Current status of Network+ Exam : Unbearably hard now with new update
Hey everyone. Just voicing my concerns and giving some feedback about the new Network+ Exam.
So currently I am Security+ certified and Linux+ certified (passed on the first try on Mar. 7th and Mar. 21st 2016 respectively) but have failed the Network+ Exam on two attempts (670 first and 640 the second). I find this exam to be unbearably hard. If you've taken any CompTIA Exam's, you know the standard format and how difficult the questions can be. The Network+ I find is again, much worse. I have found the new N10-006 to be the hardest exam I have ever taken, and I study very hard. To try and give some context, I find a lot of CompTIA questions to be roughly around maybe 1-2 layers deep, i.e. "What port does this service use?" and "What service would you disable at the firewall to stop intruders from pinging the inside of your network, etc." Roughly easy questions. The new questions I feel are "3-5 layers" deep if that makes any sense. Very involved, complex questions with lots of moving parts. You misread one word, one phrase, and it all falls apart. The simulations are much easier than the multiple choice, and the multiple choice are paragraph questions that a lot of times leave you guessing with "choose the BEST answer."
To give a little backdrop, I've been doing Net+, Sec+ and Linux+ bootcamps through a training vendor in the area called Infotec that has a high pass rate and I do not fault my instructors. After failing the Net+ exam the first time, I decided to audit the class two more times just to absorb as much information as I could since the exam objectives covered so much content. Then, after failing the Net+ exam a 2nd time and just being beyond surprised at how difficult the exam was, I decided to email the director of my school, and this is what she said. And I quote:
"Thank you so much for taking the time to express your frustration and experience with the training. Though disturbing, this feedback is vital. The results Infotec and other training vendors have been seeing from the Network+ exam is startling. We are observing individuals taking the Network+ exam - failing, and then taking the CCNA ICND1/ICND2 exam and passing. A person that can pass both ICND1 and ICND2 should certainly be able to pass a Network+ exam. We, as you, and many in the market feel this exam should be re-evaluated. When I read the below, I immediately forwarded this to our Regional CompTIA Manager. I have seen the work in your IKA and have spoken to the trainers. It is evident your dedication, drive and passion to this goal are in place. I have been leading training companies for over 25 years and have never experienced such concern in the market as I have seen with the Network+ exam. Please don’t get discouraged or question your ability . . .you are not alone."
So there you go. I think her response speaks enough. And just another little sidenote, I have no professional IT experience which obviously would have helped, and I've been told by some others that to really gain the knowledge I need to pass the exam, I'd need to work in a networking environment, the catch-22 being that in order to work in said networking environment, you need the Net+ cert. The irony.
Hope this helps somehow, and perhaps gives other people an idea of what they're getting into. I'm not really sure how to prepare at this point other than to keep studying and going deeper. The director of my school said she was having one of the instructors attend a CompTIA Net+ conference call with some of the folks at CompTIA, and then gather results on how to proceed from there.
