Angeles. Everything I wasn't able to do at Kaiser, they allowed at Scripps. My family was able to be with me all the way until the procedure.

On a scale of 1 to 10, my experience getting PFA was a 9.5, with 10 being the best. My procedure only took an hour and a half. I had no sore throat and minimal pain at the groin site. The pain level was equivalent to a really bad paper cut or mosquito bite. To my surprise, the wound was about the size of a large paper cut. I spoke with my electrophysiologist several times before the procedure. He's absolutely amazing and communicates well. The nurses and staff at this facility were amazing. Everything was state-of-the-art and very comfortable.

Even though it's only been about two weeks since my procedure, I feel like I have a brand new heart. So far, so good. Right after the procedure, I went on a 3-mile hike. I don't recommend everyone do this, but that's just how little pain I was in and how good I felt. I'II give an update after the three-month blanking period. Right now, I don't have any negative effects - it's all positive since receiving the procedure.

I highly recommend doing your research and finding a good electrophysiologist and facility to have PFA done. So far, I feel amazing, and according to all my tests, I have zero Afib. The doctor recommended I be on blood thinners and take meds while I'm in the blanking period. Personally, I'm not taking any of that and I feel even better. I highly recommend sticking to a healthy diet and workout routine.
Getting this procedure is not a license to start smoking, drinking, or gaining unnecessary weight. The procedure is designed to give you relief from Afib so you can get healthier and off medication. Feel free to ask me any questions, and good luck and God bless to anyone dealing with this.

Hey everyone, thought I'd share helpful advice. Instead of reading the entire PDF book for the study material, which is hundreds of pages, just put it into AI like chatgpt or Grok and ask it to give you an outline of what you need to know for each chapter and ask it for practice questions too. That book is hundreds of pages and maybe at most they test on 40% of those pages. Most of it will not be on the test. Don't waste time reading it and just use AI.

Anyone preparing for cippe wants to study and prep together? Pls hit me up.

Hello
Does anyone have a recommendation for a good course to prepare for the CIPP/E exam?

Had about 3 weeks of studying for the exam and bummed I failed. I passed 3/4 domains and domain 4 got a 58%. I used Dr Kyle Davids course on Udemy and questions from a variety of sources. Im just upset because I didnt need this exam but it hurts to see a fail and then realize it wasnt a bomb if that makes sense that it was just in domain 4. Does this group think I can take it in 1 week from now? I got the initial test through work for free and ill have to pay for it but I just hate living with a fail

Wanted to see if anyone had familiarity with the official practice exam vs the test in terms of if difficulty is similar.

Purchased and completed the official practice exam recently and scored 81% with maybe another question or two on the table because I didn't read correctly and roughly between 76% - 84% on all four Domains. Was trending closer toward 85% overall but last 20 questions really kicked my butt. Starting to go through other practice questions and exams too just to gauge myself.

More precise: Domain I: 17/22 (77%) Domain II: 22/27 (81%) Domain III: 18/24 (75%) Domain IV: 24/27 (88%)

Obvious immediate thoughts are to target both Domain I and III and even noted "review" on some topics I technically got the answer right on.

Not sure if that's a good indicator or not because regardless I don't feel ready and frankly found like half the questions on the practice exam ridiculous in terms of how straightforward they seemed which makes me question how it could even be in the ballpark of the real one.

GRC background and have previous IAPP experience via passing CIPP/US. Also took that practice exam and may have scored worse overall.

First, my thanks for responses to my last post. I decided to postpone the test while I switch from the Chapple videos/book to Dr. David, and try to fully prepare for the exam.

Here's my question: Is there any reason to read the final chapter in the Chapple study guide (ch. 9, International Privacy Regulation). It does not seem to fit within any of the Domains, so I thought this was one I could potentially skip.

Thoughts?

I am a young lawyer in a common law jurisdiction in Africa looking to segue into privacy and GDPR compliance. I just passed the CIPP/E and I'm looking for any possible entry points into the field, even if it's just to gain some on the job experience. Any suggestions?

I'm a UK law graduate from Russell group uni.

A little high street law experience.

I'm hoping to get into data protection work or related to the CIPP.

What is the way in?

Should I do the CIPP first?

All advice much appreciated.

I am planning to take both the CIPP and AIGP from IAPP.

Any advice on which to do first?

Other thoughts?

I just the AIGP exam (passed on second attempt - so happy) but there was a question that had me absolutely stumped -

It asked what a key opportunity is for a company deploying agentic ai or using agentic ai architectures - I can’t quite remember the exact formulation

But the options were something along the lines of
A. Increased immunity against IP issues
B. Pushing liability on to cloud providers
C.reduced need to AI governance
D. Can’t recall the option but it remember it feeling wholly wrong

Anyone else got this question?

Surely opportunity is related to end-to-end workflow automations but none of the options suggested that as a key opportunity from what I can recall.

Hi everyone — I’m currently applying for privacy roles that cover regulatory and compliance frameworks across the Americas, including Canada. My legal background is primarily focused on U.S. law, and I’d love to broaden my knowledge of privacy laws and frameworks in other countries throughout the region.

Does anyone have recommendations for good resources, courses, newsletters, certifications, or websites that helped you build expertise in international privacy compliance?