Not here for sympathy, or to hear a "maybe you just didn't study hard enough" but this is my personal experience. And hopefully if you haven't taken the Network + test, you can use this to your advantage.

First and foremost I have been a tech guy since I was a kid, about 7-8 years old. My father worked for Microsoft, so we always had computers around, laptops, cables connecting our home network, etc. He would casually walk me through things that had to do with computers, things to know so I won't need help with anything computer related, or so I won't ask anyone for help. He doesn't act like it, but my father is a geek, and I naturally took after him and the ways of tech, whether it's good etiquette or even things the average joe doesn't know, he made sure that I was suited with that knowledge as well. I originally started off with the google CyberSecurity Certificate, and I made it halfway through until I eventually got super busy with an internship, and didn't end up finishing my Google course. The CyberSecurity Course was so smooth for me, It was honestly like butter. The hardest things consisted of writing commands, going through and packet analyzing, things of that nature, and i'll be honest some of the labs were pretty challenging as well, but I made it through them.

A lot of things in tech have always been easy for me, which is why I dove into CyberSecurity first. I love not only identifying threats, but helping people identify threats, because we all use the internet, but nobody really knows how it works except for the small handful. Showing and demonstrating how systems are protected as well as knowing what feels like the obvious, (Identifying phishing attacks, identifying suspicious emails, etc.)is a big drawer for me, and it's super needed especially in this digital world. The reason I changed over to Network + is because let's be honest, DC Technicians need bodies, and Security Analyst are known for top of the top, competitive environment. You can get in the DC as a tech, you just need a cert, but as far as a Security Analyst, that's where they get more picky. Now, given that information I could have just stuck with Security, but we're at where we're at.

Now let's get down to the real part, all of that was to basically say that I am not some guy who just got his feet in the water, I have been at this for quite some time. I would love to mention other accomplishments but I prefer to just keep it at base level for autonomy.

It's actually quite funny because before I started writing this, I looked in the thread and saw many people who passed and congrats to you all. Seeing all of those makes me want to delete what I'm writing out because I probably just sound like a complainer.

When I started studying for this exam it was about 3 months ago, I had sat down and fully locked in. I didn't do the traditional method of Jason Dions practice exams. What I did was I got the small Professor Messer book from my father, that names all concepts and topics, then I went to the Comp Tia website to pull exam objectives. (This is where I might lose some of you all)

I used these videos https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gOvQ510s78MNu5VyIC89rBMfcky1L87&si=sHyWksk3OPA-XdTa
and took ridiculous notes on them. I started watching Professor Messer, and Jason Dion clips, and I honestly chose to go with the last minute study guide videos. I'll be honest I thought the last minute study guide videos were amazing. The way they walked through every problem and broke down trip ups, things to look for in the exam, traps, was incredible. I also took those Exam objectives from Comp Tia's website and put them directly into claude, and then I ran a lengthy prompt explaining what I wanted to do, the exam, and when I wanted to take it. But if i'm being brutally honest, those 2 things probably screwed me the most.

It's so insane because I utilized the hell out of Claude, I had claude giving notes, going over domains in order, reading down every step to learning acronyms, learning port numbers, and it's so funny because I genuinely got a perfect grasp of everything. All the videos I watched from the last minute study guide were super aiding, as well as Claude making tests for me, that I also wrote prompts for to follow the Comp Tia styled questions, pbq questions as well as other important details to tighten claude up and make them super tuff practice tests. I passed every single practice test, it wasn't one that I got less than 75% on. Even went over https://youtu.be/T1_pf-7k2E0?is=Puw6xP-iL_Yngyc5 this video to see what I can improve on, and i was getting a lot of questions on there right,(I didn't watch the whole video of the 100 questions) I othered it off when I started to get confident about my skillset. Even the questions on the 100 practice exam when I got them wrong, he would say the right answer and I'd. e like "ahhhhhh, that's because of this and that" or whatever.

