Objective: CISSP Certification

Status: Active

Priority

P0
Category

Core
Target

2026-07-12

Why This Matters

CISSP is the gold standard for security professionals. It validates:

  • Broad security knowledge across 8 domains

  • 5+ years of professional security experience

  • Commitment to continuing education

  • Recognition by employers worldwide

For career transition: CISSP signals readiness for senior security roles, consulting, and leadership - bridging networking/security into broader technology leadership.

Market reality: In a volatile job market, CISSP provides:

  • Resume filter passage - many roles require it

  • Salary leverage - $20-40K premium in many markets

  • Consulting credibility - essential for independent practice

  • Remote work enablement - valued credential for remote security roles

Success Criteria

Criterion Description Met?

Exam passed

Score 700+ on CISSP exam

[ ]

All domains studied

Complete study of all 8 domains

[ ]

Practice exams

Score 80%+ consistently on practice tests

[ ]

CPE plan

Strategy for maintaining certification

[ ]

Current State (as of May 2026)

  • Experience: 12+ years networking/security — meets eligibility

  • Strengths: Domain 4 (CCNP, ISE, VyOS), Domain 5 (ISE 26K endpoints, AD, Vault), Domain 7 (Wazuh, incident response)

  • Weakest: Domain 8 (SDLC, OWASP), Domain 1 (formal risk frameworks)

  • Study plan: 10-week reset — see CISSP Project

Action Plan (Reset May 3, 2026)

Week Focus Target Status

1

Domain 1: Security & Risk Management (15%)

May 9

🟡 Starting

2

Domain 8: Software Development Security (11%) — weakest, attack early

May 16

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3

Domain 3: Security Architecture & Engineering (13%)

May 23

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4

Domain 2: Asset Security + Domain 6: Assessment (22%)

May 30

[ ]

5

Domain 4: Network + Domain 5: IAM (26%) — strengths, practice questions only

Jun 6

[ ]

6

Domain 7: Security Operations (13%) — 3 days max

Jun 10

[ ]

7-8

Integration — full practice exams, target 80%+

Jun 24

[ ]

9

Weak domain intensive based on practice scores

Jul 1

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10

Final review + exam

Jul 12

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Resources Required

  • Time: 2 hours/day — 30 min morning (practice questions) + 90 min evening (reading)

  • Materials: (ISC)² Official Study Guide (Sybex), Boson practice exams, Pocket Prep app

  • Free: Destination Certification MindMap (YouTube), ThorTeaches.com, OpenStax

  • Investment: Exam fee (~$749), Boson (~$99), Sybex (~$50)

  • Reference: CISSP Project (full study plan)

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