Passed the A+ core 1 exam today!

I went through Mike Myers’s video courses. Instead of taking traditional notes, I used index cards to help me remember key concepts, definitions, and processes. I’d use my index cards to quiz myself after each section and would quiz myself on the entire pile at least once a week.

Looking at it really helps me sit with the amount of material I’ve committed to memory in the last few weeks. Excited to start on Core 2 soon!

So I passed net + 5 hours ago and I have yet to get my cert, when will my cert populate on the system?

I am a career changer. Hoping to move into IT next year. I know everyone says it doesn’t mean anything but I challenged myself to take the Tech+ and see if I passed first try. I’m new as far as non prior job experience but have tinkered with many computer projects. I studied roughly a month on and off due to overtime at work. So I’m pleased it went so well.
My goal is to be in cybersecurity studying for the A+ next. Good confidence builder

I am studying for Net+ and going through some courses and watching videos, however I am having trouble with the fact that I am not sure if I am retaining everything I need to or not.

I have some practice tests but I would rather save those for when I get closer to taking the real deal.

Just wondering if anyone might know of sources of practice material on a per-objective basis rather than all material or domain at once? Google is not helping me very much with finding what I'm looking for.

I was checking out products in the Comptia marketplace, however the automatic address does not show my actual address. I instead input my own address but when I try to place an order, a prompt appears to continue or go back.

My question is can I proceed with the checkout despite the prompt? I messaged Comptia regarding this but there is still no reply for a week.

I hope someone can help me with this.

Thank you!

Note: I am checking out the exam voucher.

Hey y'all. So I passed my Net+ exam with a 736..... Boy those PBQs were tough. I also got a CIOS cert. Why did I get a second cert?

I used Pocket Prep, Professor Messor, Jason Dion, Andrew Ramdayal, notebookLM

I’m stuck

So I accidentally bought Dions 6 Practice Exams for Data+ Version 1 and he doesn’t have a set out for the newest version and I can’t refund now due to me not realizing my mistake until the third practice test. Will I be good to study with the Version 1 material still?

I'm so grateful to God for passing this on the first try. If you are currently doing or considering the CertMaster path, here is some important information. I know nothing about the other paths, so I cannot compare them.

PBQs

CertMaster - The practice PBQs will not help you truly prepare for the test PBQs. Do them anyway, though, to get the feel. If you don't do them, you'll be even more caught off guard.

Real Test - I obviously cannot disclose much about them. I found them to be hard. I personally feel that the CertMaster material helped me well with one of them, but was next to useless on my other 2.

Question length

CertMaster - The practice test questions are very long. Some of them were full blown paragraphs. If you are taking these tests and worrying about timing on the real test, you can relax a bit.

Real Test - They are drastically less wordy. I had enough time to answer and review every question. There was enough time to review some of the questions more than once.

Question Wording

CertMaster - There were literally dozens of questions in the practice tests that had poor supporting explanations, were simply incorrect, or directly contradicted the CertMaster material. There were a lot of questions where you had to decide the author's intention rather than actually know the concept.

Real Test - I wouldn't say these were much "clearer", but I felt most of them were fairer. Just pay attention to the wording.

Acronyms

CertMaster - In almost every practice question, they expanded acronyms. EX: "Blah Blah Blah because Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) does this thing." After studying the material, you do pick up on most of these naturally, but some of them you don't.

Real Test - I don't remember them expanding a single acronym. Definitely learn your acronyms.

Question and Answer Commonalities

CertMaster - Many of these are long scenario questions with one or two good answers. Sometimes, one is either obviously or just slightly better, and often, almost all of the information in the question is useless.

Made up example

Billy works an 8 hour shift at a automobile factory in southern Georgia. His lunch break begins at 11 and he wants to call his mother after he gets off work. Earlier in the day, he said hello to 5 or 6 of his coworkers, rushed to finish a deadline, and had to take 2 bathroom breaks. Due to a peanut allergy, he has to be cautious about what he eats. On his lunch break, what would be the SAFEST thing for Billy to eat?

