How hard is this test really?

Techguru365

I am not trying to get anyone to break any nondisclosure rules, but how hard is this test? I was feeling confident studying, I watched the professor messer videos, and been reading Darril Gibson's book. Was planning on scheduling it for this week, but after doing a few practice test and only getting around 650, I have become very unsure of myself. I guess one of my fear factor is blowing $300.

Deathmage

I use Darril's book, his blog, his audio files, flash card, mobile phone app and his review questions plus performance questions and they helped me pretty well on the exam...

I did score a 890 after all

I did study religiously 4 hours a day during the week and 15+ hours on weekends for 3 week straight, before that I read the book over 2 months.

lsud00d

"Hard" is a subjective rating, however compared to most certifications it is on the "easy" side of things. It is generally a rote vocab/memorization exam that doesn't get very deep into concepts.

If you took the practice tests at the end of each chapter in Darril's book and those scores came out high, you should be good.

TechGuru80

The difficulty is relative to how much experience and your grasp of the material.

lsud00d

Techguru365

TechGuru80

Y'all had me confused for a second!

hannism

I didn't think it was hard, but there are different versions of the test out there. I thought mine was a walk in the park.

Two of my coworkers thought they had failed the test, but they passed. One said it was the hardest test he had ever taken.

Another guy in my unit who isn't even technically savvy took the exam and passed.

I only know one person who took the test who failed. He said the book he used didn't prepare him for the exam. After he failed, he watched the Professor Messer videos and bought a different certification book, and passed the retest.

The Security+ isn't a technical test, it's mostly theory. You will need to know the ports of the technologies you are using such as SCP, SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS, etc, etc. Don't just know the ports, know if they use TCP, UDP or both.

Based on what you wrote, I would probably postpone the test for two weeks. If you don't feel ready, don't take it.

Deathmage

hannism wrote: »

I didn't think it was hard, but there are different versions of the test out there. I thought mine was a walk in the park.

Two of my coworkers thought they had failed the test, but they passed. One said it was the hardest test he had ever taken.

Another guy in my unit who isn't even technically savvy took the exam and passed.

I only know one person who took the test who failed. He said the book he used didn't prepare him for the exam. After he failed, he watched the Professor Messer videos and bought a different certification book, and passed the retest.

The Security+ isn't a technical test, it's mostly theory. You will need to know the ports of the technologies you are using such as SCP, SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS, etc, etc. Don't just know the ports, know if they use TCP, UDP or both.

Based on what you wrote, I would probably postpone the test for two weeks. If you don't feel ready, don't take it.

the test I just took on Tuesday only had one instance of ports and that was in the performance section. one was in firewall setup, the other was in security of a layout and one was the virus/phising type of drag n drops. it really wasn't hard and the allotted time was just enough for me to finish all 74 questions with 42 minutes to spare and I went back and re-read everyone. I caught a few of my mistakes and corrected them. The wording of the questions can trick you...

what annoying for me is waiting for Comptia to update my exam info in there portal! - I want to print out my certificate on photo paper and frame it!

Techguru365

Thanks for the input guys. I think what freaked me out is that, I thought the price was cheaper, ever since I was about to schedule it and saw that its almost $300 I froze. i am presently not working, so it has been playing on my mind that i cant really afford to blow that kinda money. I think that thought process is hindering me alot more than a lack of knowledge on my part

Techguru365

so it not 100 questions? I thought I read somewhere it consisted of 100 questions and 90 mins to complete

scaredoftests

If you study (and not memorize) and truly understand the material (plus not get thrown off on how the test questions are asked), it's a rather easy test.

donw35

The practice test questions are not the same as the exam questions, if you are only gettng 650 you need to focus on the area's you are weak in, take your time and keep reading. make notes of area's that you are weak in and get other sources to improve your knowledge ie. Google and youtube, lots of good resources.

markulous

For those that took it through WGU, was the material enough? I've got the Exam Cram by Hausman and the Labsim as my main resources. I also found Darril's blog. I am just starting to study this week. Since I got a 50% on the practice exam, I know I've got a bit of work to do. I'm assuming I can probably take the test in about 4 weeks.

