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diff --git a/content/blog/2021-12-04-cisa.org b/content/blog/2021-12-04-cisa.org deleted file mode 100644 index d06eb51..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2021-12-04-cisa.org +++ /dev/null @@ -1,205 +0,0 @@ -#+title: I Passed the CISA! -#+date: 2021-12-04 -#+description: A recap of the CISA certification exam and my results. -#+filetags: :audit: - -* What is the CISA? -For those of you lucky enough not to be knee-deep in the world of IT/IS -Auditing, [[https://www.isaca.org/credentialing/cisa][CISA]] stands for -Certified Information Systems Auditor. This certification and exam are -part of ISACA's suite of certifications. As I often explain it to people -like my family, it basically means you're employed to use your knowledge -of information systems, regulations, common threats, risks, etc. in -order to assess an organization's current control of their risk. If a -risk isn't controlled (and the company doesn't want to accept the risk), -an IS auditor will suggest implementing a control to address that risk. - -Now, the CISA certification itself is, in my opinion, the main -certification for this career. While certifications such as the CPA or -CISSP are beneficial, nothing matches the power of the CISA for an IS -auditor when it comes to getting hired, getting a raise/bonus, or -earning respect in the field. - -However, to be honest, I am a skeptic of most certifications. I -understand the value they hold in terms of how much you need to commit -to studying or learning on the job, as well as the market value for -certifications such as the CISA. But I also have known some very -+incompetent+ /less than stellar/ auditors who have CPAs, CISAs, CIAs, -etc. - -The same goes for most industries: if a person is good at studying, they -can earn the certification. However, that knowledge means nothing unless -you're actually able to use it in real life and perform as expected of a -certification holder. The challenge comes when people are hired or -connected strictly because of their certifications or resume; you need -to see a person work before you can assume them having a CISA means -they're better than someone without the CISA. - -Okay, rant over. Certifications are generally accepted as a measuring -stick of commitment and quality of an employee, so I am accepting it -too. - -* Exam Content -The CISA is broken down into five sections, each weighted with a -percentage of test questions that may appear. - -#+caption: CISA exam sections -[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20211204-i-passed-the-cisa/cisa-exam-sections.png]] - -Since the exam contains 150 questions, here's how those sections break -down: - -| Exam Section | Percentage of Exam | Questions | -|---------------+--------------------+-----------| -| 1 | 21% | 32 | -| 2 | 17% | 26 | -| 3 | 12% | 18 | -| 4 | 23% | 34 | -| 5 | 27% | 40 | -| *Grand Total* | *100%* | *150* | - -* My Studying Habits -This part is a little hard for me to break down into specific detail due -to the craziness of the last year. While I officially purchased my -studying materials in December 2020 and opened them to "start studying" -in January 2021, I really wasn't able to study much due to the demands -of my job and personal life. - -Let me approach this from a few different viewpoints. - -** Study Materials -Let's start by discussing the study materials I purchased. I'll be -referring to #1 as the CRM and #2 as the QAE. - -1. [[https://store.isaca.org/s/store#/store/browse/detail/a2S4w000004KoCbEAK][CISA - Review Manual, 27th Edition | Print]] -2. [[[[https://store.isaca.org/s/store#/store/browse/detail/a2S4w000004KoCcEAK]]][CISA - Review Questions, Answers & Explanations Manual, 12th Edition | - Print]] - -The CRM is an excellent source of information and could honestly be used -as a reference for most IS auditors as a learning reference during their -daily audit responsibilities. However, it is *full** of information and -can be overloading if you're not good at filtering out useless -information while studying. - -The QAE is the real star of the show here. This book contains 1000 -questions, separated by exam section, and a practice exam. My only -complaint about the QAE is that each question is immediately followed -with the correct answer and explanations below it, which means I had to -use something to constantly cover the answers while I was studying. - -I didn't use the online database version of the QAE, but I've heard that -it's easier to use than the printed book. However, it is more expensive -($299 database vs $129 book) which might be important if you're paying -for materials yourself. - -In terms of question difficulty, I felt that the QAE was a good -representation of the actual exam. I've seen a lot of people online say -it wasn't accurate to the exam or that it was much easier/harder, but I -disagree with all of those. The exam was fairly similar to