My journey into IT certifications
This write-up details my learning process and strategies I employed to pass the CompTIA Network+ and Security+ exams. My aim is to provide insight into my journey for those considering a similar path and to demonstrate my ability to learn and adapt.
I pursued these two certifications to build foundational knowledge in the field. Coming from a marketing background in high-tech, I’ve always been around technology but felt I was missing basic knowledge necessary to advance. Chasing a certification gave me a tangible goal to work towards and something to show for my efforts. On April 3rd, 2024, I challenged myself to pass both certifications by the end of the month. I had the privilege of learning full-time, allowing me to spend about 8-10 solid hours studying each day, every day.
Learning a new topic from scratch requires a foolproof study plan, so I built one for Network+. Since it worked, I repeated it for Security+. First, I watched all of Professor Messer's video series on YouTube at 1.25 speed. The series is extremely well-edited and doesn't waste a second, which I loved. I have watched many tutorials in the past few months, and none were paced like his. I managed to keep my focus for hours at a time.
While watching the videos, I paused and used ChatGPT to explain concepts I wasn't entirely familiar with. It was a great help to get on-demand explanations, especially when I could question further and verify my understanding. Learning is a lot about spaced repetition and slowly building an understanding of the topic. Professor Messer’s videos are an amazing source of knowledge for these exams, and I’m thankful for all the material provided free of charge.
After four days of videos, I dove into the Exam Cram study book. I decided to summarize the entire 550 pages. I knew from experience that going through this exercise was the optimal way to learn quickly. Writing in my own words forces me to engage with the material on a much deeper level than simply reading it.
Summarizing the book took me three long days, and I have to admit that it was a struggle. To be honest, I didn't think the book was very good. I learned a lot summarizing it, but the order of presentation didn't feel logical to me, and there were multiple paragraphs copied and pasted in different chapters. I ended up with a 30+ page summary of all the concepts. I still have my summaries for Network+ and Security+, and they’re great reference points. Feel free to ask to see them!
By the end of that endeavor, I felt pretty well-prepared. I made about a hundred flashcards to memorize ports, cables, Wi-Fi standards, connectors, and other items requiring pure memorization. I’m not a big fan of memorizing things, but it’s a necessary evil for certification.
Feeling prepared, I took a practice exam and scored 80%. While I was happy with the progress, I was not thrilled with the book I summarized, as some questions on the practice exam seemed to come out of nowhere. This is the one thing I didn’t want to happen to me in the real exam.
I sought another source of knowledge and found Mike Meyers' book. In terms of content, it felt like the bible. I learned a lot of new things from it. I didn't feel the need to or have the mental capacity to summarize it like the first book, so I mostly looked for gaps in my knowledge, like acronyms or unfamiliar concepts. I enjoyed the book so much that I ended up reading all of it. I continued with practice exams and decided to take the real exam once I could consistently score 90% or above. After a couple more days and about 14 practice exams later, I was ready. I bought my voucher, scheduled my exam for the next day, passed Network+, and repeated the process after a short weekend rest.
As I was starting this journey I was looking to push myself, build foundational knowledge, and have it verified by a third party. I am happy to report that April was one of the most satisfying months I’ve experienced in a while, and that all three goals were successfully achieved. Now, on to practical experience!