Chitownjedi

For a Comptia exam, it has medium Comptia difficulty, as A+ probably is harder to achieve as its breadth is more for a fresh starter than the breadth of the Security+. Compared to other exams, its a cake walk. Darril's book covers it, and any additional resources after that are icing. If you take a month that would be more than enough. It only took me a week to read Darril's book, but depending on how fast you get through content, and your memory/recall, it shouldn't be too difficult.

NovaHax

Compared to other security certs...its easy. But security+ can be difficult if you are going in with no security related work experience. However, if you are good at multiple choice tests and security common sense (you'd be surprised how many people don't have this)...you can probably do pretty well, even without extensive studying.

TheChameleon

The exam proctor I talked to said that most people fail the Security+. They indicated that some even "cry" after likely because in order to keep their job they needed to pass.

I think there are a couple different groups I assume here (could be more).

1. People with little to no experience in IT Security, Networking, LAN/Desktop Support, Application Development or support.
2. People with a few years of experience in IT but relatively low depth of knowledge in their domain and security.
3. People with years of advanced experience with some security and possible mid-level or higher within one or more or all domains.

If you are in the first two groups, then it can be challenging. Even if you have years of experience, there is a fair amount of book learning since most people will have 50-70% and need to learn or re-learn 30-50% or essential how CompTIA wants you to respond. Given the fact that an exam proctor says that most fail, I assume that means 70% of those taking the exam likely have little to no experience and likely did not put the study effort in.

Keep going, not sure what your source is for the score? Previous failed exam attempt?

crimsonavenger

TheChameleon wrote: »

The exam proctor I talked to said that most people fail the Security+. They indicated that some even "cry" after likely because in order to keep their job they needed to pass.

Probably the Federal employees looking for an easy Security clearance certification, not really those in IT.

To the OP, not really that hard really, just make sure to use solid practice tests throughout your studying to engage any areas you might be weak in. Most of my practice final exams were a little bit harder than the real exam, scoring mostly in the 80 percentile overall, but in the test I passed with flying colors.

markulous wrote: »

For those that took it through WGU, was the material enough? I've got the Exam Cram by Hausman and the Labsim as my main resources. I also found Darril's blog. I am just starting to study this week. Since I got a 50% on the practice exam, I know I've got a bit of work to do. I'm assuming I can probably take the test in about 4 weeks.

TBH the WGU resources were okay, the Labsim assessment test was good because it was actually more demanding than the SYO-301 exam ended up being unfortunately without the Simulation questions though. But as far as study I'd recommend D. Gibson's book or the Sybex over what is offered through the course. Labsim for study isn't horrible, but I would use it as supplemental, as always Ucertify is a joke (getting their own answers wrong.)

markulous

crimsonavenger wrote: »

TBH the WGU resources were okay, the Labsim assessment test was good because it was actually more demanding than the SYO-301 exam ended up being unfortunately without the Simulation questions though. But as far as study I'd recommend D. Gibson's book or the Sybex over what is offered through the course. Labsim for study isn't horrible, but I would use it as supplemental, as always Ucertify is a joke (getting their own answers wrong.)

I'm going through the domain tests now. If I can pass those and get a passing score on the practice exam, my mentor will issue the voucher. I was going to go through that other resource afterwards. It'll probably take a week or two to get in somewhere. This has been pretty challenging for me as the only networking experience I have is with my home network.

scaredoftests

I had 74 questions. I failed the first time, and then I bought Daril's book. Study and understand all concepts. I got a 820.

devils_haircut

To me, the Security+ was more about vocabulary and memorizing all the different acronyms than anything else. I didn't really feel like it tests your understanding of how anything works, just that you can name off what everything is. I'm no IT security expert by any means, but I am one of those people that lives and breathes IT, even after I come home from doing IT work all day. I guess it depends on the person.

The cutoff score is a bit higher than most CompTIA exams, if I remember right. That would affect the difficulty.

Rivergoat

I breezed through A+, although don't think that didn't mean a lot of studying and practice tests prior to taking the real thing.

Now I'm on to Sec+. I've watched Professor Messer's videos, and bought both Darril's book and the Exam Cram, plus Darril's kindle version practice tests and his on-line practice tests. I'm going through it as I did with A+. It's not just memorizing an answer; it really helps when the answer is explained so I can see where I misinterpreted, and actually learn something.

Don't recall my exact A+ scores, but somewhere around 850. Hoping to be ready for Sec+ soon, and only wish to take it once