the QAE, just -focusing on whichever topics they chose for my version of the exam. - -If you understand the concepts, skim the CRM (and read in-depth on -topics you struggle with), and use the QAE to continue practicing -exam-like questions, you should be fine. I didn't use any online -courses, videos, etc. - the ISACA materials are more than enough. - -** Studying Process -While I was able to briefly read through sections 1 and 2 in early 2021, -I had to stop and take a break from February/March to September. I -switched jobs in September, which allowed me a lot more free time to -study. - -In September, I studied sections 3-5, took notes, and did a quick review -of the section topics. Once I felt comfortable with my notes, I took a -practice exam from the QAE manual and scored 70% (105/150). - -Here's a breakdown of my initial practice exam: - -| Exam Section | Incorrect | Correct | Grand Total | Percent | -|---------------+-----------+---------+-------------+---------| -| 1 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 76% | -| 2 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 80% | -| 3 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 67% | -| 4 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 70% | -| 5 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 61% | -| *Grand Total** | *45** | *105** | *150** | *70%** | - -As I expected, my toughest sections were related to project management, -development, implementation, and security. - -This just leaves October and November. For these months, I tried to -practice every few days, doing 10 questions for each section, until the -exam. This came out to 13 practice sessions, ~140 questions per section, -and ~700 questions total. - -While some practice sessions were worse and some were better, the final -results were similar to my practice exam results. As you can see below, -my averages were slightly worse than my practice exam. However, I got in -over 700 questions of practice and, most importantly, *I read through -the explanations every time I answered incorrectly and learned from my -mistakes*. - -| Exam Section | Incorrect | Correct | Grand Total | Percent | -|---------------+-----------+---------+-------------+---------| -| 1 | 33 | 108 | 141 | 77% | -| 2 | 33 | 109 | 142 | 77% | -| 3 | 55 | 89 | 144 | 62% | -| 4 | 52 | 88 | 140 | 63% | -| 5 | 55 | 85 | 140 | 61% | -| *Grand Total** | *228** | *479** | *707** | *68%** | - -#+caption: CISA practice question results -[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20211204-i-passed-the-cisa/cisa-practice-questions-results.png]] - -* Results -Now, how do the practice scores reflect my actual results? After all, -it's hard to tell how good a practice regimen is unless you see how it -turns out. - -| Exam Section | Section Name | Score | -|--------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------| -| 1 | Information Systems Auditing Process | 678 | -| 2 | Governance and Management of IT | 590 | -| 3 | Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation | 721 | -| 4 | Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience | 643 | -| 5 | Protection of Information Assets | 511 | -| *TOTAL* | | *616* | - -Now, in order to pass the CISA, you need at least 450 on a sliding scale -of 200-800. Personally, I really have no clue what an average CISA score -is. After a /very/ brief look online, I can see that the high end is -usually in the low 700s. In addition, only about 50-60% of people pass -the exam. - -Given this information, I feel great about my scores. 616 may not be -phenomenal, and I wish I had done better on sections 2 & 5, but my -practicing seems to have worked very well overall. - -However, the practice results do not conform to the actual results. -Section 2 was one of my highest practice sections and was my -second-lowest score in the exam. Conversely, section 3 was my -second-lowest practice section and turned out to be my highest actual -score! - -After reflecting, it is obvious that if you have any background on the -CISA topics at all, the most important part of studying is doing -practice questions. You really need to understand how to read the -questions critically and pick the best answer. - -* Looking Forward -I am extremely happy that I was finally able to pass the CISA. Looking -to the future, I'm not sure what's next in terms of professional -learning. My current company offers internal learning courses, so I will -most likely focus on that if I need to gain more knowledge in certain -areas. - -To be fair, even if you pass the CISA, it's hard to become an expert on -any specific topic found within. My career may take me in a different -direction, and I might need to focus more on security or networking -certifications (or possibly building a better analysis/visualization -portfolio if I want to go into data analysis/science). - -All I know is that I am content at the moment and extremely proud of my -accomplishment. |