Change of plans... going for Security+

I got my A+ some 5yrs ago as a hobby... i bought my sybex Network+ book in 2004 immediately after wondering how I passed the A+, and have read it probably 5 or 6 times since then, along with the Thompsons/Prometric Net+ In Depth several times.

My problem with this self study course is that while it is economical, it gets frustrating with all the distractions in life!!!! I would promise myself to read the entire book and make a set of flashcards, only 1 week later to find out that my work will put me on travel for the next month... etc (travel often)

My confidence for the Net+ was low as far as taking the test as I have no experience (my job is not IT), however i do understand it... i can hang out with the network/security guys and while not knowing all the lingo, do understand when theyre not encrypting their words

Anyway, Ive been lurking these forums for couple years wondering when I'll finally settle down and take my Net+, last week I find a local boot camp course for Security+/CISSP (and wont offer again till Sep), not some other place i'll have to fly to or pay for hotels, but actually local. of course my work wont pay for it as Im not IT, but I did get the objectives and I... so far have not had too much difficulty following the Tech Notes... maybe theres something Im missing.

You security people think I'll have a chance? I know that while the Net+ doesnt require the A+, it really helps. In my example, I wont have the Network+ but will be taking the Sec+ course/exam. Everything I do related to computers is mostly hobby, though I have been running computer/printer repair as a side job for a good decade... nothing technical though, just wiping **** off a laptop (malware) (most my jobs), imaging, etc. I guess it helps my background is roughly 1.5yrs in electronic technical schools, hands on type guy. someone has something broke, i have no problems fixing it, specially with test equipment hehe. unfortunately my experience in that field has amounted to nothing, i dont make much more than your dominos pizza driver and have a clearance lol

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Comments

Kasor

S+ is easy, think like a textbook and the exam cover everything.

Lamini

test scheduled for the end of the week...

my source for study material is the comptia study guide. my experience in security has been a couple months.

brandon1109

do you have a TS or a secret. If you have a TS then I am pretty sure you can get hired on with a+ n+ s+ with little exp.

I got hired on with net+ and ccent. Money is great can't complain.

NinjaBoy

Good luck for the exam

-Ken

Lamini

brandon1109 wrote: »

do you have a TS or a secret. If you have a TS then I am pretty sure you can get hired on with a+ n+ s+ with little exp.

I got hired on with net+ and ccent. Money is great can't complain.

unfortunately, where im at, certs dont amount to much, or from what my experience the last 5yrs here, doesnt mean sheet.

now, walking around with a degree is like having a S on your shirt, and the CISSP has the same respect. new college kids come here and get the special treatment. not much different than the military's NCO and Officer mindset.

Lamini

well, after getting 80-95% on all the daily quizzes, after seeing two people drop on yesterday, and seeing another 2-3 people fail today, i joined them, and there was still 6-7 people doing the test when i was done. I believe my score was 705, and passing was 764, 100 questions. I believe that translates to 4-5 questions and I wouldve passed. there was only a couple questions i had no clue about and had not read on. Considering I have a couple months in the IT security realm, and my only study guide was from the class that started this monday, and being a non IT guy, i didnt do too bad.

Questions i saw on the test were simpler than i thought, but they were all new and had not seen before, and attacked from different angles. i believe encryption/security killed everyone. keys, tunneling, all the different authentication methods, encrypting, etc.

retesting next week after i study this weekend.

Lamini

PASSED!!!

bought the exam cram book (2007) last week, along with the test question book (total $50), started on it friday, finished it couple hours before the test today (1130). Test was at 1400, 1530 I got score 846. 100 questions. max score is 900 (846/900=94%). Original score last Saturday was 705 (78%).

my previous 700s - reflects no prior studying/knowledge of security. Just a boot camp where instructor full of himself tried to get his class to pass, unfortunately a couple dropped before test date, im sure several others failed. i repeat, no prior studying before that monday class started.

my mid 800s - reflects free (other than book) self paced score using 1 book, i did not even have time to use the practice test on the study guide, nor use the question/answer book, no wiki/research. I saw several answers that the exam cram book did not cover, however the book will tell you it does not tell the details, and there were at least 5 questions i know were not in the book (yes, i went back and counted all that were not covered in the book, i just read most of the book this weekend), ie comptias different cookies, and your browsers actual different cookies. I had enough time to just read it, not enough time to digest it, but still passed. Was done with test in 30minutes, not 1.5hrs like last saturday, just reviewed all questions after i was done to make sure i didnt brain fart.

now to get this Net+ that Ive been holding back on for several years. i believe a new one has replaced the N-003 (?). Im sure Ive put in much more hours into it than Sec+ (and I had no mistakes on Network related questions); all questions missed were related to... security (like auditing, your basic security concepts, management stuff, certificate crapola, etc).

Darril

Congrats on your pass.

The questions that were new were probably beta questions. CompTIA uses test item analysis on new questions. These questions don't count in your score and you don't even have to answer them, but you never know for sure which questions are beta questions.

Good luck on the Network+ exam. There are currently two versions: N10-003 which you can still take until Jul 31, 2009. The new version is N10-004 has been available since Jan 2009 and includes new objectives such as IPv6.

Congrats again.

Darril
www.sy0-201.com
www.sy0-201.com/blogs

PC509

Congrats on the pass!

Good luck on the Net+ exam. It should be a breeze for you with a little study time!

Lamini

Darril wrote: »

Congrats on your pass.
Good luck on the Network+ exam. There are currently two versions: N10-003 which you can still take until Jul 31, 2009. The new version is N10-004 has been available since Jan 2009 and includes new objectives such as IPv6.

Thank you, that was the info I was looking for.