My CompTIA Network+ Experience

Background

I am pleased and humbled to say that I passed my CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Exam! I wanted to share how someone from no IT background passed the exam in 8 weeks. The only background I had was a networking class that we took last semester. However, this 8-week semester is where we dedicated ourselves to studying for the Network+ exam. The past networking class did help me plenty because it made me already a little familiar with the concepts. So it made the process of learning a chapter per day smoother.

What Helped Me

There is no shortcut, I dedicated these past 8 weeks to the Network+. The average amount of study time per day was an average of 4 hours, even on weekends. Some days were 6 hours, and some were 2 hours. Some days I felt like I needed a break from the nonstop studying, but when I felt that happening I would do some activity that would take my mind off of it for half a day or a day. When I felt that way, I would spend less time studying, or maybe no studying at all, or maybe even a little bit of studying but not on the intense topics and more of just watching videos on YouTube to clarify my knowledge. I believe my mindset of “it is temporary” and living day by day, helped me keep pushing forward through the constant studying. Also, taking breaks in between my study sessions and doing things I enjoy like listening to podcasts. It is definitely lonely on your journey to study, but we have to stay focused on the end goal and persevere. It is way worth it! I am sure that you can probably pass the network+ in a shorter time or less studying, but it depends on whether your goal is to get a strong foundation in networking or to simply pass the exam. I encourage the former.

Studying for the Exam

To study, I used the “Network+ N10-008 Cert Guide” book by Anthony Sequeira, the Mike Meyers Network+ Exam guide book, Professor Messer videos, YouTube videos from Sunny Classroom, Kevin Wallace and others, and Jason Dion practice exams. I based all my notes by check-listing all of the exam topics one by one (this is key!).

First, if the topic was too complex to understand by reading it like STP or ARP, I would start with a YouTube video that gives me a visual representation of how the communication is flowing, then read the book to get further details. If it was a regular chapter, then I would start by reading the lesson on Sequeira’s book, then if I needed more information, I would use Meyer’s book to get it. After each chapter, I would end it off by reinforcing it with Professor Messer's videos. Then, I would head to class and my professor would lecture on that chapter and I would ask any questions that I had during reading. Lastly, in the final week, I used Dion’s practice exams to get into the mindset of test taking and putting all my knowledge to the test.

Conclusion

I believe this exam was extremely helpful in transforming me into a networking professional because it covers beyond the fundamentals such as policies, high availability, risk management, authentication methods, and the many types of attacks. Thanks to this exam I now have an endless amount of projects I want to incorporate into my home lab.

My studying method was probably not the most efficient, but it is a vast improvement from before. If anyone has any tips for improving, please let me know!

Honorable Mention

Last but most importantly, I am grateful to my Professor, Tekuani Perez, for always showing up to class, despite how busy he was, and being passionate to share with us his knowledge. Also, for staying an hour extra after EVERY class and answering any questions we had, and sharing with us his life experiences. Lastly, for being patient with me by making sure I understood each topic, and by always answering all of my many questions.

Thank you all for your time, and I hope I provided some value.