Chiming in since we are talking about certifications, for Security+ at a 4 year college, I feel it should be a higher level class (I guess it depends what is all taught, etc.) but does anyone have the class they teach and what level are you teaching it in? We do 2 parts which is amazing but I need to find a way to get it into the students brains, YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MASTER WHEN YOU READ THE CONTENT DAY 1, it takes times. It's an intimidating class for those who are jumping into cybersecurity. What are ways you approach it and make it less intimidating for the students that (I was once this person) read the content and NEED to know it ALL? I've let them know I was you to understand the concept because you see it more than once. Obviously we teach content, not to pass the certification. They have extra time after for those who want to take the voucher to study more which is nice, but I'm trying to find different approaches and a less scary class Throw methods and thoughts at me! How do you break it down? Do you take out labs? have them do different activities? Hope I'm posting in the right forum and keep to keep it going!

Rick Butler said:

Good fix, @precious - since I didn't get a Data+ or Cloud+ voucher, myself, I didn't see what happened. Anyway, good job.

@Jill West - Never give up! lol

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@Jill West 2 for 1? Take Data+ AND Cloud+ Back to Back, you got this!! Also correct, never give up. Especially when you are signing into Pearson Vue and want to slowly cry while it spins and you checked your PC 200 time haha

Shea Bennett said:

10 post minimums! ROFL

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I actually am still learning a lot of the CIN network, I love it! But I was posting a new forum vs. asking a question in one so I made some rookie mistakes, embarrassing...but everyone is amazing in the CIN community! Helpful, respectful and we all can't be tech gurus like Stephen (I didn't want to tag the wrong Stephen - I thought I found his profile...didn't need to embarrass myself more, ...and @Rick Butler haha. Everyday can't be perfect, if it is, give me the magical key

Amelia A. said:

It was not nearly as difficult as I expected. I was in total freak-out mode during the days leading up to the exam, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I was well-educated. I can't stress enough that the CIN material was the key to passing. I have severe math anxiety, and I thought it'd be really "math-y" but it wasn't.

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So glad it wasn’t as “math-y” as feared, just courage and CIN magic! . Congrats once more.

CongratsX!

I think a lot of people who are well prepared for an exam often stress that they haven't prepared enough, going in.

Good job, and congrats on your win!

Stephen Schneiter said:

Hi folks, just an update. I received notice that the A+ Core 2 vouchers will be emailed out tomorrow. Thanks again for all your patience!

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Stephen,

I never received mine. And i did reach out with my new college email address.

Thanks

Registered

precious said:

Congratulations . How was it?

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It was not nearly as difficult as I expected. I was in total freak-out mode during the days leading up to the exam, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I was well-educated. I can't stress enough that the CIN material was the key to passing. I have severe math anxiety, and I thought it'd be really "math-y" but it wasn't.

Congratulations . How was it?

Jill West said:

Can I pick your brains for a minute?

And before you suggest it--I've already reached out to Stephen, so no need to suggest this. But I figured y'all might be able to help me solve this issue to lighten the load on Stephen a bit.

I'm trying to use my DataX TTT voucher that expires Nov 30. Went to register to take the exam on Nov 24, but when I entered the voucher, I got an error message:

Discount validation failed.​

• This voucher cannot be used with this exam.

Any ideas what might be wrong or how/if I could fix this? I've triple checked to confirm I'm using the correct voucher for the correct exam.

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Please what is the way out now.

Jill West said:

Wow, yep, you nailed it. Same code as another one I received the same day. Did you get a replacement that worked, or should I give up on this exam and move on to the next cert in my list?

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Glad we figured it out. While the person didn't attend DataX TTT, he still got that duplicate Cloud+ voucher written as DataX, owing to this, he didn't reach out Stephen; he knew he wasn't eligible for the DataX voucher.

In your case, definitely don’t give up, I would recommend you present it to @Stephen Schneiter, this time the problem is "I received duplicate xx voucher as DataX voucher-I attended DataX TTT" from "Discount validation failed-This voucher cannot be used with this exam."

Raydo Matthee said:

I've received A+ Core 2 exam voucher and passed the exam. Waiting for A+ Core 1 exam voucher. View attachment 2451

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Wow this is great, Congratukations.....

Registered, Thanks Stephen...

Looking forward to it....

