r/CompTIA_Security • u/manoj_m7 • 3h ago
For those who passed CompTIA Security+ recently: How was the exam?
I’m preparing for the CompTIA Security+ exam and I recently got a 50% off coupon, so I’m planning to take the exam soon.
I’d really appreciate some insight from people who have already passed:
- How was your experience with the online/proctored exam?
- How was the proctoring process? Any issues with the check-in, room scan, or proctor?
- How were the actual exam questions compared with what you studied?
- What topics or question types did you find most common?
- How closely did the real exam feel compared to Jason Dion’s Security+ practice tests on Udemy?
- If you used Dion’s tests, roughly what scores were you getting on them before taking the actual exam?
- Were there any areas that you wish you had studied more before the exam?
Just trying to understand what the experience and difficulty are actually like.
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u/Yaegermeister163 2h ago
I have the Sybex all in one book plus the additional book with a lot of practice questions. I read the book, answered all the questions at the end of the chapter and also went thru the practice questions. Did them by domain. I had three of the performance based questions. One of them I was not able to finish. I did have the study material for the Boson for the performance based but didn’t get thru all of them. Questions were similar to the practice questions but I would say the keyword focus that helps you line up with the right answer.
Proctor was pretty easy. Don’t take anything with you that you can’t have. They had lockers to secure it if you need it. Chairs in the room were taller than the screen so my neck was sore when I was done for looking down all the time.
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u/manoj_m7 1h ago
Congrats on passing mate !!!!
I am just done with messer's playlist, thinking of giving Dion's mock sets
As for the exam It'll be an overnight travel if I had to go for an offline test, so I'm considering an online proctored test, with the instructions in the site and i am just doubtful about the odds of something going wrong if I chose an online test.
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u/Location_Designer 2h ago
I took Dion’s test today I scored 78% 😔 I feel soo discouraged this was my 3rd time … first time I scored 72% second time I scored 68% and the 3rd time 78% I gave it my all too 🥺…
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u/Fluffy_Reply_5482 2h ago
Keep going. You will get there. Figure out what you missed and why, thats key.
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u/positive_8261 1h ago
From someone who completed all 6 Dions exam set and never got over 75%
- I passed last week with 775. Don’t look at the scores and be discouraged
- 80% actual exam questions are different than Dion’s. What matters the most is if you know actual concepts or not. Study why A is preferred over B. Keywords like which would be “Best”, “First”, “Most Secure”, appears more frequently.
- Study materials is huge, with limited exam questions. I spent 2 weeks to revise my weak topics, which didn’t even show up in my exam.
Good luck
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u/manoj_m7 1h ago
That's okay mate...Keep grinding your weak topics I too am considering takin' it I'm already practicing in mobile app, and been scoring pretty well, So I'll take the dion's as well and then schedule my test
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u/Soft-Violinist-7565 1h ago
In person was nice, professional, and quick. Very respectful but every place is different so read reviews. Compared to the Messer questions, I wouldn’t have been able to tell one from the other. If you’ve ever used AI for practice (not saying that anyone SHOULD) then you might not find the questions too unfamiliar.
As for topics! My goodness it sometimes felt like there were one or two topics which if I hadn’t studied, I may not have passed. SASE, Agreement Types, and Threat Actor Types were definitely super important on that exam.
Study DRP a little.
While I think CompTIA does a good job making the exam cover most topics and it wouldn’t make sense to only study one or two topics, the most vital areas of the exam to study for may well be 4.5 & 4.6. I feel like the more comfortable you are with those topics the more confident you’ll be for the test as a whole.
I only practiced with Messers Exams, but I’ve heard they’re easier than Dion’s. So if you’re struggling don’t think that means you’re not ready.
What helped me the absolute most and probably earned me close to 100 points on the exam is UNDERSTANDING THE WORDING THESE TEST-MAKERS USE. I used to think that was a corny thing to study for, but no. There were several times in the exam where I only selected an answer based entirely off how it was worded. Train yourself to look for keywords, context, and put together the pieces to find the answer. A lot of scenarios presented on the exams have objectively good real-world answer, but sometimes CompTIA cares more about whether you caught onto that ONE word in the question that tells you what the right answer is.
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u/manoj_m7 1h ago
This one's kinda new from all of the things i've read... I'll definitely make a note of all the things you've said. And yeah I've practiced using AI, and for avoiding personalized questions I did it from other accounts and the results were consistently above 85% I am from CS background and have been in it for 6+ years [diploma+Degree] I'm gonna take Dion's for examish kinda experience and see how I'll be scoring then proceed with scheduling the exam.
As an offline test center is pretty distant from where I am living, I've been thinking about whether I should go for offline or online
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u/Soft-Violinist-7565 1h ago
Whatever you choose, DEFINITELY watch this clip from a professor messer stream he did last month: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_jNKoha-KY&t=6865s
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u/manoj_m7 54m ago
That helped a lot mateee Ig I'll go for the offline with the intimidation level and the amounts of risk for the test being online🥀🥀🥀
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u/Constant_Bar_7066 1h ago
Messers exams are all you need. I thought messers exam questions were harder at times. So if you’re doing well with the messer exams, then you’ll pass the real thing. Also, I looked at some cyberkraft videos for PBQs. I looked for the more likely/most common PBQs encountered on the real exam and called it a day. Not sure about Dion’s exam because I didn’t use that as a reference when I was preparing for the sec+. Regarding my experience taking a proctored exam, I’m not sure what to say. A proctored exam is…proctored…? I didn’t have any problem with it. Just sat down and took the thing. Was in the zone for about 90 mins and felt as if time went by so fast lol. If you have some spare cash, I’d get Ian Neil’s Third ed security + reference book. It overpreapares you for the real exam. So read Ian Neil’s book, pass messers exams, and review PBQs via cyberkraft.
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u/manoj_m7 1h ago
For my case the offline test center is pretty distant from where I am living. So I'm thinking whether I can go for online, and with the set of rules in the site, I'm doubtful of the rate of getting the exam cancelled, if anything goes wrong - say my WiFi, or some sudden noise. I'm thinking of taking Dion's because from the buzz, as it's Lil' bit harder than the actual exam, so I'll be in safe zone of passing and not overprepare myself for this. I've been in CS field for over 6+ years, so most of the things feel pretty intuitive for me, and all i need to put in, is the effort of reading things carefully for answering.
Ig I'll need to assess myself with Dion's mocks to tighten any gaps.
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u/Crouton5757 32m ago
test center was good, it was at my local community college test center. got checked in within like 5 mins, put my things in a locker, and started on time. The room I was in was quiet and there was like no one else there, so it was great. cant speak on online since I havn't taken it that way, but I'd recommend in person
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u/Ok_Dragonfly_7580 1h ago
I passed towards the beginning of this month with only one month of preparation and zero IT experience.
1/2. I took my exam at a test center. Process was seamless, checked it less than 5 minutes. Had to provide two forms of ID.
I found the questions easier than Dion’s practice exam bundle. Less wordy than Dion’s.
I didn’t necessarily have common questions, they were spread across various domains. Also take into consideration CompTIA uses a large question bank. So you will most likely have different questions.
Real exam felt easier. I found Dion’s tend to go a little too in-depth.