Passed Sec + 501!! Thoughts and Inputs
heezyhuynh404
Registered Users Posts: 23 ■■■□□□□□□□
I had to make this post because everyone on this forum helped me so much! Today I passed my Sec+ 501 on the first try. A little background and current situation. I am a deployed soldier currently overseas in the middle east. I work over 60 hours a week and most of my studying happens at night after duty hours. I work out here in Iraq as a IMO (information management officer) where I do basic IT troubleshooting and help desk related work. I work with IT contractors who have taught me some things that related very much to the exam, like working with Active Directory, granting network folder permissions, principles of least privilege, AUP, setting up computers for baselining, ETC. I'm also a college student majoring in Information Technology where my concentration is Software Development. Now, what I used and do to prepare for the exam.
1. Darril Gibson Get Ahead and Get Certified, read and did all pre-exam, chapter exams, and post exams, and read all definitions
2. Bought Darril Gibson Security + App for IOS
3. Watched all Professor Messer Videos
4. Watched 60% of Mike Myers Security + course on Udemy
5. Watched all videos on FedVTE on a Security + course taught at Carnegie Mellon University (Only for Military)
6. Completed MeasureUp exams (Free for Military)
7. Used power point lecture slides covering each objective that I have obtained from soldiers who went to a Sec+ course in Kuwait
8. Listened to Darril Gibson Audio files
9. TestEngine simulator tool obtained by my IT Professor
10. Bunch of practice exams found on google
11. Bought Messer notes
While taking the exam, I honestly felt like I was dominating and killing the exam because I felt so over prepared, I honestly never passed the MeasureUp exam, I scored about 75% on the Gibson exams, every practice exam I found online and other resource I passed with about 70-75%. Me personally, I just cannot remember EVERYTHING, but I remember enough to use process of elimination. Again, I truly felt like I was dominating and killing the exam but I ended up scoring a 764/900 , I barely passed and I was shocked. The exam had 85 questions 5 performance based questions and many scenario based questions. I never got a question about ports, or anything relating to software development topics, nothing about hot, cold, warm sites, nothing on stateless and stateful firewalls, the exam was so heavily focused on Cryptography and PKI. Know the difference between RADIUS and TACAS+, understand EAP,EAP-FAST, EAP-TLS, etc. I started studying in Sept 2018 , finished the Gibson book in about 3 weeks and that laid down my foundation, honestly, if you remember everything in the Gibson book, you will pass this exam, the book literally covers everything I mean EVERYTHING! Good luck to everyone!
1. Darril Gibson Get Ahead and Get Certified, read and did all pre-exam, chapter exams, and post exams, and read all definitions
2. Bought Darril Gibson Security + App for IOS
3. Watched all Professor Messer Videos
4. Watched 60% of Mike Myers Security + course on Udemy
5. Watched all videos on FedVTE on a Security + course taught at Carnegie Mellon University (Only for Military)
6. Completed MeasureUp exams (Free for Military)
7. Used power point lecture slides covering each objective that I have obtained from soldiers who went to a Sec+ course in Kuwait
8. Listened to Darril Gibson Audio files
9. TestEngine simulator tool obtained by my IT Professor
10. Bunch of practice exams found on google
11. Bought Messer notes
While taking the exam, I honestly felt like I was dominating and killing the exam because I felt so over prepared, I honestly never passed the MeasureUp exam, I scored about 75% on the Gibson exams, every practice exam I found online and other resource I passed with about 70-75%. Me personally, I just cannot remember EVERYTHING, but I remember enough to use process of elimination. Again, I truly felt like I was dominating and killing the exam but I ended up scoring a 764/900 , I barely passed and I was shocked. The exam had 85 questions 5 performance based questions and many scenario based questions. I never got a question about ports, or anything relating to software development topics, nothing about hot, cold, warm sites, nothing on stateless and stateful firewalls, the exam was so heavily focused on Cryptography and PKI. Know the difference between RADIUS and TACAS+, understand EAP,EAP-FAST, EAP-TLS, etc. I started studying in Sept 2018 , finished the Gibson book in about 3 weeks and that laid down my foundation, honestly, if you remember everything in the Gibson book, you will pass this exam, the book literally covers everything I mean EVERYTHING! Good luck to everyone!
Comments
Currently Studying: MCSE Server 2016
Goals 2019 - Network+ , MCSA Server2016
Do you recommend finishing one mode of instruction first? because i’m going through all of them, different sections at a time.
i checked with the signal U but they don’t offer the training course to contractors.
When it comes to Professor Messer. I don't try to listen to them all. I try to listen to the ones that I don't have a firm grasp on during my commute. I repeat that until it's a waste of time.
I personally can't stand just studying "one topic" or one source so I jump around from who I'm getting it from. Maybe being more focuses as it's suggested here would be faster, but I think it's like exercising. Keep changing how it's coming at you or your muscles will get efficient at what they're doing without getting as strong. That said. I do stick with whichever source I'm studying hitting something and again until I have it down. Often Professor Messer is used to review whatever I went over. Same with Kaplan.
I'm speaking just as someone who just passed the first half of A+, but I'm in a security+ class so I have to spend some time in it, even if Net+ is my primary study at this time.
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