Ordered my Test Vouchert.....no turning back now.

I ordered the deluxe package that gives the retest just in case. My plan is to cram and take the exam the first week in March. I have been in the field for a good number of years and know enough about networking and desktop support to do some real damage.

My study materials will be as follows but in no particular order.

Mike Meyers Network+ - His videos a really geared to the beginner but I find this to be really good and am able to pick up on what he is saying really quick.

Professor Messer - I started out with him but like Mike's course better but I will watch his videos of the more difficult sections reinforce that material.

Certmaster Network+ Course - It came with the retest bundle and so I consider it a bonus.

Exam Cram

I plan to study a minimum 6 hours a day.

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Comments

NetworkNewb

Don't worry, you can resell the test voucher if you want to back out still

jk, good luck!

patricknet

Good luck to you. 6 hours a day for a couple weeks I'd say would be a minimum needed. Let me share my experience. I took the N10-006 yesterday and failed with score of 700. I skipped the simulation questions and saved them for after I was done with the multiple choice. By the time I was done with the multiple choice, I only had about 5 minutes left. So I didn't even finish the entire exam. I think I left about four simulation questions unanswered because I ran out of time. Had I answered those, I may have reached the 720 needed to pass. I have a voucher for a re-take, now I am just trying to figure out how I can prevent failing a second time.

I too a four week class which used the testout.com Network pro curriculum. In addition I did all of the Certmaster material. Also, I read the Mike Myers book cover to cover and completed all his practice exams. All of this in addition to countless hours with practice exams found online (about four weeks after the class). I walked in to the test feeling like I was totally prepared. I was blown away at how hard it was.

I don't mean to scare you, just wanted to share my experience to shed some insight.

JKWilliamsSr

Thanks for your insight Patrick. If I may ask....do you have any experience in the IT field? Held any positons? I am curious because I want to see how difficulty it is for people that have actually worked in the field. I have worked in the field with various positions since 2000. Most of my experience is in the Desktop Support area. I have been listening the Mike Meyers videos and have finished a little more than a third of it. Most of the stuff so far I already knew but needed to know the terminology for the exam itself. My plane is to do his course at least twice. Read Exam Cram twice and do the Professor Messer vids once and Certmaster once. I plan on getting the simulator that is offered by Pearson. It is much cheaper than the one offered at Total Sim.

From what I have been reading on the forums the biggest problem for many is the simulation questions. Since have not seen any of them nor know what the content is since I have not taken an exam yet. No one has posted any here because of the license agreement and that makes perfect sense to be honest. Losing a certification you worked so hard for is just wrong IMO.

JKWilliamsSr

out of curiosity does anyone know what the maximum score is?

EDIT: I found the answer....max score is 900

twistedkarma

Good luck to you!

I am just now reaching the last stretch of my studying and I'm still feeling a bit iffy. I've read Mike Meyer's book cover to cover, watched his videos on Lynda.com, watched Professor's Messer's videos, reviewed his study notes, watched Keith Barker's CBTNuggets Network+ series along with his IPv4 and IPv6 courses and will be ending with PearsonVue's CompTIA Network+ N10-006 Hands-on Lab Simulator. It's been close to a three month process for me, but my pace has slowed at certain points due to life obligations.

Your post about the deluxe package had me wondering - Does anyone know if one could buy this package and then sell the retake voucher if you do not need it? (As in, you pass the first time around) As it is describe on CompTIA's website "Voucher number is good for exam and retake of same exam" it would seem as if this is a possibility? Does anyone have a definitive answer?

patricknet

That's a good point. My guess is you will perform better than I did based on your prior job experience. For me, I've been doing Level 2 Service Desk Support for the past 15 years for a large corporation. So I was often doing basic tasks such as dialing into a switch to check connectivity on the ports, basic ping and MAC address stuff, configuring TCP/IP setting on workstations, some cabling, etc. But 99% of my experience is troubleshooting over the phone, not hands-on. For example, I never had to configure a Firewall, or a DHCP server. I never needed to navigate Windows Server OS, never dialed into a router, never configured a WAP (even my own which I have been using for years lol). So yeah, you should be fine.

JKWilliamsSr

Patrick based on what you are saying i think you may be selling yourself a little short. I think you have everything that is needed to pass this exam and getting a 700 is nothing to be ashamed of to be honest. My assumption is that the questions are weighed based on difficulty and I am willing to bet that the simulation questions are weighted more than any of the other questions. I am of the same mindset you are and that is if you answered the other 4 questions you would have done enough to pass.

Couple things come to mind.

1. You only had 5 minutes left when you answered all of the multiple choice questions. So you may have struggled on some areas. If you buckle down on the areas you second guessed yourself on you should be fine.

2. Not enough practice on simulation items. I did this sample item https://certification.comptia.org/modules/performancetesting/#/ and I learned that you cannot go to any areas that is not part of the solution This particular question was easy but it does not tell me if I got it right or not but I am pretty sure I did. When I went back I tried to go to areas that I knew would not lead me to solving the problem and the question would not allow me there. I think a really good thing for you would be to try to do as many simulator type questions to get you more confident with troubleshooting and resolving the issues.

patricknet

Thanks for the thoughts JK. I'll let you know how it goes.

patricknet

Whew! I passed on my second attempt today. Scored 753.

danny069

Congrats patricknet, the N+ is a tough exam, and good luck to you, JKWilliams.