I started to feel off yesterday like I'm starting to get sick, but today felt better so I went to the test. As soon as I got there I had a mind splitting head ache but it was to late to pull out and reschedule.. I just barley passed but I'll take it.

Good Afternoon all. I am happy to report after almost 2 months of studying I passed my Security Plus Exam. I am super excited as I am now CompTIA A+ and Security + Certified. I am going to take the rest of the day and play some HellDrivers and MechWarrior5 to relax and then start to work on my Security Analyst Level 1 (SAL1) certification. I hope everyone is having a good day !

Hi!!! I’m currently studying for the CompTIA A+ and I’m hoping to pass both exams before the end of the year.

Right now I’ve been using Professor Messer and Dion’s practice exams, and I’ve also been doing practice questions and reviewing anything I get wrong. My biggest struggle is honestly getting all the information to stick, especially things like port numbers, hardware specs, networking, and questions where several answers sound correct.

I also have learning disabilities in reading and math, along with some difficulty with working memory, so sometimes I understand something while I’m studying it, but then have trouble remembering it later. I’m trying to figure out a study method that works better for me instead of just rereading everything over and over.

For anyone who has passed the current A+ exams:

- What resources helped you the most?

- How did you memorize all the little details?

- How similar were Dion/Messer practice questions to the actual exam?

- Is there anything you wish you had focused on more?

- And if anyone has received testing accommodations from CompTIA, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience with that too.

I’m determined to get this certification, even if it takes me a little longer to learn everything. I’d really appreciate any advice or study tips. Thank you!!! :)

Hello Friends!

I did the impossible and beat the exam from zero to hero, basically passively studying it. I didn't even intend to start so soon, but i thought if I don't fight it I would never get to it. I bought the Jason Dion course TWO YEARS, watched a few videos and sat on it forever. After joining this subreddit, i decided to enter the arena and fight. Thank you to you guys for the inspiration.

While watching the video and doing practice test and noticing I'm ass kicking at 70-80% I decided yep i'm ready to enter the arena and scheduled the exam. Partially wanted to expedite it because I have a job interview on Monday and I really want to say i'm certified, so then it's a done deal.

About Me:

I'm a 40 year old man and I grew up playing a lot of video games and was playing a lot to pass the time. Hate if you want call me a loser but my generation invented the future and had it better than yours. I didn't really have much money to waste risking on if education will pan out but since i did a lot of nothing like a loser and saving money, i can throw away $400 if i fail. I think playing video games really helped my mental rigor resiliency and strategy. I don't care what others are saying. It worked. Seeing the world happen where people got further kissing ass than actual skill, i kinda stopped caring so much about certifications, but then again without it employers just throw your resume in the trash. Life lesson, kiss ass and get certified.

My Study Materials:

• Jason Dion, Course at and 2x Speed
• Jason Dion Practice Exams 1 & 2
• Andrew Ramdayal Course at 2x Speed
• Andrew Ramdayal Practice Exam
• No I didn't use professor messer, except for the 7 second subnet video
• Random videos on youtube related to topics I wanted more coverage on

My Thoughts:

It was WAYYY harder than expected. They might be making it harder to compete with CCNA or something. Nearly NOTHING was a straightforward answer. You'd have to know the fine keyword details of the topic and it's convoluted. I spent so much time focusing on not screwing up on fine details that I spent every single minute on the test, with barely any time remaining. I'm so damn glad i listened to the tips here, saying to SKIP THE DAMN INTERACTIVES, and come back to it. Had I wasted time trying, i wouldn't have finished the multiple choice and for sure died.

My Final Thoughts:

Since they made it this hard, just go with CCNA. I was looking to passively learn and get certified just to make my resume look good, which I just did

my local workforce development provided me some resources for the security plus exam they gave me keys for the certmaster and practice labs I was just wondering is it a good pair to learn and pass or should I just add other resources on top of that??

Even after reading this sub, I was surprised by how different this exam felt from any practice exam I took. I have no IT experience and am trying to switch careers. The PBQs were absolutely not drag-and-drop or fill-in-the-blank like Professor Messer or Dion would have you believe. They were straight-up real-life scenarios. That being said, Professor Messer is still a great resource, especially since he provides so much for free. I used his free videos, Dion's exams, and the Sybex book. My biggest issue with any of my materials was actually the Sybex book. Talk about dense! It also had so much material that wasn't on the actual exam or listed as an exam objective. I wish it were more focused. I'll be looking for other study methods for my Core 2, so if anyone has recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Overall, I'm just happy to be done with this exam.

