I honestly really enjoyed studying and preparing for this test. I even enjoyed taking it a bit between all the stress. Im just glad I can move on to Core 2. Its pretty cool looking back on how much I learned studying for this. Now all those flash cards can go rot in my drawer.
Studied for a month. I did Dion’s course on Udemy and Messer’s on YouTube (took me 2 weeks to go through them), then I bought the 6 practice exams from Dion. I’d take an exam, see which objective was my weakest, re-study that objective using ChatGPT and YouTube videos, and try again. On my first practice exam I scored 60%, and on the 6th I scored 85%.
The exam was easier than I thought, but I was totally lost on the PBQs.
I’m currently studying for Core 2 and Network+ simultaneously (I have a college class that’s teaching me everything I need for Network+) hoping to get those out of the way by December.
Currently working in retail management, but desperately looking to jump into IT (help desk, network engineering, or cybersecurity).
I’ve been reading everyone else’s “I passed” posts, and today I finally get to write my own.
I wanted to share how I studied and how the exam felt, especially for anyone feeling discouraged by their practice scores.
How I studied
I didn’t watch Professor Messer’s videos because I struggle to absorb information through videos. Instead, I used Ian Neil’s and David Seidl’s books with ChatGPT to break the material into smaller sections.
After studying each section, I asked ChatGPT to quiz me. If I did badly, I reviewed the material and tried again. I followed that approach across all the modules, which took me about a week.
Then I attempted Professor Messer’s three practice exams and scored around 69%, 67%, and 68%. Those results helped me identify my weaker topics, so I went back and focused on them.
After that, I worked through roughly a hundred questions per module from the Sybex practice material. I was still getting around 70–74 out of 100. It felt like I’d hit a plateau, so I decided to go ahead with the exam.
The exam experience
I took the exam at home. The verification process was new to me, and it took longer than I expected, which made me nervous before I even started.
Then came the PBQs. They felt completely different from what I’d practised. I did my best with what I knew, and I think I got at least parts of them right.
The multiple-choice questions were challenging too. I’d say around 70% felt application-based. They weren’t simply asking me to recall a definition or recognize a question I’d already seen. I had to understand the situation and work out which answer made the most sense.
Halfway through, I honestly thought I was going to fail. So many questions felt unfamiliar, but I kept going.
After finishing, I went back through my answers. On a second read, I noticed that I’d misunderstood a few questions, so I corrected those answers before submitting.
Even then, I was convinced I hadn’t passed.
When I saw PASS — 759, I actually had tears in my eyes.
There’s a saying about putting in your 99% and leaving the remaining 1% to God. That’s how today felt for me. I know 759 isn’t the highest score, but a pass is a pass, and I’m proud of it
Wishing everyone preparing for their exam the best. If you’re feeling discouraged, I hope my experience gives you a little encouragement.
I’d like to thank Jason Dion and Professor Messer for this moment 💪🏻🎉 …now onto the next
Started studying using the comptias documents, but there is just way too much information and its so dry..
Failed my first try at 681. tried listening to dion trainings material but that also seemed to much and dry..
And then i went to study with cbt nuggets and their prep exam. And pased my second try ;)
Thanks to all of your recommendations for cbt nuggets. It really was the best one out of the 3 i tried to learn with
I was so not prepared for Net+ (or so I thought), that I even paid for the retake voucher. Very pleasant surprise.
Took about 3 weeks of studying. Im glad to be starting my journey towards a career. On to the Core 2 !!
I'm a WGU student with zero prior IT experience; pretty much everything except for some basic PC stuff has been new to me. I've been studying for two months now (I more or less misstudied for a month, long story.)
I have been using Messer YouTube videos, as well as Dion's Udemy course/six practice exams. These have been paired with Certmaster, the recommended platform by WGU.
I have been getting 75- 85% on Dion's practice exams on their first run-through, and easily getting 90+ after retaking a particular exam after a day or two and applying the explanations of why my incorrect answers were wrong. However, I am repeatedly bombing the Certmaster exams. They feel insanely convoluted and sometimes I feel like I'm being tested on something that neither Dion nor Messer ever brought up.
