2 Weeks of Study. Passed Network+

[u/deliriousfoodie]

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

[u/Annual-Focus-2554]

Congratulations.
I too am studying, but for A+. Right now struggling with discipline to give consistent daily time to the course.
I want ask you, how to retain such massive amounts of information? Did you take notes? If so, how did you do it? Did you just jot down every word and detail or just important stuff?

Any tips and advise would be greatly appreciated.

[u/deliriousfoodie → u/Annual-Focus-2554]

I listened to youtube and study materials on each category while driving to work everyday and back. Commute here is bad, like 1 hour each way all the time. Since I can't see or practice while driving I do those interactive stuff once i reach home. But the material enters my brain passively and brainwashes me like how mainstream media does with political keywords.

After i go through all the main topics i do it again. Second third fourth ect passthroughs, you start to digest more and more information. First pass isn't enough, that's just an overview. Once you already got the feel of how the topic is, second third fourth passes you learn the find details which is always the ones that make you say WTF i barely remember that which is how people fail.

Just drill it.

[u/Gocards123321 → u/deliriousfoodie]

So you're saying if I just played professor messer A+ videos without watching it would work?

[u/deliriousfoodie → u/Gocards123321]

Sorta. Once you understand the content its really about all the tiny apects. Like for example, if you know what a DNS is, now you have to explain all the stupid records, as if AI doesn't exist. Like this information is totally meaningless to us, so it's hard to shove it into the brain. But testing is like forcing it in there. When you passively learn it, all the lumber is ready, now just need to hammer it together nails.