How I passed CompTIA Security + 601 in 30 days with no IT background!
Hi there! My name is Jenn, if you are reading this it’s possible you are thinking about or getting ready to take the Security + 601 exam. I’m here to tell you how I passed the Security + 601 exam with no IT background using self-paced study. I'll also be sharing a resources that may help you along your journey. Even if you feel like you can't, you absolutely CAN!! Let’s dive in!
STEP 1 BOOK YOUR EXAM NOW!!!!
If you have decided you want to take the CompTIA Security+ exam stop what you are doing right now, and go book it! This is perhaps the best advice I was given when feeling nervous about being able to pass the exam with no background or understanding of the topic at the time. Whether you give yourself 2 weeks or 6 months to complete this exam it will take you that amount of time. I gave myself 4 weeks with a light-moderate study schedule of a few hours most days but if you have unlimited time and are a quick study there is no reason you wouldn’t be able to complete this in two weeks.
At the time writing this you could take the exam at home proctored through a 3rd party platform or you could schedule an exam time at an approved local hard site facility. I opted in for hard site to ensure a quiet, distraction free environment.
What is CompTIA Security + 601?
“CompTIA Security+ addresses the latest cybersecurity trends and techniques – covering the most core technical skills in risk assessment and management, incident response, forensics, enterprise networks, hybrid/cloud operations and security controls, ensuring high performance on the job.” (L ane, P. 2022, May 2)
The exam itself is broken down into 5 distinct categories, each have a different weight of importance to the exam that you can see listed below.
1: Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities (24%)
2: Architecture and Design (21%)
3: Implementation (25%)
4: Operations and Incident Response (16%)
5: Governance, Risk and Compliance (14%).
This gives you a promising idea of what areas are most important to study. From my experience this guide is accurate and helped me define what topics needed more attention than others.
HOW to study...
There are many ways to study for the Security + 601 exam and only you know the best way for you. Ask yourself a few questions, are you a visual learner? Auditory learner? Are you organized and able to focus yourself or do you study better with pre defined materials and study track? Do you have a budget for your studies? Answering these questions will help you choose the best method for you! If you prefer an already structured and paced study plan a college program or boot camp are your best options, but they are not the most budget considerate. If you are able to stay focused and practice good study habits on your own, self-paced study may be a great option for you, and it is also the most cost effective! I did personally did the self paced study and will be telling you here how I went about it!
The two resources I used to study were-
CompTIA Security+ Study Guide SYO-601
Professor Messer’s SYO-601 CompTIA Security + Course (it’s free!)
First off, I bought the CompTIA Security + Study Guide SYO-601 off amazon for about $32 and it was worth every penny, a little dry but packed with all of the information you'll need! I also purchased the additional practice tests book and to be honest don’t think I ever used it, so maybe skip the extra cost on that one.
In combination with the CompTIA Security + Study Guide I used Professor Messer’s free SYO-601 CompTIA Security + Course (linked above). The Professor Messer video course follows the same structure as the test categories and is broken down into digestible, easy to follow topics for the viewer.
For the first two weeks I used the Professor Messer course as my primary study guide, watching the videos start to finish and then used the CompTIA Study Guide as a reference to clarify or expand on areas I did not fully grasp from the video course. As the course played, I paused often to make key word and concept flash cards. Making solid flashcards was KEY to understanding and memorizing all the terms needed to pass the Security + 601 exam and though yes making good flashcards is time consuming, you will be happy you did.
I spent the first 2 weeks going through, watching the Professor Messer Course start to finish, backing up information with the CompTIA Security + 601 Study guide and at times searching the web for real life scenario examples to drive home any concepts I didn't quite grasp. I did also use the "check on learning" resources in the CompTIA Study Guide but did not try the full practice tests until I had gone over all the material.
Once I watched the entire Professor Messer Course, and had a ridiculous stack of flash cards, it was time to hit some practice exams! The CompTIA Study Guide had a good stack of practice tests that were helpful, but I found that the Professor Messer Practice Tests (linked in "Resources" at the bottom of the page) were invaluable and well worth the $25.
Over week 3 I used pretests to elevate my understanding. After taking the exam, I would go back to questions that I had gotten wrong and make flashcards (yes more flashcards...) for not only the right answer to the question but also the wrong answers as well. I found with this this exam knowing what something IS NO can be just as valuable as knowing what it IS.
Week 4, buried up to my ears in flash cards it was time to put them to use! I spent much of the last week asking friends or family to run flashcards with me and those I knew went in a KNOWN pile and those I did not know or did not know well went into a NOT KNOWN pile. Eventually the “NOT KNOWN” pile shrank, and I was feeling good about the test!
Test day rolled around, I had registered at a local community college to take it. I made sure to get a good nights rest (best I could for having two toddler boys anyway), made sure to hydrate, and eat a good breakfast. As much as I love my coffee I had to stick to water morning of the exam, I tend to get a little jittery if I have too much coffee. Just something to consider for test mornings is setting yourself up for success even with what you eat/drink. During the exam make sure to read the ENTIRE question, look and the potential answers and if you need to re-read the question. Go SLOW, if you get stressed or anxious breath and re center your focus, you have a full 90 minutes to take the test. The entire exam took me about 45 minutes giving myself plenty of time to read and re read. At the end I exited and waited for the results, much to my delight I passed! Fast forward to now I'm about halfway done with my Cyber Security degree and can attest from personal experience, and no prior IT background you can absolutely do it! If it is something that you want, book that test now and get to work!
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RESOURCES MENTIONED
Additional Resources
If you plan to continue your journey in IT, I HIGHLY recommend getting a membership to ITpro.tv. It is a video based learning platform with resources on tons of different certifications and practices.
Sources
Lane, P. (2022, May 2). CompTIA security+ 501 vs. 601: What's the difference? Default. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.comptia.org/blog/comptia-security-501-vs-601#:~:text=CompTIA%20Security%2B%20601%20focuses%20on,Monitor%20and%20secure%20hybrid%20environments
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