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If You Had to Restart Security+, What Would You Do Differently?

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profgibs12

profgibs12

New member
Jan 6, 2026
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Freetown, Sierra Leone
#1
Seeing so many people sharing their Security+ journeys here is motivating 💪🏽

Quick question for those who’ve already passed or are deep into studying:

If you had to start Security+ all over again, what would you do differently?

Would you:

  • Focus more on practice exams?
  • Spend more time on hands-on labs?
  • Use fewer resources but go deeper?
  • Or follow a completely different study strategy?
I’m especially interested in real-world advice (what actually helped you pass, not just what sounds good).

Also, for those who passed recently — how long did you study and what resources made the biggest difference?

Appreciate any insights 🙏🏽
 
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#2
The best preparation for me was as follows:

Studying and passing the A+ exams
Studying and passing the Network+ exam

Those two exams gave me the necessary foundation and vocabulary to prepare for the Security+ exam.


Personally, I don't use practice exams. First, I've never seen an exam bank that was remotely close to the actual exam questions. Second, I've gotten much better at identifying my own blind spots.

The labs are useful for making the theory more concrete. You can see how things work. However, the exam doesn't ask you how to do anything step-by-step.

I'd find one single comprehensive resource and start there. A good, comprehensive exam preparation book is better than dozens of online videos.
 
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#4
Roger Whyte said:
  1. more emphasis on foundational concepts (CIA, Threat, vulnerability, Risk)
  2. More hands-on ...
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I think Roger Whyte has it. I don't have much to add to it. Just the following thoughts.
  1. Can never do enough practice exams - obviously the better written ones would resemble the real exam, but do as many practice exams to learn new topics, not to memorize a bunch of answers - focus on what you don't already know
  2. labs, labs, labs - comptia devleoped some really great labs. They are a pleasure to work through and play around with the tools. You aren't stuck just doing the lab. Do as much as you want with those Kali linux machines and what they have installed on them. Play around with dvwa and any of the interfaces and learn and play and learn some more.
  3. Don't forget to research the simulations that are actually covered the exams. Make sure you know them well. The CompTIA official labs should have covered all of them.
  4. I don't mind hearing the same information from two different sources, but usually I just stick with a really good reference book and wikipedia. Hearing the same thing from two different perspectives gives me a deeper understanding, but I have limited time and want to maximize the use of the limited time I have. So reference manual for depth, and wikipedia for the high level overview that I need to have to understand the main point. Otherwise, I'm old enough that sooner or later I see the same crud on yet another textbook.
 
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#5
Kristina N said:
  1. Can never do enough practice exams - obviously the better written ones would resemble the real exam, but do as many practice exams to learn new topics, not to memorize a bunch of answers - focus on what you don't already know
Click to expand...
I completely disagree. I have passed 14 different CompTIA certification exams, and recertified several times for many of them, without taking a single practice exam. I didn't have any practice exams for the CISSP, CISM, or CCSP either.

If you read the exam objectives thoroughly and learn the material to the degree that you can comprehensively explain it to others, there is no need for practice exams.

For the few I have looked at, even highly rated ones, I haven't found any that I would endorse. None are written in a similar style. Many go outside the exam objectives. And sadly, many of them have incorrect answers in the answer keys.
 
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#6
Gregory Childers said:
I completely disagree. I have passed 14 different CompTIA certification exams, and recertified several times for many of them, without taking a single practice exam. I didn't have any practice exams for the CISSP, CISM, or CCSP either.
Click to expand...
While I, myself, have taken plenty of practice exams, mostly because I do better solving problems, I can also say that, unless it's some kind of weird brain-dump, I've never seen practice tests that are on the level with cert testing. Most practice exams seem to settle on Cognitive Blooms 1 to 2, where real cert grade questions are somewhere more 2 to 3.

And I've seen a lot of practice platforms, like ol' Transcender, which I feel was basically gutted when Kaplan bought it out, all the way up through to CertMaster.

My problem with practice testing is that, often, candidates get a false sense of security when drilling exams. If a candidate takes too many on a single platform, scoring 95%, he/she may feel ready - only to get into the exam and bomb it.

One of the things I have done to prepare for exams that is often overlooked is read the book's glossary and index. Go through each term and see if you can explain what it is - compare to the definition. I do this after completing any book that I read. Sometimes, it helps me to make sure I've nailed down the concepts.

In the end, there are no silver bullet to learning a certification in my book. Each will have their own process and things that work. I think it lands with being dedicated to learning the material, not just brain-loading a bunch of information and hoping for the best.
 
#7
I'm a big documentation guy. I can read through a 500-page book and go over the material again and again until I understand it and commit it to LONG-TERM MEMORY. When I study for a certification exam, passing the exam is not my ultimate goal. It's learning the material the exam covers because it builds new skill sets I can use in a technical field. Learning the material well enough to apply it in real-world scenarios is much more challenging than prepping for an exam.

Too many students want shortcuts. They want to watch a few videos (at 1.5X speed), and then take a battery of practice exams back-to-back. They don't want to put in the hard work and effort necessary actually to learn the material. They forget 90% of it after the exam is over because they're only concerned with short-term memory so they can pass the exam and check a box for a recruiter. Most of the fail technical interviews miserably and blame the industry because they can't find gainful employment.

Aim for the stars, not for the floor.
 
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