Man I thought I would fail. Some questions were worded in a way that 2 or even 3 of the possible answers would apply and those PBQs...... Left 1 completely empty, had no idea what I was looking at which is on me since I didn't look into PBQ material (labs, hands-on material or lab videos).

Did the survey and final screen came up: Congratulations, you passed!

Now getting some time off and then on to Security+

I currently hold the CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, CySA+, and PenTest+ certifications.

I've been following this group for years and have regularly provided advice to others working toward their certifications. While I wasn't happy with the change in ownership, I still expected CompTIA to maintain a certain level of professionalism.

One of the first changes I was disappointed to see was the decision to stop mailing physical certificates for free. Honestly, how much money does that really save?

Back when I worked as a contractor for the Navy, I remember walking past desks displaying the CompTIA Trifecta and wanting to earn those certifications myself. Most of my coworkers who earned certifications proudly displayed them at their desks.

That was free advertising.

Every certificate hanging in an office was a visible reminder of CompTIA's presence in the industry. It encouraged people like me to pursue those same credentials.

From a marketing perspective, eliminating that benefit seems incredibly shortsighted. You're potentially sacrificing years of free exposure to save a relatively small amount of money. And now you're charging people $10 for the privilege of advertising your certifications for you?

I'm genuinely astounded that this was considered a good business decision.

I'm not saying this because I'm particularly concerned about CompTIA's financial success. I'm saying it because I've invested years of my life studying for certifications that were, at the time, widely regarded as industry standards.

I don't want to see that hard work lose its value because of decisions that prioritize short-term savings over the reputation and recognition of the certifications themselves.

I'm incredibly disappointed in the direction CompTIA is taking.

And what finally prompted me to write this post? I just spent approximately 20 minutes filling out a CompTIA survey, only to discover that it wouldn't let me submit my responses.

The irony is almost comical. You're asking certification holders to take time out of their day to provide feedback, yet you can't even ensure that the survey works properly.

I was willing to spend my time helping you understand how your decisions affect your customers, and your own feedback system prevented me from doing so.

It's frustrating, and frankly, it reinforces my concerns about the direction this company is heading.

Honestly thought Core 2 was easier than Core 1 despite what most people say. One of the PBQs bugged out on me and the pop up window couldn’t move out of the way from me answering or resetting

Another PBQ looked like it reset after I went to the next question and came back to it for review.

Honestly glad I got it done though 🤷🏾‍♂️

First year IT student(associate's degree), happy to share that I passed after 3.5 weeks of studying, about 5-6 hours a day. Grateful for support from my school and teacher, they provided lessons and some practice questions.

The PBQs were really hard and I was totally unprepared for it, thought I was gonna fail because of them.

Additional materials
Sybex CompTIA Security+ Practice Test > Some of the questions are really similar to those in the exam, definitely recommend this.
Cyber James Practice Exam > Decent, good value

Been thinking about this lately. You study, you pass, you start working, and a year later you realize some things never really clicked. The book gave you the words, the job filled in a few of them by accident, and the rest is still a paragraph you memorized. Been seeing this with my techs I am hiring for Tier 1 and Tier 2 jobs. I remember back then that I was probably the same at the other end of the table, especially when they asked me exam questions in the interview.

For me, it was subnetting. Could do it for the exam, after info-dumping everything onto the board they give you, I didn't actually get it until I had to carve up a real range, until I forgot about it and had to look it up.

What was yours? The topic, where the book left you, and what finally made it make sense, if anything did.

Finished core 1 in about 3 months from start to passing the exam. Had good motivation throughout. Started core 2 on October 1st and man is it a slog. I’m having such a hard time focusing and my study method for core 1 is definitely not working for core 2. Anyone else hit this wall?

I'm taking the Security+ exam in three weeks. I've been studying pretty hard and testing pretty well with the CertMetrics practice questions.

I haven't taken a certification exam in eight years. In that time, I've learned that I live with Adult ADHD.

I'm finding that I am losing easy points on these practice exams because of my inability to discern exactly what a certain question may be asking.

I was wondering what others in my situation have done when taking certification exams. I'm considering asking for an accommodation to have the questions read to me (if that's possible).

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Hello... I'm uneducated, interested in tech, I did the Google cybersecurity course. My friend who works in tech for about 20 years told me to get the A+ and he would help me get a job. I don't know shit, I know pretty basic concepts, I really wanna pass the A+.

What would you do to pass the Core and 2 in less than 2 months? :) thank you for your support.

I’ve had a busy few weeks with little time to study, but I truly recommend these videos.

100 + practice questions - https://youtu.be/KisYdBWOsy0?is=cV4VN7od5W7FaCKz

Quick fire overview - https://youtu.be/X-e69rphM9A?is=ni_ilfhXm-SdR7UK

Took it this morning and passed!

