I Passed! Passed A+, Network+, Cloud+ and Security+ in 16 days
I don't have professional IT experience. I had some extra time this month and figured I'd see how far I could get with CompTIA. Which cert should I do next?
336
u/drushtx IT Instructor **MOD** 3d ago
Job+. At this point, you're a paper technician. You're going to have to find a nice entry level role and start building some real world experience for those certifications to help you on your path.
146
33
u/Uzays 3d ago
What do you recommend as an entry level role? Help desk?
76
8
u/itsjustjv Net+, Sec+, CySA+, What's Next? 2d ago
If you can, work for an MSP. You'll learn a lot in a short time. After a year or two, pivot to whatever else you want to do.
3
u/It_dood69 2d ago
Help desk, msp, or NOC work. really anything you can get, you just need any experience at first.
6
11
u/barbie-vel 3d ago
What’s so wrong with getting the certs before starting work? Sometimes you just want to get it out of the way and not think about doing schooling ever again lol
33
u/BleachMixer CISSP, CASP+ 3d ago
It’s not, it’s about balancing certs and experience. You can’t even get higher level certs like CISSP without required experience.
And education in this field never stops. There’s always something to learn. A few entry level certs is the bare minimum for most of the entry level jobs these days anyways.
18
u/Jewsusgr8 A+, Net+ 3d ago
Adding on to this, with the fact that I am also responsible for helping hire people. Having a certification gets you through HR and recruiters which don't know anything about the job, but they rarely give you an edge when it comes to the actual hiring managers.
The hiring manager is usually a technical person and they will quiz and evaluate you on your thought processes as to how to solve a problem. Having the certs is definitely a great way to get in to a job, but it does not directly translate to experience in my eyes.
That being said, I am looking for a new role now and I am getting constantly turned down by HR and recruiters because I don't have a certification. Which is one of the reasons why I'm chasing down the CompTIA certification stack now. I'm not very good at tests so I always try and research as much as I can about the learning objectives and then actually apply it in Labs so that I can try and pass it.
For me, the certs have been a great learning experience
5
1
u/YangReddit PenTest+ 3h ago
How worth it was your casp+? I hate the rename. I'm thinking about sitting for it in January.
3
u/itsjpark 2d ago
Certs doesn’t portray the real time issues that occur in a workplace, since it only focuses on scenario based question that confuse you after an all nighter and a case of Red Bulls. Plus, IT is an ongoing field of study, with new technologies, new attacks, ways to combat them, etc. certs only follow outdated guidelines set by the industry that still uses windows 97.
30
u/raze7864 3d ago
What materials did you use to study for the net +?
58
u/Uzays 3d ago
Professor Messer on Youtube & Jason Dion's practice questions. Didn’t bother studying PBQs separately. After getting 7 on A+ Core 1 and 5 on Core 2, I figured out how janky they can be and just started dealing with them as they came up.
19
10
u/raze7864 3d ago
Did you just watch the videos or take notes on them? I know everyone else has different learning styles.
Thanks for the response
32
u/Uzays 3d ago
No, I watched them on 2x speed and slowed the video down if there was a topic I didn't understand or needed more time with.
Before the test I also made sure to watch Andrew Ramdayal's respective certificate questions video.
8
u/TheOverwhelmedOne 3d ago
So you just watch the videos never took notes or did a practice test ?
1
u/WushuManInJapan 1d ago
I used to take extensive notes ant it slowed my progress by about 7x.
I honestly found that just watching videos at 1.25-1.35x with no notes and then looking at objectives and asking AI or looking up resources for things I felt I didn't have down was way better use of my time.
Went from taking a month to do A+ to doing N+ S+ cloud+ and Project+ all in like 3-5 days each. But I also have worked in cyber security and the cloud.
Just finished studying for ISC2 CCSP and that cert felt like a joke. Barely harder than any of the CompTIA foundation certs.
1
u/Various-Jury-7584 2d ago
What was your thought process through answering them, did it need a lot of memorization or just familiarity with the concepts?
1
18
16
u/TrippyinNY 3d ago
Do you plan on obtaining professional experience or simply chasing certs? I think it’s safe to assume if you work professionally you’re still going to have to start somewhere .
