Passed SYO-301

Hi Folks,

Just thought I would report that today I sat and passed the Security+ SYO-301 exam with a score of 850. This was my first IT certification exam in about 5 years. I took such a hiatus pursuing professional golf, which unfortunately didn't work out so I'm back in the career that I love. I've been working in the field for about 9 years now.

I used the following material over a span of a month and a half to prepare:

Mike Meyer's Security+ Passport by Samuelle -- Decent, would of probably not been enough by itself, but nonetheless memorizing this book you would probably pass. I read it front to back and referenced when I needed to.
UCertify exam kit -- Good prep material. Practice exams were very decent with good explanations.
Darril Gibson's SYO-301 Practice Questions Kindle Edition -- This was excellent. The questions were harder than the actual exam IMO.

My exam was pretty straight forward, you either know it or you don't. I found myself knowing the answers to the questions as I was reading them most of the time which is always a good sign.

As for what's next I was hoping to get some advice from the forum. I'm looking to pursue a career in InfoSec so I was thinking SSCP would be the next logical course for me, but I was also pondering upgrading my MCSE to MCITP: EA. I guess I'm not sure if it's worth it? There's also the fact that the CBK for SSCP is changing in Feb 2012 so maybe hold off?

At any rate, this forum is a wonderful reference and the members are so helpful. If you're in the US, have a good holiday this week!

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Comments

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

Devilsbane

Congrats

Darril

Congratulations on the pass.

Yes, if you're looking for a job in Infosec, the SSCP is a logical next step after the Security+. It is especially useful if you're thinking about getting a CISSP later on which is highly valued within the Infosec community. Some people can jump right into the CISSP but due to how many people drop it or get overwhelmed with the massive amount of material, many poeple consider the SSCP is an interim step. I do know of a book that will be released in the next couple of weeks that covers the new SSCP objectives.

While the MCITP EA is certainly valuable, it's more focused on administrator jobs.

HTH,

Darril Gibson
Security+ blog
Security+ Tip Of Day

TeKniques

Thanks Darril for the information, definitely helps. I do plan on pursuing CISSP hopefully sometime in 2012 if all goes well. I just checked Amazon and see your SSCP AIO book comes out very soon

Are you going to offer a Kindle version as well?

Btw, your Security+ practice questions were excellent!

Regards.

Darril

Thanks for the kind words on the Security+ practice questions. I hope they're able to help a lot of people like you take and pass the exam the first time out. The SSCP AIO is out now. Interestingly, Amazon shows a 1 to 3 month delivery time, but that's only because people preordered the book. I checked with an editor at the publisher (McGraw-Hill) and he told me books have been shipped to Amazon so orders should be filled rather quickly. He also said that an e-book version has been created and is going through some QC at Amazon, but don't expect the Kindle version to be available for $9.99.

Darril Gibson
Security+ blog
Security+ Tip Of Day

cownaetion

Hi Darril, I was just wondering if your new SSCP book on Amazon (the one with the 3-5 weeks estimated delivery) will cover the changes that are suppose to happen in 2012? I'm currently studying for my Security+ and wanted a book on SSCP to start studying as I get closer to finishing up this current cert. Thanks

TeKniques

It seems to me that Darril's AIO book is the only one so far that I can find that will be covering the objective changes. Amazon changed their 'estimated delivery' from 1-3 months to 3-5 weeks

I've read Darril's blog as well on the changes and they seem minor. I went ahead and picked up the (ISC)² Official Guide 2nd Edition to get myself started while I wait for Darril's book to arrive.

whatthehell

Congratz on the pass and thanks for the information TeKniues and Darril!

N2IT

Nice job on the pass!

Darril

TeKniques answered this but seeing this is your first post, I definitely wanted to answer. Yes. I wrote the book to cover the new objectives effective Feb 1, 2012. Here are two blog entries on the SSCP you may find useful:

SSCP Overview
Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) Certification
SSCP Changes:
Changes to (ISC)2 SSCP

Also, this site has an active forum on SSCP/CISSP here:
(ISC)² SSCP and CISSP Forums

Good luck,

Darril Gibson
Security+ blog
Security+ Tip Of Day

bryanthetechie

Congrats on passing!

Waltah

TeKniques wrote: »

Darril Gibson's SYO-301 Practice Questions Kindle Edition -- This was excellent. The questions were harder than the actual exam IMO.

I'm concerned that i'm doing too well on the tests and end of chapter questions from the DG book, as if they may be too easy. It's nice to hear that you though the DG material was great and actually may have been harder than the actual test itself. Gives me some hope, lol. Can anyone else elaborate on this?

nycid

Waltah wrote: »

I'm concerned that i'm doing too well on the tests and end of chapter questions from the DG book, as if they may be too easy. It's nice to hear that you though the DG material was great and actually may have been harder than the actual test itself. Gives me some hope, lol. Can anyone else elaborate on this?

I'm in the same boat.... Going to schedule for the next two weeks I think but only want to take it once!

Joseph Harless

Congratulations on the pass.