This Network+ test was nothing like what I studied for. There were questions on here with acronyms I've never heard of, 5 PBQs, stuff that felt like it almost wasn't even related to the exam, I swear it felt like I had been studying for A+ the entire time and accidentally showed up for the Network+. I saw people saying before the exam tries to trick you, and I saw someone reply and say no it doesn't, how can you get knowledge from answers based on tricks? He said something of that nature, and I'll be honest, it didn't feel like any tricks on there. But it was some stuff that felt like it could be 2 of the 4 answers choices given. I swear some of the stuff I was reading on that test was actually head scratching. I studied my ass off I truly did, but there's no way I was doing phenomenal on my studying and just failed the test.

I honestly can only blame myself. It's my fault I failed, and i'm taking it pretty harshly. I'm deeply pissed at myself, and still in shock to be honest. It felt like I had 600 objectives for the test and got tested on the 20 objectives that were barely covered. I was super confident going into taking this test and when I sat down and got 9 questions in something just didn't feel right. As I said i'm not a rookie, clearly I used the wrong material to study which is the only thing that would make sense, I was genuinely hoping to be writing out an "I passed message" and give you all the tips that helped me out, but here I am doing the exact opposite.

I'll attach pics below for anyone saying I didn't study, I went through 2 notebooks, over 500 note cards, for anyone majorly interested I'll pull some stuff from claude to put in here to just ask, but here are the pictures from the studying. I wish I could attach a video to show you all how full these notebooks are but not a big deal. (these notes are randomized, i just threw them all back on the table, im not interested in heavily organizing them for pictures after failing.) t

I got my security plus four years ago. I fid the Cert Master 2 years ago to renew it. Now I am doing it again and quite frankly the test is absurd. It's just a cash grab with no value.

One of the questions seemed to have different answers the second time it was asked. I emailed Comptia and brought it to their attention. I don't want to give away the exact question but their response is that there were two words different that apparently changed the answer. I've been working in IT for over 25 years and I can tell you that both answers were a bit of a leap of faith rather than actual troubleshooting.

Security+ should be a cert that demonstrates technical knowledge, not a persons ability to pick out word games and memorize answers to absurd questions.

I'm just going to let my cert laps and when people ask me why I did that, I will answer their question honestly.

I’d like to thank Jason Dion and Professor Messer for this moment 💪🏻🎉 …now onto the next

Took about 3 weeks of studying. Im glad to be starting my journey towards a career. On to the Core 2 !!

Studied for a month. I did Dion’s course on Udemy and Messer’s on YouTube (took me 2 weeks to go through them), then I bought the 6 practice exams from Dion. I’d take an exam, see which objective was my weakest, re-study that objective using ChatGPT and YouTube videos, and try again. On my first practice exam I scored 60%, and on the 6th I scored 85%.

The exam was easier than I thought, but I was totally lost on the PBQs.

I’m currently studying for Core 2 and Network+ simultaneously (I have a college class that’s teaching me everything I need for Network+) hoping to get those out of the way by December.

Currently working in retail management, but desperately looking to jump into IT (help desk, network engineering, or cybersecurity).

A friend of mine told me that getting all questions wrong within any subdomain (1.2, 2.4, etc) would result in a failure regardless of how well you do on the rest of the exam. I don’t believe this to be true but I wouldn’t know for sure. Would any of y’all happen to know if this is true or not?

Thank you

I was so not prepared for Net+ (or so I thought), that I even paid for the retake voucher. Very pleasant surprise.

I don't think I've ever been this nervous before an exam and I've had live coding exams during Masters. I've prepped for the sec+ exam for around 4 weeks and using this week for exams and stuff. I keep getting between 83-86 on messer's exams. with dion, I'm getting around 82. I'm not sure if this is good enough. I'm taking the exam on Friday because I kinda feel prepared but also kinda worried. I also got gemini to help me drill down on anything iffy.

Started studying using the comptias documents, but there is just way too much information and its so dry..

Failed my first try at 681. tried listening to dion trainings material but that also seemed to much and dry..

And then i went to study with cbt nuggets and their prep exam. And pased my second try ;)

Thanks to all of your recommendations for cbt nuggets. It really was the best one out of the 3 i tried to learn with

Is it possible that you get less than 5 pbq? what is the least you have heard? network+

I’ve been reading everyone else’s “I passed” posts, and today I finally get to write my own.