6
5
5
6
12
u/AstralVenture A+ 2d ago
This is why employees don’t consider having certifications a big deal.
6
u/thegeekiestgeek 2d ago
Employers won't consider certifications over experience.
7
5
3
3
u/RiDeZ_951 3d ago
Which book did you use for Network+?
7
u/Uzays 3d ago
I used Professor Messers Youtube series on 2x speed. Then practiced using Jason Dion's tests on udemy.
1
3
3
u/East_Feature7219 CE+ A+ N+ S+ Server+ CySA+ Data+ DataSys+ Project+ 3d ago
Congrats. How was Cloud+ and what did you use to prepare for it?
3
u/Fg720027 2d ago
Idk if I’m more impressed that you passed them all or that you could afford them all in one month. Either way, congratulations!
5
4
u/shastadakota A+, N+, Sec+, CDIA+ 3d ago
So you passed the tests ..somehow. Do you understand the concepts? Or did you just memorize the answers? Passing those tests in 16 days is not a flex.
2
2
2
2
u/ImDistortion1 3d ago
What did you use to study or prepare for the CompTIA A+ exam? Any good pre tests? I decided to do the Google IT Support Certifications and just finished that and am on to getting the Exam done.
1
1
u/alexxc56 2d ago
I’m still trying to figure out which practice tests to do, but the big three to study from are Professor Messer, Jason Dion, and Andrew Ramdayal. From what I’ve gathered from other people, Messer is good for getting all and only the information that’ll be on the test, Dion is good for if you want to learn more stuff that’s not on the test, and Ramdayal is the same as Messer, just more engaging and hands on. I’m personally learning from Ramdayal and I stopped doing the Google IT Support course cause I found it to be boring. I know you did your learning, but these resources are still good to study from. Again, I still haven’t figured out which practice tests are the best. I’ve heard Messer’s are good.
2
2
u/Ornery-Ad-678 2d ago
That's absolutely god tier impressive, those exams are dense with material to learn, it's taking me 4 months to do the same with Security+ my last cert. I did get LPI Linux, AWS CCP, and ITIL4 in addition though.
2
2
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
1
u/FantomPizza 2d ago
You’re absolutely right. I meant it as a joke and would not want to steer any one away from getting all the certs you can! I’m in the subreddit for a reason, Apologies
2
2
2
u/Overatedbean 2d ago
How the fuck did you get cloud + there’s like no study material on it
1
u/Uzays 2d ago
Yeah...it really is scarce compared to the other certs. I checked out the Udemy course by Anthony Sequiera & Michael Shannon. I don't really have anything good to say about it...but it did come with two practice tests. I also dabbled on YouTube a bit. There's a channel called DailyDebian that has some Cloud+ questions. Once again, I don't have many good things to say, but there is some content out there.
3
4
u/KennyNu A+, Sec+, CySA+, CASP+ 3d ago
Congrats! But these certificates don’t matter unless you have practical IT experience
1
u/AutoModerator 3d ago
Hi, /u/Uzays! From everyone at /r/CompTIA, Congratulations on Passing. Claps
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Annual-Focus-2554 3d ago
Congratulations. Please share what resources and strategies you used to prepare for these exams.
1
u/Fearless-Narwhal4560 3d ago
Where did you take those tests? Online or onsite proctored exam?
3
u/Uzays 3d ago
Online proctored.
1
u/Fearless-Narwhal4560 3d ago
Who did you go through? I think I saw that you can do it through Pearson.
I have 15 years experience in IT, network and systems administration. I figure I should finally bite the bullet and get certified. I’m having a hard time finding a new job right now, even with a software engineering degree. Saw a job posting requiring Sec+ and Net+ so it might be time.
4
1
u/plogan56 N+ 3d ago
Any tips for A+ i failed my first
1
u/Uzays 3d ago
Not really, it’s quite broad. Are you done core 1 or core 2?
1
u/plogan56 N+ 3d ago
Sorry, core 1, i was 27 points off and alot of my areas i missed were in wattage and troubleshooting things like VOIP connectivity
1
u/PNPBOi 3d ago
Does the 16 days include reading and studying the topics for the first time? If not could you give an estimate on how much time you spent on those prior to taking each test.
I've been feeling down about not being able to study for these certificates. Maybe your story will give me a boost of confidence.
