Passed Security+: Study Materials Used

sschwieterman

Hi all,

I wanted to make a topic like this detailing my experience since other similar topics by others were such a huge help to me when I was looking into taking the exam.

I took my CompTIA Security+ exam today and passed with a score of 863.

The materials I used were:

CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: SYO-401 (Not sure this was the best option. The book is fairly thorough, but I see most recommending Darril Gibson's book over this one.)

CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Practice Test Questions (Read in reviews that this includes many of the same practice questions from Darril Gibson's study guide, so it felt like a good supplement since I was not using his study guide.)

CompTIA Security+ Certification Practice Exams, Second Edition (Had practice questions that were varied enough from other sources that I would consider this valuable.)

CompTIA Security+ SY0-401 Exam Prep App (Very useful for acronym testing. Noticed some similar questions to the previous two practice books, but felt the repetition did help solidify the information in my brain.)

CompTIA Security+ Certification Practice Exams (12 free tests that cover a surprising amount of good information for being free. Pretty sure I noticed some duplicate questions from the practice test books here as well.)

For people who are looking to take the exam for the first time, I think it should be noted that I felt pretty confident going into it due to the many practice tests I had taken, but once I got started taking the test I felt I wasn't doing very well and was even worried I was going to fail. Many of the questions will most likely be different from anything you've seen, so make sure you really know the material and haven't just memorized practice test questions.

I'll also be happy to answer any questions as long as they are within the NDA.

SeekBytes

Thank you for sharing your experience.

To be honest, I am just concerned about the SIMs that are always unpredictable. I using Darril Gibson's sims on his website. I hope that nothing weird will come up. The exam is expensive on its own and the sims account for many points.

Kind Regards.

sschwieterman

My best advice would be not to worry about the SIMs more than any other aspect of the test. Not sure how much detail I'm allowed to go into with the SIMs, but the same applies to them as the rest of the questions: just know the material. I know for a fact I got at least 1 SIM incorrect.

SeekBytes

May I ask you how many you had in the exam?

madkaw

I passed my Security+ earlier this week with a score of 828, and I totally agree with your assessment of the test questions. I too was caught off guard by the format and wording of the questions, and I thought I was in trouble. Rather than asking you to regurgitate memorized material, they require you to apply your knowledge to real-world-ish scenarios. But if you just pay attention to the details of the questions and figure out exactly what they are asking, it's really not that bad if you know the material.


The only practice tests I used were the free ones from examcompass.com (because I'm a cheapskate), and I thought they were pretty useful.

SeekBytes

I used Darril Gibson's tests as the last resource. I scored around 91% on the 100 questions exam. On the other two question sets, I scored 98%. There were 420 questions in total. I used them as the last resource to avoid any memorization.

I am taking the SIMs from his website and I hope they will be enough to pass the exam. I am particularly concerned about a type of SIM that requires securing mobile devices and servers in data center. I think it leaves too much space for discretion in my opinion. That's the only SIM I would answer differently from the author.

I am not sure if I will go tomorrow or Monday morning to sit for the exam.

Kind Regards.

sschwieterman

SeekBytes wrote: »

May I ask you how many you had in the exam?

Sorry for the late respoonse. I believe I had 5 SIM questions, but only 2 were really what I would call a critical thinking SIM.

Judging by the scores you said you got on the practice tests, I would say you're more than ready to take the test.

Good luck!

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

ccnpninja

Congrats on the pass!

DAVIS NGUYEN

Congrats!