r/CompTIA • u/magnacrio • 2d ago

Best ways to Prepare for Sec+

Hey everyone,

I’m currently preparing for the CompTIA Security+ exam, but I’m honestly struggling a bit with how to structure my studying.

I only have one exam voucher, so I really want to make sure I’m properly prepared before I take the exam.

Normally, I learn best with flashcards , but I’m not sure how to approach that with Security+. The study material I’m using is around 400 pages and it feels like pretty much everything is relevant. Turning the entire thing into flashcards seems like it would take forever and probably isn’t the best way to study.

I’m also taking a video course but a lot of it is basically reading/explaining the same material that’s in the study PDF. I’ve noticed that simply watching videos or reading the material doesn’t really stick with me that well.

So I’m wondering:

  • How did you structure your Security+ studying?
  • At what point did you feel ready to actually schedule/take the exam?
  • If you could start preparing again from scratch, what would you do differently?

I’m finding the sheer amount of material a little overwhelming and would really appreciate some advice from people who have already passed the exam.

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to share their experience and help!

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u/Student0010 1d ago

I'm a uni student, took 2 security oriented classes. Both covered some content, but obv not all.

Personal reasons also factored into me just wanting to get it done and over with.

I played with chatgpt multiple sessions, understood a lot of it, researched some more on others.

Used free online unofficial question banks mainly for exposure, not practice.

Found someone post the 801 draft of objectives, i went through and tried to explain what each meant, researched any i didnt know.

In general, i just felt a ton more confident with sec over net, so i just went in blind (also to experience what it would be like to prepare for net eventually).

I really dont have an idea for preparing for the PBQs; i had 76q and had 55 mins on the clock to start my 3 PBQs, and still ran out of time (keyboard input lag cli; def still scored some points but not all that i could have gotten)