Congrats Hayabusa!!

Congrats on the pass!

Very cool man!

That was a really good review man.

The same answer as every other question in the industry, it depends

A few months back I bought all three versions of the Hacker's Challenge books used on amazon for under $20 total. The first two editions are ten years old and while a lot of the specific attacks are no longer feasible they've been great for understanding the mindset and methodology aspects which aren't often covered.

I've got programming reference books written 3 years ago that I'll never touch again.

Not a good month on here for the dojo....

$1,500 is a lot of money so I hope your situation gets resolved ASAP.

The real loser here is my savings account.

Getting ready to read this, but first.....

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks and good call on the update, I'll go do that now

I got a 94 and am in a GREAT mood 

Congrats!!! I take my GCIH test in 10 days.

Congrats!!!!

I took my first GCIH practice test yesterday and take the real one in two weeks so I'm in a SANS mood

It wasn't a huge deal and I imagine that it varies a great deal from class to class. Overall the experience was very positive, I was just trying to list out all factors for people.

I didn't have any extra face time with the instructor. That is in no way a knock on the instructor at all, he did an amazing job and I would facilitate for him again at the drop of a hat. He's honestly the best instructor I've experienced. It was just a large class (over 50) and there was a lot going on.

The passing out of the evals and materials was a non-issue but two bookstore shifts and some other small errands did cost a bit of class time. Once again, not much and overall it's not a huge issue I was just trying to be thorough.  

I also added the word slightly to my original post to let people know that I was just trying to list some minor points on an overall very positive experience.

I said I would share my thoughts so here goes:

Cons:

• Slightly degrades your learning experience due to obligations of a facilitator
• An extra day of setup and long hours the other days
• Can't attend night functions as you wish due to responsibilities

Pros:

• MUCH cheaper price
• Meet some great people which I otherwise would have never met

The people were great and while there were frustrating moments, overall the experience was worth it. I had to pay out of pocket and use vacation time to attend so while it was still pricey (after you factor in hotel, etc.) it was far cheaper than paying full price.

If I had the choice of going as normal student or facilitating, I would choose normal so I could focus on learning more. That said, it was an overall very positive experience and I would (and hopefully will) do it again.

2012 has been very productive and hopefully 2013 is even better. I take my GCIH test later this month (wish me luck) and hope to knock out my Net+ before the end of the year.

My 2013 goals are to prepare for the OSCP. I hope that means a SANS 401 and GSEC at some point (funds and vacation time willing), going through the Ninja Sec course and lab, the Python Security course and of course the CEH just to be able to check the box.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to get myself to OSCP levels in 2013 but I'm going to try.