Just came back from Sec+

DoubleNNs

Passed with an 843/900. Feels kinda awesome to get that out of the way.

Didn't expect the Sec+ material to be so easy. Or maybe it was just Darril Gibson's great book that made it all seem so easy, I can't tell. Took 4 weeks to prepare for the exam. However, I feel as if I could have cut that in half actually and still got almost as good of a score if I took LESS notes and just relied on Gibson's book more.

There were a handful of questions on the exam w/ wording that completely irked me. W/ some of them I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what they were even trying to ask me. I just tried to find a key word in the question that I could link up to an answer. (KDC = Kerberos. Ignore all other words lol.)

Just updated my cert list on the forum. Gonna update the resume tomorrow probably and start firing it off while looking to see if the inclusion might land me my first IT job.
Now off to the A+ 70x (skipped it, although now I'm regretting that decision lol).

movingzachb

That sounds like a great score. I just bought the Darril Gipson study book and I have about that amount of time (one month) to study.

I just had a couple of questions. Did you complete any type of online/college course for Network Fundamentals that is designed to prepare you for the Sec+ exam? Or did you just mainly use the book to study? Any suggestions on how to go through the book would be helpful.

I have completed the Networking Fundamentals online class through Testout and gone through a couple of the practice exams as well. Trying to get an idea of how much I know for the exam.

DoubleNNs

I didn't take any Network Fundamentals courses, but I did do self-study with Michael Meyer's Net+ Book and pass my Network+ Cert Exam. That Kinda of got me through a lot of the topics on Sec+ actually.

Going through the book is pretty simple - just read it. It's an amazing resource and is very straight-forward.

Take the assessment test in the beginning of the book and note your score. Then read through the chapters while taking notes. I joted things down on separate sheets of paper. After every chapter, take the accompanying quiz. Then when you finish the book, go back and take the assessment test AGAIN. See how your score changed. Also note any questions you got wrong both pre and post read.

Review your notes (or just your weak areas) and take the end of book practice exam. I'm sure by this point you'll do extremely well on it. I got a 93/100 on it by then. If you get a high enough score, you're def ready for the exam. Review your weak areas a bit more and take the exam.

Also, another great resource of note is prefessormessor.com. Live chatroom (not much study help, but another great IT community to be apart of) and free videos on Sec+. Easy enough to watch a 2-3 videos a day/night.


Also for any practice quiz you take, make sure you not only know what the right answer is by WHY it is the right answer. Also try to make sure you know WHY all the other choices are incorrect.

Concerned Water

Congrats!!!

Ivanjam

@DoubleNNs - congrats on passing the Sec+

@movingzachb, it's always better to take the Net+ before the Sec+ but that is not absolutely necessary.

Darril

Congratulations. Great score and good to hear the book helped.

Good luck on the A+. You'll find that it will be a lot easier for two reasons. First you understand how CompTIA exams works and second, you've built up a lot of more advanced knowledge that is considered basic for the A+ cert.

@movingzachb. A simple way to go through the book is from beginning to end. Start with the preassessment to see your current level of knowledge and then go through each of the chapters one by one. Ensure you do the questions at the end of each chapter and as DoubleNNs mentions, ensure you know why the incorrect answers are incorrect just as much as why the correct answers are correct. Finish the with the post assessment test and brush up on anything that isn't clear.

Good luck.

biggish

Hi Darril, I will be doing the sec+ in the next 4-5 weeks. Can I get your book, here in the UK?

DoubleNNs

I'm not Darril but:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-301/dp/1463762364/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353700146&sr=8-2

biggish

Thanks for that