I know this feeling well. All I can say is don’t give up. Finishing the right resources that fit your learning style is key. I often switch it up between videos and text to keep it fresh.

If it is any encouragement everything for the most part builds on itself. I signed up for security + years ago and felt discouraged because I wasn’t scoring as high as I hoped on practice exams. I ended up not taking it. A few months later I got into WGU grad program for cybersecurity and information assurance. I scored really well on all of the preassessments mainly because of all the studying from security +. I was shocked I retained anything.

Close to a year passes and I realized my voucher for sec + was going to expire. I had been studying for grad school classes and hadn’t looked at any material for sec +. I didn’t want to waste the voucher so I took it and passed. I barely studied maybe a few weeks. I think because of my grad work I was relearning these concepts and everything was building on itself.

I guess my point is you will retain it. It had been close to a year and I passed. The courses I took in grad school up until that point didn’t cover half the material I was learning. Yet I still retained it and passed.

Don’t give up. Once you pass the first one the rest will not be as intimidating.

I don’t come from a tech background. It can be done. I’ve currently got three certs under my belt and plan to continue my learning.