Need to pass SY0401 before OCT 1, best advice?

compguy0203compguy0203 Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
I have No IT background, just a couple degrees from College. PM mentioned we could use the Cert on our contract, offer me $8k if I can attain security+ certification within a month. My job duties wont change at all. Any way I can get this thing knocked out by then?

Comments

  • clarsonclarson Member Posts: 903 ■■■■□□□□□□
    seems like Oct 1 is more like 3 weeks. And, how much time is he giving you off/how many days off can you take. Your going to need to study about 40 hrs/week. And, that test is filled with 3 letter acronyms. You don't know what they mean and how they apply to security, your never going to pass.
    How much studying can you do at work? I don't think it can be done. But, study your ass off and maybe you will pass. 8k vs failing a 320 exam. That is a nice risk/reward. of course, after 1 week of studying, you will know if you can do it
  • mirving171mirving171 Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Please check out Prof. Messer on Youtube, his courses are free, and I personally have used his resources to help me pass the A+ and Net+ exams.

    Here is the link:

    https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-401/sy0-401-course-index/

    Best of luck to you!
  • marylandguymarylandguy Member Posts: 10 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Did u get use any book yet? . I recommend getting Daryl Gibson get certified get ahead online study versions and order book at the same time by the same author. Follow this regiment. 1. Read the chapters/ Do all test at least 3 times.Do all the PBQs. Try to get 90 after doing all the chapters. Then find all the free practices that are on this forum and do them for a change. Try to shoot for at 5 hours a day of study if you don,t have time off. Sometime, It is better to short deadline than long one. Read my previous post I literally had about 2-3 weeks of study to pass sec+ exam. Good luck!
  • marylandguymarylandguy Member Posts: 10 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Also, find a quiet study area and turn up some Pink Floyd albums as background music. I promise, u will have good concentration and memory retention��
  • yoba222yoba222 Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■■■■■□□
    In your situation I'd take 1-2 weeks off work and sign up for a boot camp asap. I agree you'll need the 40 hours/week. This is the worst way to study for a cert--kind of like crash dieting but unless you take drastic measures you're unlikely to pass any other way that quickly considering your background.
    A+, Network+, CCNA, LFCS,
    Security+, eJPT, CySA+, PenTest+,
    Cisco CyberOps, GCIH, VHL,
    In progress: OSCP
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Senior Member Posts: 0 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Honestly, doing a 2-3k bootcamp and getting a 8k bonus doesn't seem to have a good return.
    Recommendations:
    Purchase either Darril Gibson Security+ book or ExamCram book
    Do some practice exam questions either through Darril Gibson, Transcender or Boson
    Take your exam.
    Done!
  • ITSpectreITSpectre Member Posts: 1,040 ■■■■□□□□□□
    You can do it!!!!

    Get the book
    Watch professer Messer
    and download the app Sec+ practice questions and study study study!!!!
    In the darkest hour, there is always a way out - Eve ME3 :cool:
    “The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios
  • scaredoftestsscaredoftests Mod Posts: 2,780 Mod
    Darril Gibson's book and his online resources!!!!
    Never let your fear decide your fate....
  • KhohezionKhohezion Member Posts: 57 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Darril Gibsons Online Resource, I crammed for 3 weeks and passed the test.
  • NetworkingStudentNetworkingStudent Member Posts: 1,407 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Darril's book and Measure up practice exam. Consistently get 90% right on all of the Measure up questions, and you should be ready for the test.
    When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened."

    --Alexander Graham Bell,
    American inventor
  • marylandguymarylandguy Member Posts: 10 ■□□□□□□□□□
    you need to tell us if u pass or not.
  • Cisco InfernoCisco Inferno Member Posts: 1,034 ■■■■■■□□□□
    imagine going to sleep with Darril repeating those "remember this" sections of his book and waking up ready to pass.
    2019 Goals
    CompTIA Linux+
    [ ] Bachelor's Degree
  • neogeo828neogeo828 Registered Users Posts: 3 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I think everyone will agree that Gibson's book is a must. I also highly recommend Darril Gibson's android app. It goes for about $8 and it's well worth it IMO. There are several hundred flashcards and great practice questions. If you can answer every single flash card I think you can pass the exam. Also check out Mike Meyer's practice exam on Udemy for $10. I found some questions in there that Gibson hadn't really covered well and it pushed me to google a few more things that help me pass the exam. Good luck.
  • nisti2nisti2 Member Posts: 503 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Wow 3 weeks you can do it!!!

    Study 4-5 hours daily! Memorize the ports, All the agreements (SLA,BA,MOU, BCP), Know the wireless attack, Attacks, encryption, understand how Certificates work.

    Andd best of luck!! :D
    2020 Year goals:
    Already passed: Oracle Cloud, AZ-900
    Taking AZ-104 in December.

    "Certs... is all about IT certs!"
  • swizzlefootswizzlefoot Registered Users Posts: 3 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Operation Macgyver
    -
    Heya!

    This isn't best practice imo ,but since you're in a very unique situation, to acquire just the cert could benefit your professional career, even if you don't have interest in going into IT security. If you have sound memorization skills (acronyms ,protocols, encryption, common attacks/troubleshooting methods) you should be fine. That, in itself, is still A LOT to jam in such a short time, but it's possible if you want it. I don't know if you'll retain the info after passing down the line (if you don't use it), but this is what I would suggest if you're serious given the short time frame.

    1.get a CBT nuggets account (there's a 22hr course, if you can watch them all, you're golden)

    2. now, a less time-consuming and good resource (but not in as much depth) would be https://www.professormesser.com (BUY HIS PDF. It's a hidden gem with visuals/simple language).

    3)you should prob do all these practice exams (CompTIA Security+ Certification Practice Test 1 (Exam SY0-401)) but REALIZE, the real exam is not so basic and clear cut. In fact, there are a few simulations, and the multiple choice questions on the sec+ exam aren't generic, somewhat "situational". I cannot disclose the exact context under code of ethics, but if you're still hungry, after taking those exams (test 1-12, malware exams, port quiz)

    4)take some more prac. exams (http://www.gocertify.com/security-quizzes/testout-security-syo-401-practice-exam)

    5)if you bought CBT nuggets (or a month for 99$, go thru their tests, they are more of what you may see with explanations)

    6)each night, take the PM pdf, review and memorize acronyms and protocols

    7)finally, go thru the compTIA sec+ outline, and review each "module" and submodule and ask yourself, am I comfortable, "good enough", or needs work, highlight, review.

    icon_cool.gifrepeat step 6 before exam night, sleep early, wake up early, breakfast, hydrate, a brisk jog/or something to get the blood flowing and shower. No more reviewing. arrive early. empty your pockets, login, skip all the simulations, attempt multichoice first, mark ones you aren’t confident for later review. use ur time wisely, don't dwell, mark for review, and come back. to use common sense/the rest of the exam as it might spark an answer. come back, do the simulations. try them, do the best on the ones u feel confident in, and try the others, and leave nothing blank . spend each minute after you've finished to review before submitting...and hopefully friend you pass, and you get a raise that would go down in computer "macgyver" history. haha best of luck!

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