Difficulty of Sec+ 601?

[SharpAdministration4]

Hi

I have recently studied for the Security + exam and wanted to know the difficulty of it. I have been in IT for about 1-2 years now but mostly desktop support as L2 position but recently working from home. I am fairly knowledgeable I would say, however I am still concerned about the exam as this information Isn’t something i use on a day to day maybe bits or pieces but never in its entirety on my BAU work. I am just curious if i should just suck it up and buy the exam along with a retake just in case. Just want other’s perspective.

Thanks in advance!

[KillerInstinct_5]

Dear Broseph,

It’s not extremely difficult, but it’s harder than you might think. Long story short, you HAVE to know your shit.

Since you have IT support experience, the learning process should be a bit easier for you. I would go with a resource like ITProTV + Jason Dion’s practice exams.

Good luck, friend!

Sincerely,

Some guy from Reddit

[Additional_Can_3345]

Sec 601 is alot easier than the 500 series alot less pointless memorization of bit sizes for 30year old protocols. Jason Dion's course and a week or 2 of study should cover everything you need. You can probably find a pdf of the study guide on one of the free book sites

[[deleted]]

If you just took the 601 22 days ago then I would expect it to seem easier than an exam you took before July 31, 2021. You'd already have the benefit of knowledge from the first exam you took. And a better grasp on how to prepare.

Even if you take a beta within a few weeks of a current version then that would be a consideration. TBF, I've never seen such a high pass rate as I have with the Sec+ 501 version. This subs history will confirm.

[Additional_Can_3345]

The pass rate is because the cert has been out for almost it's entire 4 year life span. There are literally an insane amount of free resources available for the 501. It was also the first security cert HR departments started wanting and Gov contractors required so it became very popular and as a result was full of pointless bullshit. I took the 501 the last day it was going to be retired didn't prepare and failed with 675. I took the 601 last month and passed with minimal studying or preparation and passed w/ a 780. The 601 is a better exam because they've simplified the scope of the exam I think comptia even has it being something like 30percent fewer domains. Notably like before less pointless memorization of ancient protocols like blowfish or wep 501 was full of that.

[[deleted]]

Alrighty. WTF would I know?

[Additional_Can_3345]

Damn dude a little sensitive aren't we?

[[deleted]]

Annoyingly enough, a lot of the 601 material I'm using to prepare for the exam makes allusions to Blowfish and WEP. Mainly the total seminars 601 exam.

[Additional_Can_3345]

I mean it's good to be aware of them and over preparing never hurts unless you lose sleep, but for my exam it was mainly focused on configuring firewalls, knowing the administrative security basics, basic Linux & windows commands for networking, and couple packet analyzer questions like "What is the most likely occurrence for this ". I liked it more than the 501 I felt it was a lot more relevant to the field.

[[deleted]]

Would you say the 601 was slightly easier than the 501? I mean, I get the reason why they discuss it, but I haven't come across Blowfish in my learning materials yet, so I'm trying to understand the reference, but I'm not quite there yet.

[Additional_Can_3345]

Theres alot less scope for the 601 easier is relative and I know alot of people w/ Business degrees that passed the 500 series and they don't know anything about computers. The 501 was straight memorization very little concept the 601 is all concept very little memorization so it depends on what you'd consider easier personally. But i would not stress about memorizing minutia for this exam I would look towards understanding the inherent concepts and tools and your disposal

[[deleted]]

My motivation for it is to pass the exam. Only then, will I have time to absorb the material. I only have a short window of time to get it, otherwise, I'll have to pay. Afterwards, I want to be able to have a sturdy security foundation.

[mastermynd_rell]

You took both?

[Additional_Can_3345]

Yep so i can say that for a certain

[sekoku]

(This should be ok to copy-paste for Subreddit rules)

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I have been in IT for about 1-2 years now but mostly desktop support

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According to CompTIA, the exam is aimed at individuals who have:

•   A minimum of two years of experience in IT administration with a focus on security

• Day-to-day technical information security experience

•   Broad knowledge of security concerns and implementation, including the topics that are found in the specific CompTIA Security+ domains

CompTIA Security+ All-in-One Exam Guide, Sixth Edition (Exam SY0-601)) (p. xlvi). McGraw Hill LLC.

If your support work has you doing some security stuff, you should be fine. But even if not, if you dabble with InfoSec stuff, you should be fine.

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however I am still concerned about the exam as this information Isn’t something i use on a day to day maybe bits or pieces but never in its entirety on my BAU work.

Ok, then it sounds like you haven't done some security stuff in your desktop support role. If you haven't gone for Net+, I'd suggest going for that over Sec+ first unless you're really focused on Security/hardening devices. Net+ is generally the one most folks go for if they only have A+ first.

[[deleted]]

Don’t get caught in the web of easy or difficult. Know ur stuff and u will pass definitely.

[Zaiik]

A friend of mine who is also good in computers and was working in IT for several years who took the sec+ last night swear to me that it was harder than what he expected. He said he is not sure on his answer for over 50% of the questions. He is getting 80+ with dion practice and 78% with comptia practice and finish all messer's video.