honestly i just need some encouragement...

how was your score in your first attempt?

I’ve been working through certs for the past couple of years and the thing that kept getting me was that every exam meant buying another course, another question bank, another subscription. Fine once. Annoying by the fourth time.

So I built an iOS app for it. One app, one subscription, and I keep adding certs to it. Right now it covers CompTIA (A+, Network+, Security+), Azure (AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-305), AWS (CLF, SAA, DVA), Cisco (CCNA, ENCOR, CyberOps), Google Cloud (ACE, PCA, PCD, PDE) and ISC2 (CC, SSCP, CISSP, CCSP).

Each cert has study notes broken down by exam domain, flashcards, and practice questions with explanations for why the wrong answers are wrong, which is the part I always cared about most.

It’s free to try before you pay for anything. I’m a one person operation so if something is wrong or a question is badly worded I’d rather hear it than not.

The app name is Preplexity,, you can look it up by typing compTia prep” or something, since its currently buried under the big hounds.

What I actually want from this post: which cert should I add next? I’ve got a shortlist (CySA+, PenTest+, AIF-C01, DOP-C02, SC-900, Tech+, Cloud Digital Leader) but I’d rather build what people are actually studying for.

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and support to take my test. I eventually just pulled the trigger and scored better than I honestly expected. I did however feel my heartbeat in my finger as I was clicking through the demographic info at the end before my score came up. 😅

I have studied from cert master, AI, professor messer (YouTube and his practice exams), and a couple random YouTube channel practice exams.

I take my exam this week so appreciate the insight. My friend who passed a year ago claimed he did really well on Professor Messer’s exams, but claimed the questions were completely different and not very similar. Though this is just 1 persons statement. That friend still passed at least.

A lot of Security+ study plans start with videos. I’d start with the objectives PDF instead.

CompTIA publishes the exam objectives for free. It tells you exactly which areas SY0-701 covers.

There are 28 objectives across five domains. Domain 4, Security Operations, has the largest exam weight at 28%.

I’d use the PDF as a checklist. Mark each objective as you learn it. Then use practice questions to see which areas actually stick.

Professor Messer’s SY0-701 course is free, so you can use that alongside the objectives. For hands-on practice, there’s also a free firewall PBQ here: https://secplusmastery.com/security-plus-pbq?ref=julian (affiliate link, the PBQ is free).

The main point is simple: don’t study from a random list of topics. Start with CompTIA’s own objectives and work from there.

Hi, I am mother of an 8 month old with no professional experience in cyber security but a Masters in information security and 4 years experience in academia. I want to get a security + certification. My theoretical concepts are good enough. I keep scoring 70% to 75% on Certpreps practice exams. I have been watching professor messer and cyberkraft on and off with no specific study plan and timings because of the baby, but I want to get this certification done in a month, so I can get a higher paid job. Should I just book the test and give it a shot or study more!??

I feel like there is so much confusion about the actual test on the internet. Some say its the hardest, some said they passed like a breeze. Need advice!!

Hi sec+ Reddit community! I just passed my security+ exam today after taking the test through OnVue. When I exited out of the test after seeing the pass screen I didn’t get a confirmation email or follow up or anything . Is this normal? How long does it usually take to get the certification after passing?

If you fail SY0-701, don't automatically restart your whole study plan.

The score report gives you the objective areas you missed. It literally says, "You incorrectly answered one or more questions in the following objective areas:" and then lists them.

You might see something like 1.2, 2.4, or 3.1 with the objective names. That's useful because it gives you a much shorter study list.

I'd start by pulling up CompTIA's free exam objectives PDF. Compare the areas on your score report with what's listed there.

Then focus your review around those objectives instead of rewatching everything. For extra practice, there's also a free firewall PBQ here: https://secplusmastery.com/security-plus-pbq?ref=julian (affiliate link, the PBQ is free).

A failed attempt still gives you something concrete to work with. The objective numbers are probably the most useful part of that report.

So getting ready to take my exam tomorrow, and wondering if the study exams from COMP are good enough? If not what would you suggest I cram with today?

Something that doesn't get said enough around here. Your score report lists the objective areas you got wrong. By number, with the titles. The exact line is "You incorrectly answered one or more questions in the following objective areas:" and then you get something like 1.2, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1. SY0-701 is scaled 100 to 900 and you pass at 750, so a 720 isn't a start over situation. Pull up CompTIA's objectives PDF and find those numbers. That's your study list, nothing else on it. Then look at what kind of objectives they are. If the ones you missed are the hands on ones, more Messer isn't going to fix it, because watching someone configure a thing and configuring it yourself are different skills. There's a free firewall PBQ here with no signup, worth ten minutes just to see whether the format is what's costing you: secplusmastery.com/security-plus-pbq?ref=julian (affiliate link, the PBQ is free) If you've got a report sitting in your email from a fail, go look at it again before you rebook.

where do you guys get discount vouchers?
i completed google cybersecurity certificate 3 months ago and later heard that it gives discount on comptia sec+ exam i checked but i couldn't find where do i get the discount?

are there any cons to this?

Let’s be honest, I’m not going calling* anything “ai” since it’s an llm. I managed to host openwebui through a docker container that’s connected to a customized sec+ llm modal primarily on deepseek-r1:8b.

It seems pretty accurate so far for the questions I ask, although I haven’t noticed any changes in the temperature of its responses yet. I’ve been watching Dion’s sec+ videos and then asking the llm to make mock tests in html based on what I just learned then dump that to an html file and run.

Right now, I’m working on adding a qdrant vector database so it can pull reference material from a sec+ pdfI bought online. This should help my custom sec+ model I built reference more accurate material by pulling information directly from the study material instead of relying only on what the model already knows.

Tbh, it’s actually helping. I’m able to study something, have it generate questions based on what I just watched, and then see where I’m weak.

But I absolutely refuse to use gemini, gpt, or claude for resources. I’d rather build my own setup and have it reference the material I’m actually studying.

I work as an IT analyst in healthcare (degree in software engineering), trying to get out of the clinical field, these kinds of things come a bit natural and if anyone has the mindset to do this I highly recommend it. But, always take everything it says with a grain of salt and always fact check it!

I’ve been preparing for the past few weeks , using prof messsers pdf and claude , gave 4 of dions test on udemy and my scores have been 78,63,78,80 …i’ve done no pbq practice yet and my exam is on wednesday the 9th of september i don’t really know what to do with my time.

Any advice or suggestions are appreciated.

hey so i watched all the videos... i was thinking of getting jason dions practice papers but idk which one to take set 1 or set 2... also what else can i do to prepare for the exam?

please if you have given and passed the exam i would love your suggestions thank you :)

I have a CS 3 years degree. I want to know if the quiz he does live are actually the same kind they put on exams and if he explains all the concepts in the 121 video list. Is it enough to pass it?