To start a cybersecurity career, there are a few things you need to do: study, get hands-on experience, and get certified. For almost any job in this field, recruiters will look into your industry certifications. If they are non-existent, they will likely lose interest in your profile.
Adding certifications to your résumé demonstrates your level of commitment, will help you negotiate better salaries, and improve your overall cybersecurity career and professional health.
CompTIA Security+ is one of those must-have certifications described on their website as a way to validate “the baseline skills necessary to perform core security functions.” Beyond the theoretical questions, this test emphasizes hands-on practical skills to ensure candidates have the problem-solving skills required to assess, monitor, secure, operate, identify, analyze, and respond to security incidents and events.
In other words, if you are looking to switch careers to cybersecurity, studying for the CompTIA Security+ test is one of the first things you need to do.
We do not want to discourage you, but this exam is not easy to pass like any other professional certification. It would help if you took some time in your busy schedule to study and practice. And always keep in mind that hard work pays off. The benefits of adding this certification to your profile are larger than the time invested preparing for it.
To help you in this process, we gathered some tips that will help you earn the CompTIA Security+ certification on your first attempt.
Study Tips to Ace CompTIA Security+
1- Understand the CompTIA Security+ Exam Objectives
Every certification test has its own goals and objectives to go through. When studying for the exam, make sure to have the list of domains measured and the extent to which they are represented.
Another great idea is to create a bullet list of what is included in each domain. That way, it will be easier to gather useful material for each area, schedule time to study each one, and identify the most challenging concepts for you (we highly recommend you start here and move to the easier ones).
The Security+ domains include:
- Threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities (21%)
- Technologies and tools (22%)
- Architecture and design (15%)
- Identity and access management (16%)
- Risk management (14%)
- Cryptography and KPI (12%)
2- Create a Study Plan
It is time to be completely honest about your work-life schedule, how many hours you have compromised at work, the time you want to spend with your spouse and kids, and any other activities. With that in mind and an estimated date to take the test, you will have a better sense of how many weeks are left to study and how much time you will need to dedicate to this daily.
3- Get a Good Study Guide and Materials
You should definitely start with CompTIA’s study resources and textbooks, but if you are someone more visual, then do not hesitate to look for video resources online. Many people have created memorable content that can make it easier for you to understand and remember what you study.
4- Take Practice Tests
They say excellence is a practice habit, and nothing can prove this right like a certification test. You will have a better chance of acing your first attempt if you previously took different practice tests. This will help you figure out which test-taking strategy fits you best and understand its length and complexity.
5- Join an Online Security+ Training Bootcamp
If you really want to get certified, our best advice is to let others with more experience and knowledge guide you through this road. A training bootcamp will help you understand theoretical concepts, apply them in real-life experiences, and let you get the hands-on experience to understand what security is all about fully.
