Sec+ FAIL!! Any advice?

First post, but I've looked at this site a lot during my studying for Sec+. I took the test last Friday and failed with a 714. I'm brand new to the IT world. Only 7 months into my new position and I desperately need this certification. So, I'm definitely planning on taking the test again SOON. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me. Or anything in particular that helped anyone pass?

Here's what I was using to study:

- Darril Gibson's book
- TestOut (something a professor helped me with)
- Online practice tests

Thanks in advance for any info.

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Comments

markulous

Check out Professor Messer's videos. Look at CompTIA's objectives for this test and make sure your comfortable with them.

You should have gotten a print out of where you scored. What do they say? Post the weak parts here and study up on those too.

Were you stumped by the sims? How are you on port numbers?

Leykel

I'll post the weak points once I get home.

I didn't have any problem with ports, but YES, I was definitely stumped by the sims.

cyberguypr

Sounds like you rushed into the test. How long did you study for it?

DoubleNNs

I second markulous's suggestions. Go thru the exam objectives and make sure you can explain each point to yourself WITHOUT looking at any notes. Additionally, check out professor messer's videos for additional ingo.

Also, whenever doing any practice exams make sure you go thru every answer. Know why each correct answer is correct and why each wrong answer is wrong.

Good luck on your next attempt!

Leykel

Not sure what you would consider rushing, but I spent a good 3 months studying daily.

And thanks for the advice. I will definitely do all mentioned.

Just not sure what to do about those sims...

joe979

Darril Gibson has sims and some new questions here. It's worth joining, IMO.

Get Certified Get Ahead | Get Certified Get Ahead Premium Content

jaywalker

I've gotta admit that one sim question was a grey area for me. I asked myself, "was this covered in the book?" but I can only blame myself for not covering everything. 1 sim question on my exam malfunctioned (couldn't do anything) but I still passed even though I got a zero on that sim.

What helped me was darril's simulated practice questions. Some are available on his site for free but at this point, I'd recommend you fork up the $9 for his premium content versus putting up $200+ again and not feeling confident about passing the exam.

Stay determined and you will ace it on your second try!

karl88

I'm taking the SY0-004 exam in a few days. Anything you guys recommend me to know or to focus on?

snunez889

I used the same material you used to pass mine. I spent the week before the exam going over any practice exams I can find online and any study guides. Went over every chapter quiz in the book.

I used this too. I didn't read any of the sections, just jumped to the quick review and answered the questions. If I didn't know something, then I would go and read as much as I could on the subject.

Comptia Security+ Study Guide - Proprofs

Take your time on the exam and read everything carefully, sometime the answer is right in front of you.

jaywalker

The rule of thumb I used for the S+ is that everything should be understood, minus the well-known port numbers and acronyms which should be memorized. You can use a program such as Anki for that. If you can explain the rayburn box analogy to a friend, grandma or anybody else interested in listening, you probably understand the rayburn box analogy. The same applies to anything else you're trying to understand.

teonmoore

Question, Im planning on taking the test and have been using the Get Certified, Get Ahead guide with the practice test on techexams.

Now that you failed your first test will you have to pay the $293 again to retest? This is my first certification and im extremely interested in the InfoSec field but im worried about failing and having to save up again to retest.

nachodba

@Tenonmoore, if you are unsure that you will pass, spend a little extra and get the deluxe bundle - Save 49% on the CompTIA Security+ Deluxe Bundle

It's only an extra 100 dollars (368.00, valued at over 700) and you get the Cert Master training.

McNinja

Leykel wrote: »

First post, but I've looked at this site a lot during my studying for Sec+. I took the test last Friday and failed with a 714. I'm brand new to the IT world. Only 7 months into my new position and I desperately need this certification. So, I'm definitely planning on taking the test again SOON. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me. Or anything in particular that helped anyone pass?

Here's what I was using to study:

- Darril Gibson's book
- TestOut (something a professor helped me with)
- Online practice tests

Thanks in advance for any info.

It just comes down to how well you can retain the information. I used the Sybex SY0-401 book (and I had read through half of the 301 book prior) and only that for the exam.

The best course of action is to review the sheet they gave you telling you which objectives you missed, and read those chapters again. Do the questions at the end of the chapters as well.

Lexcorp6

take as many practice tests as you can.

Souljacker

I second that. I usually read through whatever book I have first, and then get my hands on every practice question I can find. Learning why the right answers are right and the wrong answers are wrong will help you on the test. You won't see the same questions (because obviously you will not be cheating with ****), but you WILL see similarities and you WILL be able to pick out the answer based on remembering that one question that explained xyz topic.

The other thing that I like to do is get my hands on a PDF version of the text, and run it through DSpeech into MP3 files. It takes about a hour to edit an entire textbook so that it's smoothly readable by the renderer, but once it's done you can listen to the entire book in the car, in your sleep, wherever. I tend to fall asleep to the textbooks and loop it overnight. Sometimes I'll just *know* an answer is the right one without really knowing *how* I know it - I attribute that to the nightly overdose of textbook. DSpeech is a great tool and the voices that come with Win7\8 boxes aren't entirely terrible. If you hate them, the program can also accept other voices but you will have to search for them. Zira and David work fine for me.

Good luck on your next attempt!

DoubleNNs

I will be looking into DSpeech to do something similar.

[Deleted User]

Gotta get some practice tests. Your almost there. Review over your exam score sheet and focus on those weak areas. Check out Darril Gibson's Security+ Android app or consider his practice questions ebook(if taking the SY0-301).