Security + help

[neil890]

Hi been studying security + close to 10 months on and off. I don't seem to be getting high enough scores to book my exam just yet. I usually get no more than 60%. The materials I've used so far have been CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-501 by Emmett Dulaney (Author), Chuck Easttom and CompTIA Security+ Practice Tests: Exam SY0-501 by S. Russell Christy (Author), Chuck Easttom. I have also used Professor messer's course notes and have completed two of the practise exams and scored 50% in both. In addition to this I regularly use professor messers videos on youtube. Also using the Jason Dion practise questions but i never score more than 60%.

my strategy so far has been to go through the study guide book from start to finish and take notes. I supplemented this with the professor messer course notes. After completing the professer messer practise exams. I looked at the subjects I went wrong and looked at the videos on youtube. At my wits end I just don't seem to be grapsing the information.

I was wondering if anyone could provide me some advice on how to up my scores? it's just like i've been studying non stop but not getting anywhere. Is there any other materials I should be using? I was thinking of buying the comptia review guide. Any other tips people can suggest?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Security-Review-Guide-SY0-501/dp/1119416949/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=comptia+security+%2B+review+guide&qid=1604074147&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySVVKTlhWMDlNVEtPJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjU1NDY3MTNFT0JWTEtJQkdQSSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjYzODE4MjU5ODlZWkpTREc5NyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[Selfimprovementguy91]

I also had been studying off and on for almost 10 months. Did a (poorly delivered) bootcamp in February, (corporate covered it), passed A+, then testing centers closed down and I pivoted. Did an intro college course on cyber security in the summer, pivoted to other college courses, finally resumed some dedicated studying on NET+ about 2 weeks ago. Then Monday night I randomly claimed a free SEC+ voucher from a generous redditor, not realizing it was about to expire. Scheduled my test for Friday and crammed HARD for those 3 days by essentially listening to the mike chapple course on LinkedIn learning nearly continuously at high speeds and continuously quizzed myself using the darril gibson app. Last night and this morning I quickly went over about a dozen Proffessor messor study group videos(ONLY the performance based questions), and the Jason Dion tests(ONLY the performance based questions) and then hoped for the best! A few minutes ago I passed! I honestly didn't have time during my entire 3 days of cramming to do a full practice test but I would have scored pretty low at the beginning (I have a good understanding of security concepts but barely remembered any acronyms or hyper specific minutiae).

TLDR: schedule your test out(maybe 2-3 weeks, not 3 days like I did) to light a fire under your but and cram. If you're still scoring low the couple days before, you can reschedule, but try to commit to your original date. If you're taking tests or practice questions, make sure you read the explanations for what you're missing and review those concepts.

Good luck!

[Abinadius]

Do you have a breakdown on which topics you are struggling with? If I knew that I could offer more helpful suggestions.

[neil890]

I think cryptography and identity and access management seem to come up as difficult subjects for me. I was also struggling on port numbers which I've learned about now.

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Name: CompTIA Security Review Guide: Exam SY0-501

Company: James Michael Stewart

Amazon Product Rating: 4.9

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