I am happy to say I passed Security+ today! I just passed my A+ about a month ago and I decided to skip Network+ mainly because I am going to be doing CCNA because of the DOD path I am working on. I also wanted to get it done before the new test dropped. The one thing I can say about it to help everyone is make sure you know your acronyms for the test. I was drowning in them almost every question.

I haven't opened the material yet, but this is my last class for my semester of wgu and the test is this, I got 6 weeks so if anyone knows a good cram guide or general tips (obviously yes the objectives lol) I'm all ears! 😁

Hello everyone. I am needing help. I can’t seem to find a proper way to study . I’ve tried watching professor messor but I feel I’m not retaining anything he says . If I could get some advice from everyone that would be great.
My two things I want to focus on
1. Pass both exams for A+
2. Get hands on experience

Please let me know what you all think. Thank you

Been doing sysadmin work for years (primarily on the software side), and I have basic knowledge of network config, setup etc mostly from home lab/setup.

Just passed Sec+, and I’m looking to add another one for show. From what I’ve read on CompTIA, A+ Network is similar to Network+ with the latter being much more intensive and focused on actual networking.

Has anyone taken both, and if so, would you recommend going straight for Network+? Or take A+ Network first, as a stepping stone, then do N+?

TIA

I do understand that the process in subnetting ipv6 is similar with ipv4, however I'm a bit struggling in determining the prefix.

Given sample: 3 LANS requiring different number of subnets, lets say LAN 1 requires 63, then LAN 2 requires 15, and LAN 3 requires 3.

Is the formula for the new prefix:

given prefix + borrowed bits

or

previous prefix + borrowed bits????????

Did not feel overwhelming confident about the multiple choice portion, but passed nonetheless!

Is it just me 🤔 I’m only referring to A+ Core 1 & Core 2, as those are the practice exams of done with each if I had to rank them including the real exam from hardest to easiest I’d put

Certmaster -> Real Exam -> Jason Dion’s -> ProfesserMesser

I'm looking for a good video course to follow along with for Cloud+ cv0-004. Any recommendations would help.

After years of procrastinating, I finally did it. Dion course and 15yrs + in IT. Didn’t have time to finish all the videos, skipped the last 2 modules. Watched the last 50% of the videos yesterday and this morning.

Ethical hacker next?

Thoughts?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently prepping for CySA+ V4 and could use some advice on Performance-Based Questions (PBQs).

For MCQs I’m already using:

• Sybex Practice Tests (Chapple/Seidl)
• Dion’s Practice Exams
• Crucial Exams

Those are covering the multiple-choice side pretty well, but I’m struggling to find good PBQ practice that actually feels close to the real exam.

I come from a pentest background and have almost zero blue team / SOC experience, so the hands-on style questions (log analysis, SIEM, vulnerability prioritization, incident response scenarios, etc.) are the part I’m most worried about.

Does anyone know of any resources (paid or free) that have solid, exam-like PBQs for CS0-004?

Especially looking for platforms or packs that let you practice the interactive style instead of just reading about them.

Any recommendations would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance! :D

Hello again friends,

It's me again. The guy who got Net+ in 2 weeks, then Sec+ the next week. Now I report to you I got sever+ in one day.

Didn't expect to say hello again so soon but, today was a holiday so I had nothing to do so I decided to study and then take the test, so no, it wasn't even intended. I simply was not afraid to fail. If i fail then i'll get up and fight again.

Didn't really want to make this post but, again, thank you for the inspiration, and I hope this fires you up and makes you want to haduken or kamehameha. If a 40-year-old moron who likes vintage anime like me can do it, so can you.

My Thoughts:
Was it easy? Hell no. I passed by a hair. But I will say that if you have more certs some of the info overlaps so it's not as hard as your very first cert, but not drastically, just like 5% easier.

My study material:
CompTIA Security+ Study Guide by Mike Chapple and David Seidl
Watched Chrys Thorsen on Udemy

This time my strategy was to just focus on material and less videos. Videos despite automatic, is actually slower than your brain can process words. My ADHD kicked in after 25% of the video material and I switched to paper material so I can speed the hell up and take the test same day.

I made flash cards for everything. I know tests likes to sneak up on you with things you thought were not important and chip away at your score, so I made as many flash cards as needed.

What's next?
Not sure. I haven't planned that far ahead when none of these were even planned. but I will say likely not much. Idk if i really need much. and if i keep getting more, it's going to cost me more to maintain these things every 3 years. But if i do get anything else, I'll be sure to say hello again. All i'm going to do now is chill, and start interviewing for jobs.

I have experience in the field, but I want to start my cert journey again even if it doesn't matter to much.

Learning material:

* 6 practice exams from Dion.

* Use chatgpt to generate a document on base of the exam's failed questions.

Core 1: 740

Core 2: 840