Passed but not happy...

Passed but I'm not happy with my score, I only got a 781...

I primarily used Darril Gibson's book, but felt like his practice questions were nothing like the actual exam questions. I saw terms and acronyms I never heard of..

I felt pretty confident that I knew my stuff. I even kinda stopped studying for a couple days before today, then crammed all day today. I got about 90% on all the practice questions from DG's book on the first try. Just from that alone I thought I should at least score a 800+.

If I had a chance to do this again, I would definitely use an additional source of study/practice questions.

I guess I should be happy I passed and don't have to spend another $210+ to take it again, but I was really hoping for a better score. My confidence took a little hit as I plan to take harder MS and Cisco certs next year. I even thought of specializing in Security if I scored high, but I don't know now...

DG's book alone is enough to just pass, but I was aiming for a higher score...

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erpadmin

This last post I wrote also applies here:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/483082-post7.html

Be friggin happy that you passed! With that logic, I should be pissed I missed three-five questions and should have gotten a 900. Dude, you get the same cert and wallet card that I got. There isn't one person on this board that used Darril Gibson's book and failed.

Be happy!

Congratulations and welcome to the club!!

twodogs62

Be happy you passed. There is a lot of material covered.

Remember certification is just the beginning to learning. The learning never stops.

DoubleD

badboyeee wrote: »

Passed but I'm not happy with my score, I only got a 781...

QUOTE]

what you got the same score as me thats a great score i was over the moon with that
and so should you be

badboyeee

Thanks guys. I actually feel better now, the fact that I used a single source and only spent $38 (book + kindle version), should make me proud that I passed.

I took my time reading the book (3 weeks). I think I could've read in 1 week, reviewed for another week, and still pass it with the same result.

I see other posts now talking about the wording of the exam. It's my fault thinking that DG's book would be the "magical" book that will get me close to that perfect score . For some reason I thought the practice questions we're gonna be similar..

Thanks again everyone for the help and support.

in3d

badboyeee wrote: »

Thanks guys. I actually feel better now, the fact that I used a single source and only spent $38 (book + kindle version), should make me proud that I passed.

I took my time reading the book (3 weeks). I think I could've read in 1 week, reviewed for another week, and still pass it with the same result.

I see other posts now talking about the wording of the exam. It's my fault thinking that DG's book would be the "magical" book that will get me close to that perfect score . For some reason I thought the practice questions we're gonna be similar..

Thanks again everyone for the help and support.

Yes congrats on passing your test!!! Trust me I know how you felt. Honestly, that test was wierd. I flagged alot of questions and started doubting myself in then end then i was just like ugh whatever. I had alot of sources and it was still just...... wierd lol. I almost want to think that its about applying logic to situations and not so much giving an answer you thought was sure to match the question (if that makes any sense lol).

erpadmin

badboyeee wrote: »

I see other posts now talking about the wording of the exam. It's my fault thinking that DG's book would be the "magical" book that will get me close to that perfect score .

Find one post, just one, on this board that said Darril, by himself, would get you close to a perfect score? You will be hard pressed to find that one...even I never stated that. All I said was that you would pass. Whether it's with a 750 or a 900.

BTW, if I had just used Darril's book...I may/may not have gotten an 870 still...all I know is that many of my questions and concepts were very familiar because of his book. In addition to DG's book, folks had other things going for them...multiple sources, experience, good reading comprehension (for this exam, that was needed!)...

Your 781 (or any passed score) is a good one. The book did what it needed to do...help you pass the exam!

TheSuperRuski

They are about to roll out the new Security+ exam. You could have gotten a whole bunch of beta questions. But the fact of the matter is... you passed and you dont have to worry about it anymore lol Congrats.

EDIT: I used Darrils book as my PRIMARY source but not my only one, so i can attest to the fact that it definitely did what i needed it to do. I came in with a close second to my comrade above me with an 860. The book got me pass 750, and all the other variables brought me the rest of the way.

Paperlantern

TheSuperRuski wrote: »

They are about to roll out the new Security+ exam. You could have gotten a whole bunch of beta questions. But the fact of the matter is... you passed and you dont have to worry about it anymore lol Congrats.

EDIT: I used Darrils book as my PRIMARY source but not my only one, so i can attest to the fact that it definitely did what i needed it to do. I came in with a close second to my comrade above me with an 860. The book got me pass 750, and all the other variables brought me the rest of the way.

Speaking of the new test, Ive wondered about betas from CompTIA. Do they give you the cert for passing the beta? or because its beta, you get a pass/fail SCORE, and perhaps a sheet that says so, but no actual cert?

Regardless id still like to see the objectives and sit for a beta of the new sec+

veritas_libertas

Paperlantern wrote: »

Speaking of the new test, Ive wondered about betas from CompTIA. Do they give you the cert for passing the beta? or because its beta, you get a pass/fail SCORE, and perhaps a sheet that says so, but no actual cert?