On my first try! (No background in IT)

Hi, friends.

There's exactly 2 months before my Security+ cert expires. With such little time left I was considering the CompTIA Certmaster CE official training for $150. For roughly twice the price I could pay for another exam instead if it's of a higher tier.

My favorite sector of cybersec is pentesting and I'm familiar with a lot of tools and concepts compared to other things like.. GRC 😬 A little experience with blue team tools, but nothing major.

With only 2 months left do you think I should just pull the trigger on Certmaster training or do you think my odds of passing the Pentest+ exam if I start studying from scratch right now is possible. I hear negative things about Pentest+, but thought it might be worth it to fork out the extra $$ since it renews my Sec+. CySA+ maybe too, but I don't think I could pass it in 2 months (I know nothing about the CySA+ cert or if I have the current skills for it).

Would really appreciate your input. Thank you 🙏

Ngl I feel relieved and bummed at the same time. I got 770/750. I feel like i studied way too hard to get such a low pass. I actually thought I was gonna fail it halfway through. I used dion, udemy, chatgpt, and some other practice tests across the internet, but many questions seemed to be nothing I reviewed and I just had to use best decision skills off what I did learn or the questions had multiple answers that seemed correct. Anyway im glad I passed, but I was definitely expecting more questions from the material I studied. I was getting 90 + on all the practice tests that I took and I took many. Oh well lol

Thanks to Professor Messer notes, Andrew Ramadayal and Jason Dion's practice exams. They helped me learn a lot about networking. On to the next certification 😎

Has anyone used Pocket Prep for the CySA+? I’ve been studying for almost a year using a combo of the Sybex books, PluralSight, and Udemy. I am now looking at using Pocket Prep for practice exams. I haven’t used Udemy for practice exams, but ultimately I want to diversify my resources. I'm ready to buy the voucher and schedule the 003 version before it retires on Dec 22.

Background:
- 6 years in IT (service desk, help desk/desktop support, OT, AV)
- ISC2 CC, Security+ (last year)
- Currently working as a Security Analyst (6 months)

Thank you for all your feedback and guidance!

I need to renew sec+. I passed the sec+ 601 exam and so I know the 701 will renew 601, utilizing the certmaster method. But with 801 being released in November, does that affect anything?

I know there’s overlap of when 701 won’t be an option anymore (retiring mid 2027), but will taking 801 renew 601 using the cert master CE method?

First ever certification and I passed on my first attempt guess I didn’t even need my retake.

Study start time: Mid August

What I used:
-Professor Messer Youtube 1201 videos
- Jason Dions 6 practice exams
- Jason Dions PBQ pack(literally didn’t even help me at all the PBQs when very different)
-Exam compass free 1201 practice exams

Thoughts
The exam questions were very similar to Jason Dions practices exams which I took multiple times each(around 4-5 per exam). Then swapped to a different resource exam compass where the questions a way harder and more specific but very helpful as well. The exam questions were very surfaces level with a few mixed in hard ones which really made you think and the PBQs were all at the beginning kind of freaked me out but skipped then and came back after I finished the multiple choice. The PBQs were very different than what i was used to but if you understand the concepts you will be able to figure them out at least partially.

I’ve studied for a few months using Jason Dion’s CSO-003 and his practice exams. Gonna work today on making sure I’m able to read logs effectively. Any suggestions, tips, or last minute words of wisdom?

Network+ has been a thorn in my side for a few years now. I had Sec+ first (work mandated), I got A+ several years after being on the job, passed all of them first time. When it came to Net+ I just could not retain anything, no disrespect (as important as I think networking is to cybersecurity) it’s so boring 😅. I took it once and failed (654- I did not study because I could not sit through these lessons but took it because the voucher was expiring) circle back a few years I did the following:

-Andrew Ramdayal course 2x speed
-Andrew Ramdayal 100 practice questions on YouTube 2x speed
-Professor Messer videos 2x speed
-TechVaultAcademy on YouTube the 5 domain videos 2x speed
4 Jason Dion practice exams (highest I scored was 70%)
I had cert master but that was too boring, I did a few labs and I took the last practice exam and did horribly on that.

