Sometimes I seem to struggle with the concept of productivity. What seems productive may not actually be productive, and the flip side holds truth as well. I’m beginning to realize that someone’s level of productivity in the corporate job market directly correlates to the outside perception of their efforts. Is it considered productive to spend eight diligent hours completing an assigned project for your boss? What if you finished the same project in five hours and spent the next three hours surfing the Internet? Would you really have been any less productive by surfing the Internet if the final project under both circumstances reflected the same quality of work? It’s a strange feeling when you recognize that it might be in your best interests to slow down the pace of your efforts. If you look busy, you are busy, right? It seems as though this misconception is what they want you to believe…
Passing The CISSP
I just received an e-mail with the following introduction:
Dear Marc,
Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have passed the Certified Information Systems Security Professional competency examination…
To which Angel said: “Wow! I love you so much! Now I am engaged to a certified professional genius!”
To which I replied by inquiring about the potential need for a “wild genius ride”. But, I received no response. Apparently I thought it was a bit more humorous than she did. 😉
Either way, Marc has officially passed the CISSP exam! YAAAAAHHHHOOOOOO!!!!
CISSP: A Formula to the Perfect Crime
If the formula to pulling off the perfect crime revolves around timing, and unarmed robbery is your thing, I know exactly where you can capitalize on the opportunity to make some really easy money. Just setup shop outside of the nearest CISSP certification examination center. Once a CISSP hopeful emerges from the brutal 6 hour (no breaks), 250 problem examination dungeon that’s chock full questions like…
“Of the subsequent four acceptable answers in situation X, which one is most likely not going to be the most practical option when the system users are not attempting Y?”
…That poor CISSP hopeful will be numb to life’s purpose, insensitive to his surroundings, and petrified of even the slightest thought of problem solving… You could probably just ask for his wallet and wrist watch without any confrontation at all.
I took the CISSP exam yesterday, and it’s by far the toughest test I have ever taken. I studied diligently for almost a month and I walked out of the testing center without the foggiest clue as to how well I performed. Now I have to wait 2 damn weeks for the results! A grown man may cry if I fail… and then it’s back to the library for another month. Its hell…
Here’s an excerpt from a CISSP discussion board posting about the severity of the test. This description is dead accurate:
ISC2 has done a tremendous job in keeping their questions fluid, relevant and updated. I could tell when I sat down and read the first five questions that this test was SERIOUS, and no amount of ANY practice test questions will save your ass on test day. The bottom line is experience, knowledge, know your theory 100%, and be prepared!
Is it true what everyone says, that you will finish that exam and beat yourself up until you know the results? ROGER THAT!! YES SIR, that’s an AFFIRMATIVE!! I’ve been through certification exams and taught for Microsoft, Novell, IBM, HP, Lucent, Proxim, the Department of Defense and the US Army, and all I can say is that you can tell when you sit down and read your first few questions, the CISSP is a “different breed of test.”
Some of you might think, “Well, how hard can it be, it’s all multiple choice right?” Just wait till you get in the exam, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Although I’m not a PhD or a test developer, it looked like each question was carefully worded to weed out the “certification mills,” brain dumpers, and anyone trying to fake their way through experience. That test WILL put you through your maximum cranial testing abilities! There are lots of, “All of the examples are true EXCEPT,” or “Which one of the following IS NOT.” It’s those little words EXCEPT and IS NOT that will throw you unless you read carefully and understand what you are reading. Let me say that again, READ-READ-READ carefully! One little word will trip the meaning of the question or the answer.
If I didn’t pass after sitting the exam, I knew exactly what it would take for me to pass it on round two: MORE READING! Practice test questions are good and necessary to give you a read on your strengths, weaknesses, timing and pacing through the exam. However, I can honestly say that if you don’t put the maximum effort into reading or getting a hold of as much study materials as you can for this test (reading, white papers, NIST documents, practice tests, audio MP3s, videos, whatever it takes), your chances of passing this test will diminish to almost no chance at all.
An Educational Oversight
I’ve been actively studying for the CISSP certification exam (a requirement for my job) over the last couple of weeks. So, I’ve spent a significant amount of time reading on the fifth floor (nobody goes up there) of UCF’s main campus library. There really is something magical to be said about an educational atmosphere… I’m not speaking of a high school environment where disgruntled teenagers are stuck in an algebra class all day. I’m referring to a self imposed educational setting where literature is absorbed, friendly debates are convened, knowledge and information are in constant exchange, and people are truly eager to learn. It’s the kind of setting you feel lingering in the air on college campuses around the globe. It’s a conversation in the student union, a study session at the campus library, or two cents over breakfast at the cafeteria. Information is continuously swapped from mind to mind. The aura is contagious, and it shoots a stimulating sensation through your entire body. Just being there, surrounded by people engrossed in expanding their personal knowledge base… it feels so damn healthy. When you’re an undergrad in college you take it all for granted. Then, after you’ve graduated to the next step, you rapidly forget how invigorating education can be. Education is a form of self expansion. It should be an on-going, assiduous process… something many people seem to forget once they achieve their diploma. I’m guilty as charged. But now I realize what I’m missing, and I intend to learn from this oversight. Once I get the CISSP certification under my belt, I will begin to map out my next move.
A Day Late for Downtown Orlando
Angel and I are getting married next March. We have been diligently saving money with the best intention of purchasing a home of our own. The overlying goal is to relocate in or around the Downtown Orlando area. We’re in our mid twenties with no children, so we think it would be nice to set up shop a little closer to the social scene and night life. So what’s the problem? The problem rests with the real estate insanity that has sky-rocketed the house/condo prices straight through the damn stratosphere! I mean for gawds sake, we are both professionals and together we make just under 100K a year! Yet somehow the only housing we can afford is a 600 square foot, one bedroom, pre-construction condo… or a freaking house in the ghetto that was built in 1960. Oh, and there’s hardly anything decent to rent because they converted every apartment complex into a condo complex. This is absolutely preposterous! I mean, this isn’t downtown Manhattan. The per-capita income in Orlando is still pretty low. Sure, there has been a ton of job growth, but most of the growth is in the service industry. Waitresses, bartenders… they work downtown, but they can’t live there. It seems like Downtown Orlando appeals to a younger professional crowd, yet we’re priced right out. The crazy thing is that 2 years ago we could have purchased 2 homes. WTF!?