Regardless id still like to see the objectives and sit for a beta of the new sec+

You get the certification. A beta is a way for CompTIA to get beta testers and in return you get to take the exam for free.

in3d

erpadmin wrote: »

Find one post, just one, on this board that said Darril, by himself, would get you close to a perfect score? You will be hard pressed to find that one...even I never stated that. All I said was that you would pass. Whether it's with a 750 or a 900.

BTW, if I had just used Darril's book...I may/may not have gotten an 870 still...all I know is that many of my questions and concepts were very familiar because of his book. In addition to DG's book, folks had other things going for them...multiple sources, experience, good reading comprehension (for this exam, that was needed!)...

Your 781 (or any passed score) is a good one. The book did what it needed to do...help you pass the exam!

Not to sound forward but you sound kind of hostile (im saying this from reading your previous post and the one after). I get what your saying however. I really think that it depends on the person honestly and thier desire to learn this subject. The material is important as well. Someone out there could have just one source (the book in question) and get a perfect score because they liked to tinker around and troubleshoot while others may need multiple. I think that he has already gotten over the fact that he did not get the score that he wanted just by reading that other people had the same difficulty.

erpadmin

in3d wrote: »

Not to sound forward but you sound kind of hostile (im saying this from reading your previous post and the one after). I get what your saying however. I really think that it depends on the person honestly and thier desire to learn this subject. The material is important as well. Someone out there could have just one source (the book in question) and get a perfect score because they liked to tinker around and troubleshoot while others may need multiple. I think that he has already gotten over the fact that he did not get the score that he wanted just by reading that other people had the same difficulty.

I am sorry if you feel that way...the Interwebs make it real difficult to determine tone. However, I will tell you that I didn't mean to sound hostile at all.

However, what does kind of irk me a bit (and this isn't necessarily the case of the OP) is that a bunch of folks want to know how to pass the exam. Mostly everyone will state the book that will get you the pass. The person will then pass, but then be upset that he didn't get 900 (or whatever score that would have prevented him/her from jumping off a cliff). What goes on in my mind is "Dude, you didn't ask how to get 900, you asked what should be used to pass!"

What I try to do is state that, for the benefit of those who are coming after us, is that at the end of the day, it's not going to matter if you got 900 or 750. No one will ever ask you what score you got in an interview; they just want to know if you passed.

No question, if Information Security is the field you want to get into, then yeah, you should get multiple sources for study. Darril Gibson's book is a decent start, but that book's primary purpose is to help you pass the Security+ exam based on current objectives. I have also stated that while other books may help you pass the exam, Darril's book is by far the best book written for any certification. I wish he would have written a Project+ guide....I might have broken 800 had he done so. LMAO.

So, in short, my intent was not to sound hostile. I'm from Jersey...we have a tendency of "keeping it real" and sometimes that "realness" may smart a bit. But malace/hostility was never my intent.

Paperlantern

veritas_libertas wrote: »

You get the certification. A beta is a way for CompTIA to get beta testers and in return you get to take the exam for free.

That is sweet. Any idea how to get into something like that? I'm going home now, but I will look at the CompTIA webbie while I eat dinner and see if I can find out.

Paperlantern

I cannot find anything on beta exams anywhere on the CompTIA website.

badboyeee

Prior to the exam, I was aiming for a 850 (not a 900), but realistically a 825 is what I was guessing I would get based on how confident I was with the material. A lot of people here got around 800-840 just from using DG's book with couple weeks of study. I would've been okay with an 800, happy with an 825, or jumping for joy with an 850. I don't know, it was just a personal goal, that I was wanting to knock this one out of the park since it will probably be my last CompTIA exam. A good score would've carried my confidence onto harder MS & Cisco exams.

Don't get me wrong, I loved DG's book, so easy to read and digest. I'd recommend it to anyone in a heart beat.

The Network+ had a few weird questions, but this one had more. I'm not exactly sure how I could've prepared for that, now that I think about it. I had the All-In-One Sec+ book that I borrowed from the library but didn't read. Should I have bought TrainSignal or Nugget videos? Or Transcender practice questions? I would have spent at least a couple more hundred bucks and 2+ weeks more of studying. With all that extra time and money spent, would it be worth getting a higher score? I'm thinking nope! I doubt if I had did all that, it would have raised my score by a little anyway. So I am happy with my score and that I passed.

Just a little worried tho, does MS and Cisco certs have these "weirdly worded" questions as well?? I'm thinking I'm not the greatest at handling those types of questions...

Oh yeah need to update my sig, and say TRIFECTA BABY!

Hypntick

Congrats on the pass! Even though some of us only used Darril's book to pass the test, some of us also have prior experience as well. Even though my last job wasn't security related I did deal with a lot of the networking related concepts in his book.

As someone else has said in another thread "What do you call the guy with the lowest passing score in med school? Doctor" So don't let your confidence take a hit, you at least know the concepts well enough to pass a fairly difficult test, that does count for a lot.

So which are you gonna start on next?

