Oppinion - UPDATED

dredlord

As I have read that this test is difficult im a bit perplexed as to why the collective opinion is such. As im finding the material quite easy to say the least. Does having experience in the field (had 2 security moduleas at university / work in noc /obsessed on security field) effect my perception of the difficult of the exam or is the sybex book not a good study resource??

Non-Profit Techie

I did not find the exam very difficult. Because people say it is hard, i really studied hard. When I saw the questions on the exam i was suprised people found them it hard. If you read a study guide or two you shouldnt have a problem. It is really basic but i had fun learning the material.

dredlord

Could be the CEH material / hacking books I read are effecting my oppinion. Was a bit worried since my oppinion contradicts the general oppinion if you know what I mean.

gojericho0

I thought the test wasn't that hard either, but I had a lot of experience with many of the objectives. I think the hardest thing about it is that there are a lot of breadth. The good thing though is there is not a lot of depth.

I think CEH material will be fine, but I'd also get the Syngress book to make sure you have all the exam material as well. Using a combination of the two you will have no problem

LarryDaMan

I found the material pretty easy, but it was the test itself that increased the difficulty level. The score needed to pass is high in comparison to most other CompTIA tests. Myself and many others thought the questions/answers were written poorly. If you grasp the material and can figure out what the questions are asking for, you'll be okay.

dredlord

AAA that changes everything that sucks

supertechCETma

A lot of people approach this exam as though it were just another CompTIA entry level exam. They tend to underestimate the material. It is mostly a concepts and best practices exam. It does involve some higher level concepts that a noob might not have been exposed to.

The exam does suffer from a reputation for poorly worded questions. This has been addressed for the most part. Like any exam, it pays to read the question for understanding before you try and answer it.

If you are experienced in security and don't limit yourself to a single resource for study, you should not have a difficult time with this exam.

undomiel

I found it to be the most difficult exam I've taken. I did put some hard study into it from multiple online resources though mostly from the tech notes here. I leaned a lot on experience as well though, but I wouldn't say I have vast security experience at all. What was most difficulty for me personally was best practices questions and managerial questions i.e. chain of custody, since I had really no experience with that at all. I still pulled off a decent score. I would also say it is the exam I put the most study into. The material isn't necessarily difficult, but I do think the questions are very poorly worded at times. People are probably intimidated by unfamiliarity with the material combined with the higher bar for passing. Plus there are probably people who underestimate the material as just another CompTIA exam. I can't really compare it to CEH or CISSP material as I've never really studied for it. I do know that study for this exam helped me in the 293 and 298 exams though.

Megadeth4168

Hard to say... It was a challenge, but it didn't seem as hard as some people were making it out to be. The problem with that statement though, is that I studied harder and longer for this exam than I have for any other exam. So it should have seemed a bit easier than some exams.

motogpman

I agree, I think that it was the overall amount of info that is covered, but the questions made no sense and having to actually slow down and read the questions as if you were 6 years old did not help. I ws expecting more in depth questions to be honest.

I think that, overall, had the test been written more professionaly/accuratly, the "IT" community would lend it more credibility. I think that with that in mind, if someone passes this test it is a good sign that you were able to grasp the technology side. I have been in IT for years and studied hard for this test, even learned a fair amount of info as well. As someone pointed out, use several sources for study and DO NOT go in over confident, you may just be humbled. Good luck with it.

Tech109

I agree with supertechCETma - the exam objectives cover quite a lot of material, and there is a lot to memorize, in addition to the concepts. I studied for quite a while for this, because I was not doing well in certain areas on the various practice exams.

Once I took the exam, I was probably more anxious than I needed to be. I found the exam challenging (much more than Network+) although I passed on my first attempt with a pretty high score.

I had some entry-level security experience, and previous exposure to much of the concepts, which definitely helped. I would not suggest this for someone with no real-world enterprise network experience. On the other hand, A+, Network+ can be tackled by anyone in tech school or doing self-training to prepare for a career in IT.

dredlord

Exam scheduled for 24th Sept I fear im overconfident with the exam since I work in the government NOC I have seen many a security feature. Add two distinctions in Uni for computer forensics and Security into the mix. This is not helping a bit in keeping a realistic overview. Man the exam is EXPENSIVE. Has anyone used the Boson exmas?? are they good practice.

RoboNerd

Hey guys,

When I took the Security+ I noticed two main areas of difficulty for me. The wording and grammar drove me nuts in many cases, and they are my first gripe. Some might opine that it's to trip up the unstudied louts -- but frankly I think there's no excuse for it. English is enough of a horribly complex language as it is; it certainly does not require further mangling, especially considering how many candidates might be secondary English speakers.

The second gripe is a matter of practical versus theoretical, but then, many certifications suffer from this. I personally feel that the Security+ is a little behind on best practices, but then, perhaps the October refresh will address this.