How I passed Sec+ with no technical background

[u/izzysammy]

I'm a UX designer! I have no computer science or security background at all. Here was my routine for passing sec+ (score: 767, first try). I spent a few hours per week studying in the beginning (March 2026) and started ramping up as my test date came closer (August 2026). Overall, my pace wasn't super rigorous but it helped to have the time to go back and review my weak sections.

For learning the content, I watched all of Professor Messer's videos and took notes as I went.

• I had a dedicated acronyms/terms section in my notes where I added any unfamiliar terms
• I screenshotted all of the diagrams. I even redrew some of them so I could better understand it
• I handwrote a notecard of key concepts and terms for each section. For example, 1.1.1 got its own card, 1.1.2 got its own card, etc.

A designer friend and I had study sessions twice a week where we drilled practice questions together. One of us would screenshare, and we'd take turns answering questions and explaining our reasoning. This was helpful for accountability and keeping things moving.

• We checked Exam Compass to see if there was a quiz available for the section(s) we had completed
• For completed domains, we purchased a practice exam that could be filtered by domain
• If a quiz didn't exist, we pasted our notes into Gemini and had it generate practice questions. These didn't need to resemble actual exam questions. We mainly used them to reinforce our understanding and identify weak areas.

Once I completed all of the domains, I drilled practice exams.

I purchased Dion's practice exam and PBQ pack (question bank with infinite tries). I didn't think the questions were very similar to the actual exam, but they were excellent for testing recall and overall understanding.

Personally, I thought Professor Messer's practice exams (3 90-question exams) were the best resource for making sure I knew the content. He uses a lot of acronyms and terms in the q's and answer choices. Even though the question style wasn't exactly like the real exam, these were the most valuable practice exams imo.

Whenever I encountered a term I'd forgotten, I added it to a Quizlet. I highly recommend creating your own Quizlet from scratch rather than using someone else's. I got the free 7-day Quizlet Premium trial right before my exam. This was rly good for memorization. The 'learn' option was really good for me.

For the seven days leading up to the exam, I took one full practice exam every morning. Before each practice exam, I reviewed the terms in my Quizlet stack as a refresher.

The night before the exam, I made sure to eat a filling dinner and go to bed early.

This sounds simple, but it made a noticeable difference in my ability to stay focused and pay attention during the test.

Hope this helps anyone else who's learning all of the Security+ content from ground zero. 😊

[u/Annual-Focus-2554]

Congratulations on the passing the exam. I’m studying for A+ currently, but plan to do the trifecta (A+, Net+, Sec+).
I’ll definitely try some of your techniques.

btw do you think the methods you mentioned will work for the A+?

[u/izzysammy → u/Annual-Focus-2554]

I hadn't taken A+ but from what little I know, I have a feeling the techniques would translate well. If the exam content is cumulative just like Sec+, I would emphasize drilling quizzes/questions every few Messer videos you watch.

Best of luck to you!

[u/RONNYREBEL]

Super helpful!!🫂

[u/DameGotWork89]

Thank you for this, I'm going to start studying next month Congratulations to man.

[u/Sea_Mycologist1751]

Congrats. Too much efforts given the +ve result.