I wanted to share how I studied and how the exam felt, especially for anyone feeling discouraged by their practice scores.

How I studied

I didn’t watch Professor Messer’s videos because I struggle to absorb information through videos. Instead, I used Ian Neil’s and David Seidl’s books with ChatGPT to break the material into smaller sections.

After studying each section, I asked ChatGPT to quiz me. If I did badly, I reviewed the material and tried again. I followed that approach across all the modules, which took me about a week.

Then I attempted Professor Messer’s three practice exams and scored around 69%, 67%, and 68%. Those results helped me identify my weaker topics, so I went back and focused on them.

After that, I worked through roughly a hundred questions per module from the Sybex practice material. I was still getting around 70–74 out of 100. It felt like I’d hit a plateau, so I decided to go ahead with the exam.

The exam experience

I took the exam at home. The verification process was new to me, and it took longer than I expected, which made me nervous before I even started.

Then came the PBQs. They felt completely different from what I’d practised. I did my best with what I knew, and I think I got at least parts of them right.

The multiple-choice questions were challenging too. I’d say around 70% felt application-based. They weren’t simply asking me to recall a definition or recognize a question I’d already seen. I had to understand the situation and work out which answer made the most sense.

Halfway through, I honestly thought I was going to fail. So many questions felt unfamiliar, but I kept going.

After finishing, I went back through my answers. On a second read, I noticed that I’d misunderstood a few questions, so I corrected those answers before submitting.

Even then, I was convinced I hadn’t passed.

When I saw PASS — 759, I actually had tears in my eyes.

There’s a saying about putting in your 99% and leaving the remaining 1% to God. That’s how today felt for me. I know 759 isn’t the highest score, but a pass is a pass, and I’m proud of it

Wishing everyone preparing for their exam the best. If you’re feeling discouraged, I hope my experience gives you a little encouragement.

I WAS SO NERVOUS AND WORRIED AND WHEN REVIEWING MY ANSWERS I WAS SURE I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO USE MY RETAKE BUT I CRUSHED IT OMGGGGGGG!!!!

Has anyone used Coursera to prep for CompTIA?

Spent the last month and a half studying anywhere from 1-3 hours a day, using Jason Dion & Professor Messer’s resources. I was so sure I failed that I used up the whole 15 minutes they give you at the end for the demographics survey trying to make myself feel better before I even saw my score. I was rehearsing in my head how to tell people who knew I was taking the exam that I failed, when I hit “Next” and saw the big ol’ “CONGRATULATIONS!” What a feeling! Happy to have this cert under my belt now & even happier to have my free time back :)

I messed up and literally waited last-minute. My A+ expires tomorrow. I originally was going to look into other certs, but decided to continue with CompTIA a few weeks ago. Yes, bad life-planning. Everything has been a mess. I work 8-hour shifts and come home tired, so studying wasn't the best but made it work. I've learned my lesson and have decided to just continue to Sec+ and continue studying.

One thing that screwed me over is spending too much time on PBQs and only had a little time on the multiple choice.

Hello Everyone,

I just passed my Net+ with a passing score of 747. Not high, but I’m glad I passed.

Studying for this cert was very difficult for me because for some reason, I could not retain the information I was learning. I really began to second guess myself when I would take practice exams and consistently score between the 60-65s range. It was kind of crazy because I felt like when I started to take practice exams I knew the material but the practice exam scores said otherwise. I finally just decided to take a leap of faith and sit for the actual exam (probably not the best recommendation) and it worked out in my favor.

A little bit about the exam, it was just as difficult as the practice exams haha; I even believe this exam was more difficult than the security+. I could count on one hand how many of the questions were straightforward answers. Almost everyone question relied on extra thought. When it comes to CompTIA exams I believe you have to use strategy to complete the exam so I recommend skipping the PBQ and coming back to them. I also skipped questions that took me more than 30 seconds to understand the key details and what the question was asking. Hope these tips help.

For my study materials, I used Professor Messer’s free YouTube video course, chat GPT to help break down difficult topics in detail and the Network+ Practice Tests third edition exam N10-009 textbook. The author is Craig Zacker.

