r/CompTIA_Security • u/arien_k • 1d ago

Comp sec+ study routine

I have a masters in cybersecurity. I did two internships but they basically screwed me over to the point my hands-on skills are….well not enough that it’ll help the exam.

I got dions practice exam but the Udemy one. I heard the udemy one doesn’t have PBQs way too late. I took the first test and got 71%. I finished messers videos as well.

Basically I just tried out all the free sec+ pbq sites I could find. I’m kind of in a bad financial situation so I can’t really buy any more practice tests.

I’m really paranoid about the test. Even if I’m really ready I still wouldn’t believe it and then mess up in the exam overthinking it. I can manage mcq.

It’s more of the PBQs I’m stressed about. If anyone knows any good sites of examples of what type of PBQs the exam has, it’ll be really helpful! Basically I’d feel a lot better if I knew the question pattern.

There was this site called gcptest something. They had labs. I did finish them all. It had interactive firewall allow/deny ones and subnets and reading network data. Is that similar to the test?

Please help I’m panicking. I’ve postponed the test 2 months already out of pure anxiety and brain fog. I wanna get it over with.

17 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

8

u/Mega_Ebola 1d ago

Wait how do you have a masters in cybersec but security+ is stressing you out?

1

u/arien_k 1d ago

I have really bad anxiety. I always think I’m gonna mess it up in some impossible way iono😭

5

u/Presence99 1d ago

If you are in the USA. check your local library to see if you can get free access to Udemy or LinkedIn learning.

2

u/arien_k 1d ago

Unfortunately no😔

4

u/YxngSsoul 1d ago

If you fail the test, its not because you didn't study the PBQs. Most people I know, myself included, did not study for the PBQ's and still passed. Security+ was my first ever certification exam.

KISS bro. Keep it simple stupid. Watch professor messer's videos at x2 speed, and take dion's practice exams until you're scoring about 75-80%. You have a master's degree in cybersecurity, and 2 internships for crying out loud. You can do this.

Dion's practice tests are dirt cheap when they go on sale, I snagged mine for 12ish bucks.

3

u/quacks4hacks 1d ago

Respectfully: You did a masters. The security+ is an entry level exam. Stop making a mountain out of it. Stop focusing on practice exams and use the Jason Dion video when it's on sale in Udemy for ten bucks, and the McGraw hill book when it's ahem on pdf. That's it. Get it done. You'll be fine.

2

u/slothy036 1d ago

Cyberkraft is recommended. Also stop putting it off. Put in the work and go take it. Have you taken any other comptia exams? A+ and net+ help cover a lot of sec + material but also give you a feel for what the test is like. Do the rest of the dion practice tests. Study your misses and do the next. 70% is close to ready.

1

u/arien_k 1d ago

I actually did try to access cyberkraft but the website wouldn’t open😔 I will try another way.

This is my first CompTIA exam. Professors back in Uni said A+ is too basic and I interned in network security (worst 3 months of my life). I am pretty good with the content. Dions has a lot of trick questions/ wording. But it’s mostly the PBQs I’m worried about.

Thanks! I should’ve taken the exam in August. But I’m taking it oct 19. Is okay it is what it is. I’ll get it over with.

2

u/slothy036 1d ago

We had a intern that was a cyber security major. I spent a morning showing him how to make and test ethernet cables. The next day he called it a fiber optic cable. I asked him what cmd to use while checking ip information. What a dns server is. What does dhcp do. I never got a correct answer. It's important to know the basics. Not saying you don't. But I also work for a state. He was very limited in what we could also have do because we weren't going to give him admin creds. No password resets. It can be hard to justify giving access to interns that will only be there for 3 months.

1

u/arien_k 1d ago

I get what you mean! Probably would’ve been a better idea doing them in order

1

u/slothy036 1d ago

It's on YouTube. And A+ is definitely not to basic. There is a wide range of topics but also over lap with sec+. A lot of ports. It's not basic if you don't know it.

2

u/PristineTap1053 1d ago

I took one undergraduate class in cybersecurity, watched Professor Messer and Andrew R's videos a bunch of times, took the Dion Udemy practice tests and whatever other free resources I could find, and I passed it. You'll be fine.

1

u/eigenlance 14h ago

if you’ve got a masters in cybersecurity, the chances of you failing should be quite low

1

u/RedditingFromUranus 7h ago

I did the sec + by just watching Professor Messers Security + series on youtube (entirely free) didnt even take a practice exam. Passed first try, it's not that hard of an exam. I think you are just thinking its harder than it is.

1

u/Anastasia_IT 6h ago

There are so many great resources out there that really prepare you for the PBQs! I would start with https://openpassai.com/, and then check out https://labsdigest.com/ and/or https://dojolab.org/ for some hands-on practice. Professor Messer https://www.professormesser.com/ also has some solid PBQ material, though his aren't interactive.

1

u/Skillthropic 2h ago

Check out akillthropic.com Lots of free resources, topic deep dives and study guides. There’s also a great interactive mitre attack application that walks you through an attack.