Shea Bennett said:

Does anyone know if there will be a new CompTIA Partner portal launched? I went to the old URL and it just redirects me to this URL: https://www.comptia.org/en-us/partner-portal/partner-resources/


I'm trying to figure out how to sell Certmaster courses as an addition to our classes. It's pretty confusing.

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I haven't heard of a new portal or anything - I think the re-org and the like left a lot of unanswered questions about a lot of things. Benefit of the doubt would be that CompTIA is working on all of these things...as they have the manpower and ability...

Corporate restructures are replete with problems - I've been through a few in my career. I think we all have.

Jill West said:

Wow, yep, you nailed it. Same code as another one I received the same day. Did you get a replacement that worked, or should I give up on this exam and move on to the next cert in my list?

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Good fix, @precious - since I didn't get a Data+ or Cloud+ voucher, myself, I didn't see what happened. Anyway, good job.

@Jill West - Never give up! lol

precious said:

Ahh thank you for looping us in, it also happened to one of us, with the same DataX voucher failing to redeem, later finding out that they sent a duplicate Cloud plus voucher as DataX voucher. I would suggest you compare that voucher with other vouchers you received around the time, it might also happen to be.

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Wow, yep, you nailed it. Same code as another one I received the same day. Did you get a replacement that worked, or should I give up on this exam and move on to the next cert in my list?

Raydo Matthee said:

If we want to elevate CIN beyond a freebie portal, we need a clear framework that rewards meaningful engagement.

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Not sure if we want to 'elevate CIN beyond a freebie portal", since the minute we did something like that, we would wipe out most all the membership. And I don't there is a gain in doing that. I think we want to encourage anyone in the teaching sphere to be a part of the Community.

Shea Bennett said:

I'm genuinely trying to focus on expertise, not just pump students through like a cash cow.

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If every instructor and training house believed this, we might actually see a better student base. Sadly, there's far more emphasis on profit than teaching.

dmayer5 said:

Hello everyone, I know Andrew Crotty (Ginger Hacker) just introduced himself, so I thought I'd do the same! I have been working with Andrew at The Ginger Hacker Initiative and am a Cybersecurity Engineer at an MSSP. I'm a big fan of CompTIA and hold 7 active certifications! I come from a law enforcement background and am excited to give back to the community. Looking forward to collaborating with everyone here!


Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well! https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannypmayer/

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Welcome to the party! Impressive laundry list of CompTIA certs and the big CISSP! Congrats.

Mitch Garvis said:

Hey folks. I was asked this morning (by a company that has engaged me to teach dozens of CompTIA courses) to share the slide deck for a course. It is a very well-known company, and I know they have a strong relationship with CompTIA. They do not use third-party courseware, nor do they use third-party labs. Am I permitted to do this? I have access to the course slides because I downloaded them direct from CompTIA - likely because they were licenses for me by another company I teach for - but I do not know how the backend from the training provider standpoint goes. Do they need to purchase Instructor Courseware for their trainers? Am I permitted to share it with them?

Thanks in advance!

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They need to register and get their own accounts and stuff setup. I wouldn't personally let them use you as a bridge.

Mitch Garvis said:

Hey folks. I was asked this morning (by a company that has engaged me to teach dozens of CompTIA courses) to share the slide deck for a course. It is a very well-known company, and I know they have a strong relationship with CompTIA. They do not use third-party courseware, nor do they use third-party labs. Am I permitted to do this? I have access to the course slides because I downloaded them direct from CompTIA - likely because they were licenses for me by another company I teach for - but I do not know how the backend from the training provider standpoint goes. Do they need to purchase Instructor Courseware for their trainers? Am I permitted to share it with them?

Thanks in advance!

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CompTIA products are copyrighted. You have to generate your own content. There is no problem with extrapolating (in my own opinion...but I'm no lawyer). You can use what you learn from CompTIA as a guide, but I wouldn't personally give access to their content and their branding, logos, etc.

Rick Butler said:

I would totally agree with that, although we might also see an uptick in garbage posting - and we don't want to go through all that again.

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Exactly...quality over quantity. The other thing is post TTT training. If your really serious and dig. I'm still working through the Linux+ Certmaster course, because I'm genuinely trying to focus on expertise, not just pump students through like a cash cow. The more I know, the better I teach and the greater the outcomes for my students.

Gregory Childers said:

I have long believed that CompTIA should add one more requirement for the free vouchers.

People should actually contribute to the CIN community. Not just sign up, never post, and then demand free vouchers.

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10 post minimums! ROFL