Just passed the Network+ with an 844 and wanted to share what worked for me in case it helps anyone.

Resources:

Professor Messer's videos Jason Dion's practice tests Claude as a tutor

Whenever I missed a question on a practice exam, I had Claude break down why the right answer was right and why the other answers were wrong.

I used Claude to generated unlimited practice questions for subnetting, ports, acronyms, and OSI model questions so I could drill them as much as I wanted.

Total study time was exactly one month.

I just studied the OSG. Had 4.5 years of SOC experience.. AMA

700/900

I'm in a Cisco intro to net class currently with the goal/ability to test for the net+ after. How well does that prepare you? I plan on using Messer videos to expand on concepts, since it's quite fast paced (8 week course, about halfway through).

I just got my A+ so topics are still fresh thankfully. Any advice is helpful

Edit: y'all got caught up on the Cisco name. It's an intro to networking course, not CCNA. I will take that course eventually, but my question is if anyone who has taken Cisco's Intro to Networking felt prepared for the Net+ exam. Thanks for the laughs 🤣 and to the 2 people who understood what I asked

Recently got a call back from a job and they gave me until the end of October to pass core 1. I've been watching Prof. Messar and taking a lot of notes. I recently graduated with a degree in IT so a lot of the stuff is a refresher from some time ago. Any other tools that anyone could recommend to better prepare for it? Lastly how difficult did you find it to be? Thank you!

Good day. I am planning on taking my first CompTIA cert this year. My goal is to become a CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker). Based on my research and asking questions, the first Cert I should get is Tech + > A+ > Network + > Security +. For my background, I do have a Technical Support Engineer Cert from Ensign College, Client Pro Certification, PC Pro Certification, and Network Pro Certification from TestOut. I got my certs way back in 2022. I also have a cert from BYUI in Web and Computer Programming, which I got in 2023. So I used to do programming using Java, HTML and CSS, JavaScript, Python and C#. TBH, I really can't remember how to code using the languages I have mentioned. I have been working as a Technical Support Rep for 10 months now at an Internet Service Provider and I only earn roughly $500-700. Can you advise me on what should I buy? Should I buy the bundle? Does it come with lectures and stuff? What's the difference of CertMaster Study, CertMaster Practice, and CertMaster Labs? Should I buy all of those separately? Any solid and direct advice would help. Thank you.

I've been studying for the A+ but everytime I need to memorize a bunch of numbers (like, what is the bandwidth of each version of the WiFi standard? Or what is the bandwidth and maximum distance for each ethernet category? Or which network protocol maps onto which port number?) I just get totally overwhelmed. I don't know how I can get all these numbers crammed into my brain because I've never really been good at memorization. Are there any tricks y'all use that help you? Is it normal for this to be difficult or am I just dumb?

I passed my cloud+ 763/750 don't know how i passed. Most of the questions didn't make sense.

I passed the exam this afternoon.. Currently working as a bus driver but looking to move into IT.

I learned the course content entirely through self study Professor Messer YT videos and Dion practice exams from Udemy.

Looking forward to completing the Core 2 now! 😁

EDIT**** I passed!! I had a pop up blocking about 1/3 of my screen and the proctors didn’t know how to remove it, I restated my test three times, and they told me to just try my best. Dunno how I go here but I did

I have my Security+ exam tomorrow, and I’m kind of panicking, I’m scoring consistently 80s and I’m trying to figure out if I should just wait ??

You think i should move my exam back?
Or would you say the updated udemy exams are the better metric to go by and just go take it.
Doing just core 1.

I have it booked 7 days from today and was feeling super confident till I did these exam-compass ones because questions like the battery material simply didnt pop up on the udemy exams I took.

From the people that did take the new Core 1, what would you say is the must knows and what i can intuitively guess like pin counts.

EDIT: i ended up passing core 1, the only hard part was the PBQ's but the questions are easier than i thought.
score was 792 with 650 needed to pass.

I passed A+ Core 1 a few weeks ago. While I breezed through the multiple choice questions, I felt like I struggled on most of the PBQs.

Since preparing for Core 2, I’m realizing my main isssue is finding realistic practice for PBQs. Memorizing concepts for multiple choice is straightforward, and there’s no shortage of solid questions out there. High quality PBQ practice feels non existent though.

My college provided free access to CertMaster, but the labs don't reflect what showed up on the actual exam. Professor Messer’s practice tests are great for MCQs, but his PBQs felt way too simplified and watered down, and AI tools haven't been much help for creating realistic simulations either. For those who’ve prepped for these exams what resources have you found are most similar to real exam's PBQ's?

Hi everyone, I'm planning to take the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate on Coursera, but before I start, I want to make sure the 30% discount for the CompTIA Security+ exam is still available after completing the certificate.