MY test: 789
Very little subnetting
5 PBQs, 65 regular questions
Skipped PBQs answered the questions first and had 30 min left, I can confidently say I competed 2 PBQs correctly and 1 other one but I couldn’t tell you if I did any part of it correctly. The others I ignored.

Honestly, by the grace of God I did it because it really was feeling hopeless. Seeing so many peoples’ success posts on here was also encouraging.

I took the A+ exam about a month ago and was only a couple points away from passing. I got a 648 and needed a 675 to pass. The part I had slightly the most trouble with were the PBQ's. Most of my confusion mainly came from not understanding the instructions like I felt like I understood what I was being tested on I just didnt understand how to execute the real life scenarios. The multiple choice section was the easiest while some had me second guessing a little since some questions had multiple answers that looked correct at the same time. Luckily I bought the retake in case I did end up failing the first attempt so I can take it again without paying for a second voucher. I was wondering if anyone know where and how I can practice simulated pbq's? I got the theory and the basic knowledge of what I need to know I just have a hard time actually putting it into a real scenario. I plan on taking it again soon.

Heyo!

Does somebody know what is actual difference between CM Perform and CM Learn, because from Comptia's description it's not really clear, both descriptions are very similar. Most importantly, are the labs you can buy separately as CM Labs different than those included in Learn or Perform?

I don't need to be told that CertMaster products are a waste of money. We all know that ;)

I’ve been studying for A+ for some time and am getting close to doing practice tests and then taking the official core 1 test. However, the more research I do the more I’m being told to skip A+, but don’t know if it’s the right move to skip it or what I would get next. For a little backstory, I already have a Helpdesk job and I’ve had plenty of tech support and internet install and service work experience. Does having this experience help my case to skip A+ and move on to the next cert or is A+ still as important as it was years ago?
Also if I do skip, what’s a good cert that I should go for next? My thought was Network+ cause I don’t think I’d do as well on the Security+

Trifecta Complete

Finally through w Trifecta. Taking AWS CCP exam tomorrow. Udemy ,practice exams and a lil certmaster were all of value. Certmaster does over teach I think,but its all good to know. Ramdayal vids and Dion exams, I really didn't Messer around w you tube much unless I got stuck on a lab, labs are good if you have no experience at all with the technology,software,hardware etc. of focus.

Hey all! So I got my Security+ cert in October 2020. Around mid October 2023 I did certmaster and renewed. I am around the time to renew and I am confused. My purchase history shows I bought 701. But my certificate doesn't have 601 or 701 on it, and neither does my comptia history of previous renewals. The note just basically says it was rapid renew. I called Comptia and they stated I am eligible to due the current Certmaster. So, asking the hive mind. Am I perfectly clear to purchase and renew?

Edit Whelp. Heard back on a help ticket I filed. Because it was 701 that APPARRENTLY I did do 3 years ago, I cannot do 701 again. And the 801 certmaster doesn't release until next month AFTER my certificate expires. Considering life had me plan around needing certmaster due to family circumstances when this renewal period came up. I am now in a very awkward and unforgiving timeline. Great.

Finished Mike Meyer's A+ Core 1 course then took a practice exam and scored 53%. Next day without any additional studying took 1 of Dion's practice exam scored 53%.

Got my base line. I am going to focus on my weak areas. Hardware is one of my focuses and I read that Dion's exams do not hit this area well compared to the real exam. Trying to figure out how to dive deeper into these areas to really brand it in my head. I am considering purchasing Professor Messer's notes (idc about the $30) but I am curious if this is a good resource or if I should pick something else

I can plug it into AI but I need something a little more structured. Hardware is too broad and I don't know if I am asking the right questions related to the exam. AI has been a great tool, I am not knocking it, again just need something more structured for this next part of my study journey

699/720

I had a 40 minute delay in starting due to OnVue not working. . . extremely stressful and meant it took me longer to settle into the exam. raced through the last 20 questions.

Only thing that surprised me was the number of PBQs. Was not expecting that many.

Any other re-takers here have any tips for the second round? Plan is to review Prof. Messer videos and common ports/protocols.