About 2 years ago I studied for CCNA for 11 months. I made 100 page study guides, outlines of the OCG textbook, index cards that would reach my ceiling if i stacked them up ( a fun game you might think). And after those 11 months....I failed. I was infuriated, not because I failed, but because after studying so goddam hard all those months, I realized the test only tested me on like 20% of the material i studied...and that it was a game..not how hard you study...but how smart

I vowed never would I go through that again....

Sec+ Test Experience:

• JUST LIKE PROFESSOR MESSER PRACTICE EXAMS

• Stay AWAY from DION's practice exams, they are NOTHING like the real exam

• For attacks specifically, know what they look like, for example what does the URL look like in XSS attack? What does a path look like for directory traversal ?

• Ports were not as huge as other people made them out to be

• The PBQs were INSANE. The configurations they asked for were out of the scope for sure and i probably got them wrong.

• Some questions were tricky when regarding governance/policy. Know your standards!

Sec+ 3 Week Study Method: Professor Messer

Week 1: Passive Study

• Passively watch Professor Messers video series on Youtube (DO NOT TAKE NOTES JUST WATCH)

Week 2: Take Professor Messer Practice Exams

• Take exam 1 open book, have a print out of Professor Messer Notes next to you. Make index cards of everything you dont know...especially those acronyms. Study those index cards before moving onto exam 2

• Take exam 2 closed book in study mode. What this means is that you go to the end of the exam where it has the same questions but with detailed explanations BUT you do not look at answers until you make your decision. Checking the right answer after each question individually helps reinforce the right answers into your memory, and helps you learn why the wrong answers are wrong. Again, make index cards of what you didnt know and review before exam 3

• Take exam 3 closed book, like a regular exam. This gets you ready for how you will take the exam on exam day. Do not look at detailed answers until you finished. When you go over it, understand right and wrong answers, and once again make index cards of what you dont know

Final Week: Review

• You should now have 3 card decks: Exam 1, Exam 2, Exam 3. Study them until comfortable

• Day 2 and 3 before exam retake all practice exams

• Day before Exam DO NOT STUDY. Netflix n chill, order a pizza, be adventurous.

Takeaway:

• The Goal is to waste less time studying because youre not going to be tested on everything on the exam. Dont make guides/index cards on EVERYTHING...just what you didnt know on practice exam

• You dont need to know every single acronym, but if you know the acronyms/everything from Professor Messers practice exams then you will pass.

• Go over visual examples of attacks such as XSS, SQL injection, Directory traversal (what does the URL look like for ex)

EDIT: Another random tip: Studies have shown that we recall information better based on the state of our minds when we learned the same material. So if you drink caffeine(coffee/red bull) while you study, make sure you drink it before the exam.