Planning to take Security+ soon

Schluep

I am planning to sit for the Security+ exam soon and have a few questions. I just finished taking the CISSP exam to become an Associate of (ISC)2 and am awaiting results. In the meantime I think I will make this the next certification that I go for.

The only two resources I plan to use are the Sybex book that I picked up and the Technotes. I feel petty confident about this one after learning what I did for the CISSP exam and a lot of the areas appear to overlap. I also plan to use the practice questions on the CD included with the Sybex book to practice up. Are there any other resources I should be looking at?

Which exam center is better to take the exam? I have never sat for an exam with either Pearson VUE or Thomsom Prometric, though they both seem to be very large nationwide including in my state of Pennsylvania. Is there a preference as to which one is better or doesn't it matter based on your opinons?

msnelgrove

Interesting that you are thinking of taking Security+ after taking CISSP! You should have no problems with the Security+ as it is more of an introductory to security. I take my exams through VUE and haven't had any complaints about the whole process.

linuxgnubee

I have to agree with MSNelgrove, Schluep, after sitting for the CISSP, the Security+ exam should be no problem and I hazard to guess almost anticlimatic!!

I sat for and passed the Security+ exam this past Friday, which is considered an entry level exam and de facto preparation for the CISSP -- as far as information security goes. Hey, who am I, though? It's up to you.

I, too, used the Sybex book ( deluxe ed. ) and thought it was a great reference and CD. I cross-referenced it with The Security+ Exam Guide by Crayton, though and am glad I did.

I took the exam through PearsonVUE only because they were affiliated with the particular testing site that I like to use here in MA. No complaints.

Anywho, good luck to you whatever you decide. Having CISSP under your belt would be "the keys to the security kingdom" and maybe you would be better served setting your sights on CISA/CISM, but what the heck -- get your Security+ too!

Good luck!

Schluep

I took the CISSP exam (even though I will become an Associate of (ISC)2 until I gather the experience) primarily to learn the material and get an overview of InfoSec since I am planning to switch from being a DBA to working as a Security Consultant. The company I am planning to work for does a lot of penetration testing and has some contracts for ISPs, so I definitely will be going the Juniper route and practicing my pen testings skills a lot. I plan to meet with their IT guy next week.

All of the other certs I take will be with the priority to learn first, and verify what I learned second. There is a lot of information I have been reading about, learning, and practicing that I do not even plan to get certified in. Security+ is something I am taking for a very different reason. It gives me a Security certification by name at this point (since I am not a CISSP until I meet the experience requirements even if I pass). In particular, it can count toward removing a year from the CISSP work experience requirement and also if I go the MCSE track later it will be helpful. Also, the fact that Security+ doesn't need to be maintained is a nice bonus.

I might even plan to take Security+ this weekend if I score well enough on the Sybex practice tests. I only started looking at the Security+ material briefly today to see what was involved and almost all of it so far was covered in my preparation for the CISSP exam so I don't expect it to be very difficult. I will probably read through the book this week and see if anything is unfamiliar to me so I can study that area. Just paging through the table of contents and exam requirements I feel pretty comfortable with everything mentioned.

If VUE has worked well for both of you I will probably look at what they have available here in Pittsburgh then. I am guessing I won't have a problem getting one scheduled soon.