r/WGUCyberSecurity

I took my test this morning and I really thought I was failing this test. I was surprised to pass with 808! I had a total of 70 questions, including 5 PBQs. One of the PBQs I didn't get to finish because I ran out of time, and another one, which I did guess.

Study material

• Percipo - CompTIA Network+ Course, Practice Test, and Labs
• Andrew Ramdayal Udemy Course and Practice Exams
• Jason Dion Udemy Course and Practice Exams
• Youtube Videos
  • Professor Messer CompTIA Network+
  • MyFreeAcademy - CompTIA Network+ Full Practice Questions about 6 hours video (sped up)
  • MyFreeAcademy - CompTIA Network+ Practice Test - Acroyms
• I used Cisco Packet Tracer and built VMs for Windows 10, Kali Linux, and Windows Server 2022. Andrew Ramdayal will also guide you through those.

My CompTIA journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic, right after I finished my BSCS. I struggled to find Software or IT jobs for 2 years after completing my degree. I had a bit of a panic thinking I should get a CompTIA certification to beef up my resume, but I ended up rushing myself and failing my first Sec+ test. Since then, I have always had an urge to pass the sec+, but with other priorities (family), I had to take a break. I got my first Software Engineering job in late 2022 after submitting many, many applications. My company needed an SA to work on a VM that required getting a Sec+ cert. This time, I really took my time to study and took A+ certs first to get comfortable with the CompTIA test style. As I get older, I have less interest in coding, plus there are AIs now that can code for you! I started pursuing cybersecurity and earned CySA+, PenTest+, and Security+. It tookl me about 2 years to accomplish A+ Core 1 to Security X and Network+. I know some people can do it way faster than that. These certs can also help me with the WGU MSCIA program and knock out some classes before I start. I'm excited to start the program with just 6 classes left!

https://preview.redd.it/stcr6n9xmdkh1.png?width=1075&format=png&auto=webp&s=395080d0740083baf88dba288efd4ae1a8897f20

Network+ is the last certification that I wanted to take until I renew again for Security X in 2029 or 2032.

If you would like to see the study material I used for CompTIA CySA+, PenTest+, and Security X below are the links. Good luck, everyone, as you pursue your CompTIA Certs and Programs!

CySA+: https://www.reddit.com/r/WGUCyberSecurity/comments/1smhnom/cysa_passed_in_4_weeks_family_man_and_fulltime/

PenTest+:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WGUCyberSecurity/comments/1tpichm/comptia_pentest_pass_is_a_pass/

Security X:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WGUCyberSecurity/comments/1up9sky/i_passed_comptia_security_x_in_5_weeks/

Logged into my WGU app and my last capstone class disappeared and passed. Feels good to finally be done.

Anyone else pushing through good luck to you and you got this

Just passed the N10-009 on my first attempt with a 747 (pass line is 720), and I want to give back with the approach that got me there, because it's different from the "just grind practice tests until you hit 90%" advice you usually see.

Background: Working through a networking degree, prior CompTIA certs under my belt. Studied hard for this one over several weeks. 5 weeks to be exact and 2 of those weeks were 18 hour days 7 days a week.

Resources I used (all solid):

Professor Messer — free, objective-mapped videos. Backbone of my concept learning.
Jason Dion practice exams — for realistic, scenario-style questions.
Andrew Ramdayal — good supplementary course coverage.
A YouTuber called DarkBird Tech — long practice-question walkthroughs where he breaks down why each option is right and the others are wrong. This one quietly mattered a lot (more below).
Claude (AI) — this was invaluable. After each practice exam I'd feed it my misses and it would analyze them, group them into weak-topic clusters (routing, DNS tools, wireless attacks, subnetting, etc.), and drill me on each cluster until it stuck. Turning a scattered list of wrong answers into a targeted, prioritized attack plan is a huge time-saver, and it made my studying way more surgical than just re-reading everything.
The core mindset shift — recognition ≠ mastery:
The single biggest trap is retaking the same practice test until you score high, then thinking you're ready. You're not — you've just memorized that specific set. A high score on questions you've already seen predicts almost nothing. I learned this the hard way on a previous exam.

What actually builds readiness:

Take each practice exam COLD, once. That first-attempt score on fresh questions is your only honest signal. Burn it, don't retake it for a "better number."
Drill your MISSES, not the whole test again. After each exam, pull every wrong answer and work it until it's locked. (This is exactly where having Claude cluster them by topic paid off — it found the patterns in my misses I couldn't see myself.)
Drill the whole family, not just the right answer. If a question's answer is OSPF and the distractors are RIP/EIGRP/BGP, learn all four cold — because any of them can be the correct answer or the trap on the real exam.
Prove the logic transfers. This is where DarkBird helped: I didn't memorize his answers, I absorbed his elimination reasoning, then tested whether I could walk that same logic on a brand-new question with a different scenario. If it transfers, you actually know it.
Subnetting to reflex. Learn the simple block-size method and TRUST it — don't overcomplicate under time pressure. Devices needed + 2 (network + broadcast) → round up to the next power of 2 → prefix. /30 = point-to-point. Drill it until it's automatic.
Exam-day tactics:

Do the multiple-choice FIRST, then go back to the PBQs with 30–40 minutes banked. PBQs eat time.
Memorize the acronym list in the back of the official CompTIA objectives PDF.
Domains 1 and 5 carry the most weight (~47% combined) — don't under-prep them.
Read the last line of the question first to know what it's actually asking, kill two obvious wrongs, then decide the final two on one precise fact.
Use the clock. Rushing is a silent killer — read each stem twice.
One extra thing that helped: I built my own offline drill app to hold my missed questions and re-shuffle them (both question order and answer positions) so I was recalling the concept, not a letter position. You don't need to build one — flashcards or a spreadsheet do the same job — but shuffling matters.

If you're on the fence: trust the method over the memorization. Cold reps, drill your misses, learn the why. Happy to answer questions in the comments. Good luck to everyone sitting soon. 🫡

Hello everyone I am trying to go over the study plan I think is a little excessive. I am writing the CI so I can get my own voucher paying out of pocket. And she is honestly like pushing hard. I mean are you not able to get your own voucher without doing the study plan ? Maybe I am missing some rules here. What happens if I buy it and passed it would they still approve that ? I honesty I think I am ready for the 24 th I don’t want to wait to complete all of that to get my second voucher. Do anyone have any advices on this ? The message below is a response from asking her if I could buy my own voucher.

Finally got my confetti all while having to be a new dad to a now 10 month old daughter, caregiver to my father, full time work and military service! What a relief to finally be done!

I'll keep it brief because there are countless posts about passing these exams and I don't think I'm much different.
I already had my Sec+ and A+. Just had to knock this one out.

I'm in WGU, I have been studying passively with videos over several months but only just started my locking in two months ago with actual practice exams and CertMaster provided by my college.

Highest I scored on Jason Dion practice Exams was 87%.
I felt very unprepared and was fully expecting to fail. To my surprise however, the tests questions were significantly simpler than all the practice questions I did. It still tested my knowledge but I was surprised at how much simpler they were worded.

I was still not confident about many of the answers, and flagged half of them all for review but never even had time to go back because I ran out of time when doing the PBQs (which I always leave for last). I didn't even answer the last PDB entirely and somehow I passed.

In retrospect I would do a lot more labs because knowing how to do things hands on make a world of difference. I

Can someone explain to me why this answer is wrong please?

In this question, the answer could be modem, routers, switches, and bridges? I apologize for my ignorance, I'm really new at this...