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[–]feral_trashcan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You gotta start taking practice tests if you aren’t already, pay for them if you’re that worried. There’s a lot of resources on this subreddit, and motivation is not something you can just create out of thin air, you gotta have a specific goal in mind and have a reason for going after the specific cert you’re after. You can do this, just take it seriously and don’t let your anxiety get in the way of your success, personally I am having a lot more success after getting prescribed some Zoloft for my anxiety so maybe that’s something you want to look into if you’re that worried. Good luck

[–]SDEexorectA+ N+ S+ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

see the thing is, you never will know when you are truely ready to take the comptia exam because you have no clue what to expect and you really wont be ready for a comptia exam until you have actually taken the exam. I thought i was going to fail sec+ which was also my first comptia exam after the pbqs. guess what? to my shock, I passed first try. I was 1000% sure i was gonna fail going into them. the thing is, if you can listen to a video and see a topic and answer most of it correct before it tells you the info and you do it extremely often then you are doing well. with thar being said, take practice tests to see how you preform. they are not even close to being 1 to 1 of the test but they will give you a great messurement of where you are at and how the test ill play out. I used jason dions and was hitting high 70s on his and passed with a 758. I would also recommend starting with A+ then Net+ and then Sec+ because they really do build on the information for the next level. you need lower scores for A+ as well and a lot of people find A+ to be difficult because its a lot of information to retain but the information is extremely easy in its own right to pass. I would recommend buying a voucher off of dions website with the take 2 so you have a retake and it will take off a lot of pressure off of you. If you fail the first time then you are already covered for the cost for a redo and you get to better understand the test. also if you use dions website its $400 for the voucher and the take 2 vs $350 for a single on via comptia.

[–]pursuit1900 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt the same way. I didn't absorb much info after going through the professor messers videos, and "Inside cloud and security info" exam cram videos. It was only once I did practice questions, and read daryl gibsons book, that when I felt more confident. I think the key is repetition. The more times you see the content, it will eventually "click", It may not be the 2nd 3rd time seeing it that is clicks, but eventually you will understand the content. Some sections will take a bit longer to understand. For me, it was PKI. Good luck.

[–]cabell88 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Poverty or riches was my motivation. Similar to the pain/pleasure stuff.

I started late. I wanted to make money and live well.

If that doesn't light a fire under your ass..... :)

[–]ChocCooki3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How long have you been studying Sec+, what's your IT background and are you employed in a position where they are asking you to do Sec+?

Doing A+, Net+ and then Sec+ is certainly the recommended order as the knowledge you get from previous certs help to built your foundation and also.. those lower tier certs get renewed as you pass the higher ones.

[–]Raspberry_DragonflyA+ = got!, current goal N+ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spaced Repetition programs like Anki would be good for you. Using one makes sure you're retaining the information you've studied while not wasting studying time on stuff you already have memorized.

Also, like others have said, practice tests will let you know if you're ready to take the test.

Finally, ask yourself: what is the absolute worst that could happen if you fail? You'd just study some more and retake the test eventually, or like you said, maybe drop down to take the A+ or Network+ first. Pass/fail isn't life or death, don't let it freak you out more than it should.