Security+ Boot Camp

pointdex10

I just graduated in December from college with a degree in Computer Science with a concentration IT and Security. I was thinking about enrolling in InfoSec boot camp for Security+. Is this a good idea even though I have no job experience, but I do have some network and security knowledge from school?

tedjames

You don't need to go to a Security+ boot camp. Unless someone else like an employer is paying for it, it's almost a waste of time. Some of these boot camps cost $3000 or more. Given your degree, likely you know most or all of what is covered in the exam. My suggestion: go to the CompTIA site and download the exam objectives. Go over those in detail and see if you're lacking in any particular topic. The best study guide is Darril Gibson's Get Certified Get Ahead (SYO-401). Buy it and work through that. That costs about $40 or so. Darril's book follows the course objectives very closely. Then subscribe to his web site for the practice questions including simulations. I think that costs $30 per month (it's been awhile). Make sure you know all of the common port numbers, RAID, OSI model, etc. www.cybrary.it has an excellent FREE course as does Professor Messer (look for him on YouTube or his site). No need to spend thousands of dollars on training for this certification. It's good to have; it's a good stepping stone cert. But the ROI is not great enough to justify the expense of a boot camp. Save that money for higher level cert boot camps.