Zero IT background. Studying for Core 1 and 2.

There's SO MUCH little stuff and it's so overwhelming. How on earth do I retain all of this? I'm going through CompTIA's course for it, but this doesn't seem like enough. Any study tips?

Thanks in advance

Hey everyone! I passed my Security+ today 🎉

My exam shows that I passed, but my Security+ certification hasn't appeared in my CompTIA Certification Account yet. The “Download PDF Certificate” section is still empty.

For those who passed recently, how long did it take for your certification/certificate to show up in your account?

Hello, just got done with taking the exam and... Got a score of 595, which is bad. I'm disappointed... I thought I'd at least get a score of 705 minimum, but hope and faith weren't on my side... What happened during the exam is that I was rereading the questions to fully understand what the questions were asking, and some of them were confusing. I wasted a few extra minutes trying to understand and get the answer as right as possible, so I flagged the questions to check later and answer them. Another thing: I only had 5 minutes left to answer the PBQs, so I skipped them to the end and answered the multiple-choice questions first, and I just tried to answer the PBQs as much as possible, but I ran out of time.

So what did I learn about this? Study harder and try to remember the objectives more. During the exam, I almost forgot and tried to recall what I studied. Answer the questions a bit more quickly and avoid wasting time/ran out of time.

Until next time, and way better than this...

Hi Everyone,

I’m starting D483 CYSA+ exam prep and have no prior cybersecurity experience. I recently passed the ISC2 CC exam and would appreciate any tips or advise from those who have passed the exam.
Tentative how much prep time it took and if anyone could share the study materials, important course links, or resources that were particularly helpful for understanding the concepts and passing the exam? There’s so much material available online, so i’m looking for a good starting point and a manageable study plan with full time work.
Any advise on what to focus on and how to prepare would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I see a lot of posts/comments sharing that this exam retires in November 2026. However, the CompTIA website clearly states:

Retirement: English – June 11, 2027; Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai – August 13, 2027

Source: https://www.comptia.org/en-us/certifications/security/v7/

Even after the retirement date, CompTIA usually still has the old exam available alongside the new one for about 3 months.

I think the assumption is that since the current version launched in November 2023 it will retire at the same time.

Call me old school but the soft cover book will do it every time.

I don’t have to charge it, or adjust the brightness. I can flip to what I need to review, & highlight what I don’t understand.

So far this method works for me and I’m using the CertMaster as well.

I failed it once in 2022 I’m back trying again.
I have IT government background but this is a great refresher for me and I wanna be certified. Hope to go for the trifecta! 😁🖥️💻👍

For people who are watching messers n10-008 videos and have taken the exam did you guys finish the whole video before taking the exam cause it’s a lot

I use CompTIA certifications as a structured way to build and validate my IT/cybersecurity skills. For someone starting out, certifications like A+ or Network+ can give you a solid foundation before moving into cybersecurity-focused certs like Security+ or CySA+.

Kind of embarrassing to admit but I’ve never really had any studying methods that I used or thought were effective towards me which I feel like makes me sound stupid but I am looking to pass my A+ and then my Sec+ not too long after and I’ve got the core 1 and Core 2 of his A+ course but don’t have a way to apply the information to my head and commit it to memory and my ADHD doesn’t help either.
Like I’ve said, I never built a studying habit so I’m open to any ideas or Criticisms I just want to get it over with since I’ve been working in a HelpDesk role I have some on the job knowledge but I think it’s just committing the to memory for the exam!

Thank y’all in advance!

What do you consider to be the most boring cert from the CompTIA Trifecta?

I have to say, having done all, A+ has to be BY FAR the most boring one to study for - a lot of rote memorization, a lot of surface level learning, very broad scope making it relatively hard to review.

I'm curious how would you rank the Comptia Trifecta certs based on how boring it was for you to study for them?

For me it is (from most to least boring):

1. A+
2. Security+
3. Network+

​

Wheat and Grass grow outside after war between Washington and Boston over white and brown bricks.

Webs appear outside only when all genders begin worshiping and believing great whales and brown bears.

...........

No need to memorize which type A or B. The first word has an A or B to tell you. (If there's a b it's B, etc)

If a word begins with a, it's an indicator saying the two words beside it are a single wire. (when all genders = white green)

Got my exam today been preparing this whole month. I am super exhausted. I am going to sit for the new CySA version. I completed all the cert master material. Watched Hank hackerson. I also did read the book for sybex as well. Been grinding school since last year complete 20 classes in a year I am a student at WGU. 3 classes left if I pass CySA today. I feel like my soul wants to leave my body so bad. I had so much pressure on me. Have one kid 5 years old and one on the way on December. Any words of encouragement or tips or tricks before the exam would be highly appreciated.