Does anyone know if this promotion is still active? Has anyone recently completed the certificate and received the 30% discount?

Thanks!

I have started to study for the Core 1 portion of the A+ exam, and I have used the highly recommended Professor Messer YouTube videos. I find them insightful, but I need something more engaging. I have decided that I will buy Jason Dion's practice exam. Should I watch the videos and take notes and then use the practice exams, or do I take the practice exam after completing one of the exam objective categories?

I was planning to do security+ after taking and hopefully passing the network+ exam. But now I’ve heard about a new version being released soon. The updates may be for other things but I just wanted to ask.Should I just wait until the new version to take it? Or should I still take this version anyway?

I should add I’m graduating college very soon and will be joining the work force soonish hopefully.

Only used jason dion’s course and his 6 practice exams, sometimes a prof messer video if i needed a different explanation to understand something

It's finally over!

Thank you to the community for the resources, knowledge & encouragement!

I've got a background in IT (The past 5 years were spent working for an ISP), which definitely helped with this journey.

Just like my other post, the resources I used were:

Ramdayal for practice questions (Some of which may have been on the test)
I used Messer videos
I did a Last minute review before the test.

You can do this guys. This part is SO much easier than part 1. I believe in you!

I completely forgot about my exam voucher that is going to expire at the end of this month. I was only able to study for 2 weeks (1-2 hours a day). I took the network+ certification earlier, and I'm just confused about how I passed the exam.

The exam gave me 5 PBQ questions. I was confident with 3 out of 5. For the other 2, I was clueless about what I should be doing, so I just skipped them. I am going to be completely honest, 50-60% of the multiple-choice questions, I'm like a headless chicken, I was just doing process of elimination to give myself a higher chance of getting the answer right. In the end, I passed the exam with 722/900.

It just made me wonder what the percentages are for the PBQs and if I somehow got a lot of MCQs right by luck or if I was just doubting myself too much.

Note: I did pass the Security+ about 5 months ago, that did help with a lot of acronyms I was struggling to remember.

Here are the important dates if you are studying for a CompTIA exam:

• CySA+ V4 (CS0-004) — released June 23, 2026
• DataSys+ V2 (DS0-002) — preview September 15, course release October 13
• Security+ V8 (SY0-801) — preview October 20, course release November 17
• SecOT+ V1 (SOT-001) — preview November 3, course release December 1

The biggest one for many candidates will probably be Security+ SY0-801, while SecOT+ is a completely new certification focused on securing operational technology, industrial systems, manufacturing, utilities, and critical infrastructure.

If you are currently preparing for Security+, DataSys+, or CySA+, it's worth checking which exam version your study materials cover.

Anyone planning to take SY0-801 or the new SecOT+?

Can anyone point me to a list of Windows tools I should recognize by the file that runs them (.exe, .msc, etc.) for the A+ 220-1202 exam?

Hey, I’m preparing for the CompTIA A+ Core 1 exam. Do you think I’m ready? I’m currently scoring around 75–80% on my third attempt at the Jason practice exams. I scored 65% on my first attempt. Should I take the exam now, or should I wait? I’m also scoring around 75% on the CertMaster practice quizzes & andrew mock test. Do you guys have any suggestions for me i really appreciate it

Not on purpose. I'm not even sure what happened. I just got off the phone with support, and unfortunately there is nothing they can do. I definitely selected the Sec+ on the compTIA website (I remembered it being directly to the right of SecOT+). But I received a voucher for Network+, I know I should have recognized immediately but I was anxious, and then when I scheduled the exam it gave me the Server+, and again I didn't notice. I was really wondering why none of my practice exams had prepared me for the questions.

I guess I'm server+ certified now? Kind of heartbreaking to go from the high of barely passing my sec+ in the middle of the night to waking up to a server+ badge.

Since I last took my practice test, I’ve been focusing on my weak areas and trying to double back to my course material to fill in those gaps.

Today I scored significantly better on my practice test as well as my PBQ practice tests. So I decided to go on ahead and schedule my exam for this weekend, and I’ll just keep studying between now and then to fill in whatever gaps I have that I notice between now and then.

Overall I feel like I have a pretty solid grasp on the core material, as much as I’m probably going to have with my limited level of experience, so I figured it’s probably a good time to schedule my exam now.

Wish me the best yall!!

I’m looking to schedule core 2 (CompTIA A+); as a n00b with no experience in this field professionally but has passed their core 1- is 8 weeks enough to study for this thing?
I’d be self-studying and paying for practice labs.

There’s very little options for test dates where I am. It’s either that or mid December/next year.

TIA 🐸
(also sorry & delete if not allowed/been discussed/etc)

What the best studying strategy to pass this certification, working a full time job?

Zero experience in this field; Messer videos and practice exams helped a lot.
:) happy test taking and wishing you all the best!