I studied for two days. Here’s my experience with the Security+ exam
Obviously, the title is sarcasm
I’ve seen a lot of posts from people saying they passed Security+ after studying for one week, five days, two weeks, etc. And honestly, respect to anyone who can do that. But I just wanted to say this for anyone studying right now:
It doesn’t really matter how long it takes you to study. What matters is what you actually retain and understand after the exam.
I passed Security+ today, and I’m grateful to God for that. But I’ll be honest, I underestimated the exam more than I should have.
I previously passed the CCNA, and in my opinion, the CCNA is more punishing and more brutal overall. Because of that, I went into Security+ thinking it would be much lighter than it actually was. Not easy, but I definitely did not give it the same respect at first.
That was a mistake.
Security+ is not impossible, and I’m not saying it is some monster exam, but if you walk in thinking you know everything, it can absolutely slap you. A lot of the questions are not just “do you know the definition?” They test whether you understand what the term means in a scenario.
My biggest issue during studying was hyper-focusing too much on exact wording and trying to go extremely deep into every term. What helped me the most near the end was stepping back, keeping things simple, and understanding the definitions for what they actually are instead of overcomplicating them.
Practice exams helped a lot. PBQs are also important, so do not ignore them. Even if you understand the concepts, you still need to get comfortable applying them under exam pressure.
Also, shoutout to a fellow Redditor, Puzzlehead, who came in clutch last second. I appreciate you.
I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to post this, but I’m keeping track of my journey this year and wanted to stay accountable by documenting the process.
Good luck to everyone studying. Take your time, learn the material, do practice exams, review your weak areas, and don’t underestimate the exam. You don’t need to rush just because someone else passed fast. Run your own race.