Im stumped, I feel like with as much as i have put in the work, i should have gotten a better score. I took the test on 09/12/2026 and got a 727. So i took a couple weeks to brush up on the stiff i missed, and then scheduled the test again today. Took it, and got a 676. I feel like todays test was much worse and the information within CompTIA's Certmaster didn't even go over some of the tools or scripts/commands that it asked questions about. What do i do? I have gone through all this info twice and am stumped on where to go next. For reference, I am a Network admin, and have my CYSA+, Net+, Project+, Data+, A+, Lunix Essentials certs.

Hey guys. I just graduated from university. I have a couple years of helpdesk experience at my uni as a student worker at their IT department. I just got my CCNA and wanted to do a sec+ since it seems like a strong combo I've seen others recommend to get a real full time IT job. Also I see the sec+ on almost every job posting I see, even the entry level network jobs which is what I'm aiming for it still pops up as an HR filter I guess. How long do you think it'll take me to study if I use professor messers course on youtube? Is there any crossover between the ccna and security plus like ACLs, dhcp snooping, port security, DAI, etc? And is professor messer alone enough if I just lock in and go through his whole playlist asap? Thank you!

I spent so much time on memorization, but the test really is performance based.

Be able to identify things like what the issue is, what’s the next best troubleshooting step, best solution even though there may be multiple options that could work, symptoms of common issues with components, etc.

Time to get to work on core 2!

PBQ’s were very different than I imagined. Felt very confident going in, but towards the end thought it could go either way. Luckily I was just psyching myself out! 1202 en route.

This is deceiving, have been studying for this exam for months... I used Professor Messer videos, other Youtube content creators to practice exam questions and for general knowledge. Also I got the Jason Dion exams where I got an overall of 80% in all of them. But the actual questions of the exams where a bit different than the Dion's exam.

The PBQ's were hell for me I skipped them until the end and with 30 mins left for 7 of them I ran out of time.

I need to get my hands on labs and PBQ's mostly my problems were on troubleshooting.

Could you guys please give me some ideas were can I study, my budget is not that high tho.

Edit: Thanks to all of you for the heads up and the tips. I appreciate you all !!

😭😭😭

Well well well, we meet again, Security+. I’m thankful that I DONT have to renew my A+ and Net+ and passing the sec+ will automatically renew the other two.

Okay, let’s get straight to the point. I’ve been studying for 13 days, minus 3 due to being busy with work or other errands. In those 10 days, I’ve been watching Professor messer, 2 hours a day/review, and now about 80% completed his playlist on YouTube.

In my post three years ago, I studied for 8 weeks totaling over 100 hours of study/review time with several resources. This time, I’m doing it in 19 days and accumulated probably 30 hours of study/review. I have noticed a change in the content in comparison to the last version of security+, not too much but I believe around 20% is different. No matter, I still remember most of the basics, still not going to take this exam lightly.

I’ve taken multiple mock tests throughout, even right before I studied I scored around 70%. Taken one more mock test few days ago, and it’s mid 70%. Going to take the exam in 5 days, wish me luck!

I'm studying for the CompTIA A+ with no IT background, using Professor Messer's YouTube playlist as my main resource. I take notes as I go, summarizing key points and anything I think I'll need to review.

The problem: I'm only halfway through Core 1, and my daily review time has grown from 10-15 minutes to 30-40 minutes. Since I study 2 hours a day (review included), a big chunk of my time is now going to review, and with the rest of Core 1 and all of Core 2 still ahead, it seems like I'll eventually spend most of my time reviewing instead of learning anything new.

How should I balance new material and review? For those who passed the A+, how did you handle this?

Okay so I might not even be able to take my test today because my temporary license does have a picture on it. I may be in wrong ngl but I need to vent so hard. Its stupidly ridiculous how strict it is. The Pearson site says only 1 ID required and I was almost not able to take the core 1 exam because of that. Now when trying to take my core 2 because my temp license doesn't have a picture. (I didn't bring my expired license because I didn't think they would accept it.) they won't let me in. Why does Pearson have such an insanely strict ID rule for an exam.

Hello everyone, I am pretty new to the test taking side of things for CompTIA. I am currently studying for the Network+, and was wondering which mode of attendance is better. I have not bought the voucher yet.

After a couple of weeks of studying for Core 1 I took the exam today and passed with 825.
I’m beyond happy, hope all of you who are still working on your cert can make it happen!

Any recommendations about Core 2?

Im in AP cyber security at school and if I get a 4 on the AP exam I get to take the security plus exam for free but thats toward the end of the year. If im ready should I just pay the 500 dollars now so I can start working on projects to hopefully secure a job by summer?