Need to pass SY0401 before OCT 1, best advice?

compguy0203

I have No IT background, just a couple degrees from College. PM mentioned we could use the Cert on our contract, offer me $8k if I can attain security+ certification within a month. My job duties wont change at all. Any way I can get this thing knocked out by then?

clarson

seems like Oct 1 is more like 3 weeks. And, how much time is he giving you off/how many days off can you take. Your going to need to study about 40 hrs/week. And, that test is filled with 3 letter acronyms. You don't know what they mean and how they apply to security, your never going to pass.
How much studying can you do at work? I don't think it can be done. But, study your ass off and maybe you will pass. 8k vs failing a 320 exam. That is a nice risk/reward. of course, after 1 week of studying, you will know if you can do it

mirving171

Please check out Prof. Messer on Youtube, his courses are free, and I personally have used his resources to help me pass the A+ and Net+ exams.

Here is the link:

https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-401/sy0-401-course-index/

Best of luck to you!

marylandguy

Did u get use any book yet? . I recommend getting Daryl Gibson get certified get ahead online study versions and order book at the same time by the same author. Follow this regiment. 1. Read the chapters/ Do all test at least 3 times.Do all the PBQs. Try to get 90 after doing all the chapters. Then find all the free practices that are on this forum and do them for a change. Try to shoot for at 5 hours a day of study if you don,t have time off. Sometime, It is better to short deadline than long one. Read my previous post I literally had about 2-3 weeks of study to pass sec+ exam. Good luck!

marylandguy

Also, find a quiet study area and turn up some Pink Floyd albums as background music. I promise, u will have good concentration and memory retention��

yoba222

In your situation I'd take 1-2 weeks off work and sign up for a boot camp asap. I agree you'll need the 40 hours/week. This is the worst way to study for a cert--kind of like crash dieting but unless you take drastic measures you're unlikely to pass any other way that quickly considering your background.

[Deleted User]

Honestly, doing a 2-3k bootcamp and getting a 8k bonus doesn't seem to have a good return.
Recommendations:
Purchase either Darril Gibson Security+ book or ExamCram book
Do some practice exam questions either through Darril Gibson, Transcender or Boson
Take your exam.
Done!

ITSpectre

You can do it!!!!

Get the book
Watch professer Messer
and download the app Sec+ practice questions and study study study!!!!

scaredoftests

Darril Gibson's book and his online resources!!!!

Khohezion

Darril Gibsons Online Resource, I crammed for 3 weeks and passed the test.

NetworkingStudent

Darril's book and Measure up practice exam. Consistently get 90% right on all of the Measure up questions, and you should be ready for the test.

marylandguy

you need to tell us if u pass or not.

Cisco Inferno

imagine going to sleep with Darril repeating those "remember this" sections of his book and waking up ready to pass.

neogeo828

I think everyone will agree that Gibson's book is a must. I also highly recommend Darril Gibson's android app. It goes for about $8 and it's well worth it IMO. There are several hundred flashcards and great practice questions. If you can answer every single flash card I think you can pass the exam. Also check out Mike Meyer's practice exam on Udemy for $10. I found some questions in there that Gibson hadn't really covered well and it pushed me to google a few more things that help me pass the exam. Good luck.

nisti2

Wow 3 weeks you can do it!!!

Study 4-5 hours daily! Memorize the ports, All the agreements (SLA,BA,MOU, BCP), Know the wireless attack, Attacks, encryption, understand how Certificates work.

Andd best of luck!!

swizzlefoot

Operation Macgyver
-
Heya!

This isn't best practice imo ,but since you're in a very unique situation, to acquire just the cert could benefit your professional career, even if you don't have interest in going into IT security. If you have sound memorization skills (acronyms ,protocols, encryption, common attacks/troubleshooting methods) you should be fine. That, in itself, is still A LOT to jam in such a short time, but it's possible if you want it. I don't know if you'll retain the info after passing down the line (if you don't use it), but this is what I would suggest if you're serious given the short time frame.

1.get a CBT nuggets account (there's a 22hr course, if you can watch them all, you're golden)

2. now, a less time-consuming and good resource (but not in as much depth) would be https://www.professormesser.com (BUY HIS PDF. It's a hidden gem with visuals/simple language).

3)you should prob do all these practice exams (CompTIA Security+ Certification Practice Test 1 (Exam SY0-401)) but REALIZE, the real exam is not so basic and clear cut. In fact, there are a few simulations, and the multiple choice questions on the sec+ exam aren't generic, somewhat "situational". I cannot disclose the exact context under code of ethics, but if you're still hungry, after taking those exams (test 1-12, malware exams, port quiz)

4)take some more prac. exams (http://www.gocertify.com/security-quizzes/testout-security-syo-401-practice-exam)

5)if you bought CBT nuggets (or a month for 99$, go thru their tests, they are more of what you may see with explanations)

6)each night, take the PM pdf, review and memorize acronyms and protocols

7)finally, go thru the compTIA sec+ outline, and review each "module" and submodule and ask yourself, am I comfortable, "good enough", or needs work, highlight, review.

repeat step 6 before exam night, sleep early, wake up early, breakfast, hydrate, a brisk jog/or something to get the blood flowing and shower. No more reviewing. arrive early. empty your pockets, login, skip all the simulations, attempt multichoice first, mark ones you aren’t confident for later review. use ur time wisely, don't dwell, mark for review, and come back. to use common sense/the rest of the exam as it might spark an answer. come back, do the simulations. try them, do the best on the ones u feel confident in, and try the others, and leave nothing blank . spend each minute after you've finished to review before submitting...and hopefully friend you pass, and you get a raise that would go down in computer "macgyver" history. haha best of luck!