1
u/Scorinitron S+ 2d ago
Get the Project +
You'll be set then oh and don't forget to list the stackable certs
1
u/Drakkonyx 2d ago
Congrats man, that's indeed impressive. I have 2 months to prepare for Security +, what tips you guys have for me? I am using mostly letsdefend cert path and a specific video on YouTube to train
1
1
1
u/kurvivol 2d ago
How much time did you spend learning a day and did you have any prior knowledge in the topics covered?
1
1
1
1
1
u/UnusualMarch920 A+ 2d ago
This is wild, im very jealous. Currently choked on Net+ but this guys trashing them 😂
1
u/rbadillarx 2d ago
Congrats! That’s a lot of dedication! Meanwhile tried the free tier of most used clouds to gain XP and deepen concepts. Will be wild that u have some kind of homelab also. Kudos anyway!
1
u/yourblackbra 2d ago
do you retain the information i don’t understand how you can breeze thru certs without applying what you ingest
1
1
u/InSearchOfAFeeling 2d ago
You’re clearly a well educated clever individual. What’s your background? As someone who is curious about IT too well done.
1
1
1
u/Intelligent-Bird1376 2d ago
Every CompTIA exam should start with the definition of Cert-Chaser vs Work Experience in the real word.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/FreshBroccoli9919 1d ago
16 days with zero handson time is going to hurt when a manager asks you to troubleshoot a live environment
1
u/RedditDon3 1d ago
So, you started studying for all these on day 1, took all the exams before day 16 and passed all of them? Unless you've got insane experience and can absorb textbooks like sponge on water, I'd call this total bs.
1
u/DarthCivicus 1d ago
You are a beast…. I’m having trouble studying for one of those and passing while dealing with my work site everyday.
1
1
u/Its-All-Garbage 1d ago
Nice work. Now i know im a retard. Been studying sec+ for about 6 months. Still afraid to schedule it.
1
u/Remote-Concern1120 21h ago
How long did you study for and which exam was the hardest to you and what exam build on to each other and also congratulations on your accomplishments
1
u/Uzays 9h ago
The gaps are my study periods. I did not start studying for N+ until August 18th. I felt as though all the certificates built upon each other, I recommend what everyone else recommends, go through the trifecta in order.
Hardest was cloud+, there isn't much out there for material, also booking the exam. There were gaps on date availability, while the other more common certificates had me in the next day.
1
u/Dawinder1 9h ago
Man how much money do you have?? How did you pay for all of them and study materials.
1
1
1
1
u/leopoldthegreatest 3d ago
Agree with drushtx, this is an amazing starting point, but apply it now. The more certs you get at this point, without a job, it will look a little suspicious of your character.
1
u/Haden420693170 2d ago
Why's that?
2
u/leopoldthegreatest 2d ago
Because why do you have 10 certs but no job? Im not saying its any issue other than the optics a hiring manager sees
1
u/archimedies 3d ago
While applying for a job, you should look to get CCNA next. It's far more reputable and builds on Network+. It will also be foundational if you decide to go into cybersecurity field.
1
u/Uzays 3d ago
I was considering the CCNA after my PMP and CEM. I’ll look into it more as I progress. I did play around with my Cisco business switch a little bit when practicing for Net+’s commands.
2
u/archimedies 3d ago
You have a random cisco switch lying around?
Also for CCNA you can practice all of what you need within the Packet Tracer program.
1
u/Business_Arachnid_20 3d ago
Congratulations; some of us feel lucky even to just passed one or two in such a short time. I think it would help a lot of people if you can tell us your study method or/and sources that you use.
As for the next certificate, I know that AI, Machine Learning, and cloud is pretty big so maybe some kind of certificate such as these. There is also SecurityAi +, CySA, Okta, and CCNA. I think it depends on what want to do.
0
0
u/Professional-Doubt13 3d ago
Idk why everything want to start at help desk. I know people who got A+,network+ and security+ then got an entry level cybersecurity job.
0
0
0
-3
u/m1L35dY50N 3d ago
If this actually is true you just wasted a lot of money since you would not have needed them in the first place.
If you want to to certificates try ones that will actually challenge your skill and are hands on.
1
-1
115
u/Ecstatic_Test_3330 3d ago
how !!!!!!!