I’m excited to share that I passed my CISSP exam at 100 questions on August 16th. Here’s exactly what worked for me — I hope it helps you on your journey. Note: 5 Years Work Experience in IT & Cyber Security. Certs I earned prior to studying: CompTIA Security+, Google Cybersecurity Professional, ITIL v4 📺 Video Series Kelly Henderhan – CISSP Cybrary Course (10/10) → A must-watch. Pete Zerger – CISSP Exam Cram 2025 (10/10) → Download the free slides and use them as your notes. Destination Certification – CISSP Mind Map Videos (8/10) → Great overview; they also provide free downloadable notes. 📖 Practice Exams Official Study Guide + Official Practice Tests (9/10) → Use chapter questions, domain quizzes, and full tests. Great coverage, but remember: they test knowledge + a little mindset, so don’t just memorize — focus on understanding and thinking like a CISSP. Quantum Exams (10/10) Non-CAT: Humbled me (scored 55–60%). Quantum CAT (closest to the real exam): My scores were 868.82, 861.38, 854.86, 937.26, 969.74. Strategy: I did a CAT every Saturday, spent the week reviewing weak areas, and repeated this for 5 weeks. 📱 Mobile Apps (On-the-go study) Best when you only have time for short study sessions: LearnZapp (Official CISSP app) → Great for theory and technical knowledge. Destination Certification App → Great for risk-based mindset training. → Used together, they’re a powerful combo (10/10). Also great when I wanted to switch up my study routine. 🧠 Final Phase: The Information Security Manager Mindset Once I covered all domains, I shifted to reinforcing the “Think Like A Cyber Security manager/CISO” Mindset. Helpful resources: Andrew Ramdayal – 50 CISSP Questions (YouTube) Prabh Nair – Think Like a Manager (YouTube) Kelly Handerhan – Why You WILL Pass the CISSP → Combining videos, slides, handwritten notes, flashcards, and practice exams — and constantly switching them up — kept it fun, engaging, and highly effective. 📝 Exam Day Tips

Big news! ​I'm thrilled to share that I've passed the CISSP exam on my first attempt, finishing at the 100-question mark. ​This was an intense but rewarding challenge, and my success was powered by a fantastic study stack. A huge thank you to the creators of: ​*Sybex Official Guide: The Audible version was a game-changer for constant learning. ​*Destination Certification: Their mind maps and app were crucial for visualizing and practicing concepts. ​*Cissp.app: An essential tool for drilling questions. ​*Pete Zerger's exam prep: For providing that critical strategic insight. ​Leveraging AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT for dynamic Q&A sessions was also invaluable. ​Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who shares their knowledge and experiences so openly. I am eager to pay it forward and contribute to the community.

Whether you’ve been a part of our group since the start or just found us recently, we’ve built something really special here, a supportive and knowledgeable group of cybersecurity professionals. I've gotten to see first hand how much we can help each other grow, both professionally and personally. It's funny, this community has been in the background of my life for almost 3 years now. I've constantly thought about it and the members how I can try to make it better. I'm extremely excited to announce our AI assisted practice question app. There's full length mock exams, AI generated practice, questions and insights. You can even upload your own study materials to extract your own practice questions! I'll be demoing more on upcoming study groups and will let you know soon how you can sign up!