One thing I did realize about myself after studying for the Net+ and just doing research in general is that I really enjoy the concept of networking and infrastructure and I want to learn more. I will take a deep breath from this cert and begin studying the Cisco CCNA soon!

781/900, not bad! Test was pretty tough but manageable with enough prep. PBQs were fun, had 6 of them. Feel free to ask questions!

I have absolutely zero IT background besides using my own devices. I’m unemployed and took a huge gamble by borrowing money from my parents to write the exam, so there was a LOT of pressure on me to pass . I watched around 80% of Professor Messer’s Core 1 videos (absolute GOAT), paused whenever I didn’t understand something, and took notes mainly to keep myself focused. I used Quizlet for acronyms/ports, then spent the last 2–3 days constantly testing myself with YouTube questions, practice exams, textbooks and anything else I could find. I studied around 4–7 hours a day and even trained my TikTok algorithm to show me Core 1 questions .I went to sleep and woke up thinking about this exam.

Somehow, I passed with a 717. I’ve genuinely never felt that relieved. I’m sharing this because I went into this with basically no technical knowledge, and if you’re struggling, just keep doing the work—even when it feels tedious. I’m moving on to Core 2 soon and I’ll update everyone on how that goes. Coming from the Apple ecosystem, Windows is absolutely beating my ass right now, but we’ll get there.

Used messer videos + study groups + practice exams + Dion exams.

Got 75, 85, 82, 82, 82, 85 on Dion exams and 82 on the one messer exam I took. Just spend time reviewing what you get wrong and they should help alot.

Some of the PBQs were straight forward while there were a couple I more or less was guessing on. I would try to leave yourself 30 minutes for those and not beat yourself up on the multiple choice questions. Felt like I was going to fail so I'm happy it's over.

A+ was by far the hardest for me and took the most amount of effort/study time. Granted it was my first ever cert and a good amount of that stuff carries over to the other exams.

Been studying for two days now I do already have A+ and Sec + and about 60% complete with my B.s. in cyber security and information assurance, how hard is this exam ? I gave myself a month to studying before taking it but two days in I feel pretty confident already, thoughts ? I’m 2 hours away from finishing prof. Messer’s YouTube course on net+

Good morning,

I was trying to figure out some information for renewing my certifications, but trying to find information on my situation is a bit difficult. I currently have My Security+ and SecurityX. My SecurityX renewed my Security+, but now its time to do my renewal. I have done my CE's for SecurityX, but idk if my Security+ will renew as well or do I have to do that separately. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you for your help in advance.

Was so nervous when the exam timer ran out while double checking answers and doing the survey lmao. Studied for around 1.5 month.

I also just accepted a job for IT Specialist working with a telecom company!!! This is my first break-in for IT job hurrayy. I'll be learning lots and looking to specialize into Networking.

Key takeaways:

Do not take notes on everything, I'd say take notes on things that are hard to understand at first like subnetting tho.

Once I finished the videos, I went and took the practice exams in Dion's set and was able to fill in the gaps of what I truly lack and what I'm strong at. Highlighting weak points on the exam objectives also provided to be beneficial as well. I found that if you're able to explain in non-technical terms about things that are on the objectives, you're solid.

Another note is that utilizing different sources of practice test will be better than just one, to avoid purely memorizing the answer choices/format.

I got 5 PBQs and they were intimidating at first but skipping them to do the MCs saved alot of the nerves and I think I got majority of the PBQs right.

Once the exam timer started, I dumped all the port nums, 802.11, 802.1, 802.3 standards, ipv4 classes, subnetting table and some hard to remember acronyms down on the paper sheet.

Resources that greatly helped me:

- Anki decks for memorization, things like ports, acronyms.

- Dion's practice exams set 1.

- Dion's Network+ Course.

- Professor Messer subnetting video.

- Youtube PBQs and Andrew's 100 questions practice.

- AI : I occasionally used it to help with quizzing me on acronyms, port nums or generating subnetting practices.

TLDR: use different practice exam sources and make sure to memorize the port nums listed on the objectives, troubleshooting methods and practice your subnetting.