Edit: I haven't taken a MS exam yet, but from the practice tests i've looked at there are some really really weirdly worded questions with a lot of useless info in them. So take from that what you will.

badboyeee

Hypntick wrote: »

Congrats on the pass! Even though some of us only used Darril's book to pass the test, some of us also have prior experience as well. Even though my last job wasn't security related I did deal with a lot of the networking related concepts in his book.

As someone else has said in another thread "What do you call the guy with the lowest passing score in med school? Doctor" So don't let your confidence take a hit, you at least know the concepts well enough to pass a fairly difficult test, that does count for a lot.

So which are you gonna start on next?

Edit: I haven't taken a MS exam yet, but from the practice tests i've looked at there are some really really weirdly worded questions with a lot of useless info in them. So take from that what you will.

Thanks! I do have some experience, half of my FT job is being the jack-of-all trades IT guy at a very small business. So I don't really specialize in security, only the basics. I certainly learned new things and already knew some concepts that I can relate to.

In terms of what certification is next? Still thinking about it... I want to start CCNA (haven't decided on the two or one exam route, probably will do CCENT first).

Also want to start with MS but can't figure out what track, I was set on starting with 70-680 but just found out I don't need it for MCITP:SA. So now I'm thinking about doing MCSA since most of my work experience is XP and can use my CompTIA certs as an elective, but I don't want to be outdated either...

Then there's CWTS, I do have an interest with wireless networking but I haven't seen many jobs requiring this cert.

While I figure out what certifications to do, I am wanting to set up a home lab so I can learn more OS's like Windows 7 / 2008, Linux, and even Mac OS X if possible. If I enjoy Linux I might want to do a cert for that, I see a good number of jobs for it. Then later I can add some Cisco networking hardware in my lab.

I also started building a new PC build last summer but didn't finish. Was originally going to replace my HTPC/gaming rig but now will set this up as my main VM system. Still got some researching to do on how I should should set everything up, I am pretty new to virtualization.

I would appreciate it if anyone can provide some advice on all this

Hypntick

badboyeee wrote: »

I also started building a new PC build last summer but didn't finish. Was originally going to replace my HTPC/gaming rig but now will set this up as my main VM system. Still got some researching to do on how I should should set everything up, I am pretty new to virtualization.

I would appreciate it if anyone can provide some advice on all this

This I can somewhat help with. http://www.techexams.net/forums/mcts-mcitp-windows-2008-general/61266-general-mcitp-sa-ea-build.html
This is just something I was kinda tossing around. As far as the VM software, i'm using VMWare workstation for all mine right now, it's super easy to set up and configure.

Now the general track advice, it all depends on where you want to be, or what is more used in your current environment if you're happy there. I'm currently working on MCITP:SA even though I have no experience with admin type work and currently not employed to use it. I'm hoping that getting that will at least put me into some type of Jr. level admin role. After that I do plan to get the 70-680, if only because the job that I am currently up for is planning to migrate to 7 soon, or so I hear, perhaps I can use it as a stepping stone to a higher level spot there as well.

I can't speak for the Linux stuff as i'm a total newbie to that. That's the only one though that I think you could get away without any other monetary investment in lab gear. I know a lot of people can get buy with CCNA using packet tracer, but i'm more of a hands on guy and want the gear to play with as well.

No matter what you do, good luck with it.

badboyeee

Hypntick wrote: »

This I can somewhat help with. http://www.techexams.net/forums/mcts-mcitp-windows-2008-general/61266-general-mcitp-sa-ea-build.html
This is just something I was kinda tossing around. As far as the VM software, i'm using VMWare workstation for all mine right now, it's super easy to set up and configure.

Now the general track advice, it all depends on where you want to be, or what is more used in your current environment if you're happy there. I'm currently working on MCITP:SA even though I have no experience with admin type work and currently not employed to use it. I'm hoping that getting that will at least put me into some type of Jr. level admin role. After that I do plan to get the 70-680, if only because the job that I am currently up for is planning to migrate to 7 soon, or so I hear, perhaps I can use it as a stepping stone to a higher level spot there as well.

I can't speak for the Linux stuff as i'm a total newbie to that. That's the only one though that I think you could get away without any other monetary investment in lab gear. I know a lot of people can get buy with CCNA using packet tracer, but i'm more of a hands on guy and want the gear to play with as well.

No matter what you do, good luck with it.

Thanks for the info Hypntick.

I got an AMD Phenom II X2 555BE, hoping I can unlock to quad core. Also 4gigs of DDR3, hopefully that's enough but I see now that RAM has dropped in price by a lot in the past month! Still don't have a hard drive, trying to see if a single SSD or dual 500gb SATA drives will be better to run VMs. I'll read your thread in a bit..

Since I still can't decide what MS cert/track, I'll do CCENT first since Network+ is still pretty fresh in my mind. Hopefully I can do that in 3-4 months. Then do a couple MS certs, then CCNA (ICDN2) before year end.

I keep changing my mind about MS. The other day I was like, okay I'll just settle for MCITP:EDA7. Yesterday I was like, okay I'll do MCSA and then upgrade to MCITP:SA later. ahhhh