Let me preface this by saying that I have little to no IT work experience, yet ISC2 passed me at 104 Questions in 75 minutes. I will say, however, that as of 21 DEC 2020, I hold the Network+, Security+, and Certified Ethical Hacker: Master certifications, all out of self-study.
You do NOT need any IT work experience to pass this exam, as I have clearly proven. All you need to know is how to take this test. Following is the list of what I've done:
1. ISC2 Sybex questions. Hit 88-95% regularly. 2. CISSP for Dummies test bank (go through once or twice - hit 85-90%). 3. Boson Ex-Sim Practice Exams (750 Qs total). Get above 85%.
4. Youtube:
A. Destination Certs (Mind-Map) Rob Witcher - has videos on all domains. real quick. listen at 1.5X.
B. IT Dojo Questions of the day (104 videos). Watch at 1.5X speed.
C. Kelly Handerhan's Why You Will Pass the CISSP
5. Luke's Study Notes and Theory Subscription.
A. Watch ALL videos in each domain at 1.5X speed. If you can stomach it, watch it twice.
B. Go through ALL Practice questions (750Q Total). These are WAY harder than the exam... makes the exam feel so easy. These are also the CLOSEST to the exam.
6. Amazon Kindle or PDF:
How to Think like a Manager by Luke Ahmed (went through twice)
11th Hour by Eric Conrad (not necessary but helps - went through it twice)
7. Pocket Prep - hit 90% or above.
8. ISC2 Practice Exams, 2nd Edition. Go through once, review your wrong answers. Get 85% or above on the actual practice tests.
9. Bootcamp with CBTXpress, and achieved 90%+ on their practice exams.
I will finalize by saying that I went through every bit of Luke Ahmed's materials 8 days prior to my exam on the 21st. Was it painful while working a full time job? yes. It was so worth it though, since it got my mind right for the actual exam. When I was taking the exam, I was pretty underwhelmed at how not complex the questions were compared to the actual exam. I actually had a lot of energy and focus in my mental reservoir.
The technical knowledge you gain from Luke's material, was just enough for me to be able to answer 35-40% of my exam questions. For anyone who says the exam isn't technical, they are full of shit because at least 40% of my questions required me to have a solid understanding of IT systems.
Bottom line: Study Notes and Theory by Luke Ahmed should be your go-to final prep before you take the exam... put your big boy panties on and subscribe to his materials. THEN roll the dice.