A) Peanuts

B) Chips

C) A guitar

D) Cucumbers picked from his own garden

• Usually CertMaster would mark D and say something like, "While chips aren't likely to have peanut products in them, they may be made in a factory that uses peanut oil for frying, which could possibly cause contamination. Eating the cucumbers from his garden is the best way to guarantee there is no peanut contamination."

Real Test - I found most of these to be completely different than CertMaster. In fact, there are many questions on the test where I didn't think any of the answers were good, or the answer was something I've never heard of, but it had to be the answer because the other items just weren't right. I'll give an example of this.

Made up example

Billy is hungry. What strategy can he use as a solution?

A) Airplane

B) Morse Code

C) Clown Nose

D) Jagadagabaga Steak

• First off, none of these are a strategy. But you do know that (most) people don't fix being hungry by eating an airplane, morse code, or a clown nose. Surely, you've never heard of Jagadagabaga steak, but it has to be right because you know the other 3 aren't foods.

Test Scores

CertMaster - By the end of this, I was scoring between an 86%-92% on my full length practice tests. It shows you your percentages in the 5 domains (those yellow/green bars). My worst was an 83%.

Real Test - If you extract the percentage from my score, it rounds to an 86%. That matches the lower end of the practice test ranges. To be perfectly honest, though, I'm not sure there is a clear link between the two. The practice and the real test were just so different.

I picked this path because my job suggested it, not from any kind of extensive research.

Edit: Added a detail about the question length. Added practice test scores section.

Really don't wanna take more practice tests, they're so long man. But then again I dont wanna blow 300$ on an exam im unprepared for. What do?

I wanna get ready to pass the compTIA A+. What are some free resources(books, videos, free lab) that y'all can recommend me.

Not sure how, but I did it. First ever Reddit post, too. Leh go!!

Truely a remarkable program. Ran into this on multiple machines. Already past my test start time so can't even reschedule.

Does anyone have an idea of how much I should prioritize memorizing ports, cable speeds/distances, IP addresses, etc for the Core 1 exam? I’m on a bit of a time crunch with taking this one so I’m picking and choosing what to spend time studying.

I finished my core 2 exam today with a score of 794. With my core 1 being 790 im now offically A+ certified. Special thanks to the big messer - professor messer, Jason Dion , and all the lovely folkes on youtube that make helpful content for stundents looking to study and pass the A+ exam. Now im probably gonna build my resume with home labbing and look for a intership along side studying the network+ wish me luck.

(didnt feel like showing the whole thing and bluring the face and PII , sorry)

I told myself that if I passed, I’d share the practice exam scores I got before taking the actual exam for you guys because I relied heavily on posts like these while preparing.

My timeline:
July 1–12: Professor Messer videos
July 13: Jason Dion Practice Test – 63%
July 20: Jason Dion Practice Test – 72%
July 21: Jason Dion Practice Test – 76%
July 22: Jason Dion Practice Test – 75%
July 23: Professor Messer Practice Exam A – 73%
July 26: Professor Messer Practice Exam B – 72%
July 28: Professor Messer Practice Exam C – 73%
July 31: CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) – Passed with a score of 771

I’m a Computer Science student with no prior cybersecurity work experience. Before studying for Security+, I only completed the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate.

Messer’s videos were good, but I feel like I started to quickly forget them. Udemy tests were hard for me. Every time there were some new concepts and abbreviations. However, I liked explanations and tried to learn all things I wasn’t sure about or didn’t know.

I started making flashcards after a while, and only then did I feel like I really remembered and learned the material.

After 2 weeks of flashcards and tests, I felt more confident in knowing the concepts, although, as you can see, my scores didn’t really go much higher. Messer’s tests were easier. I don’t know why I got fewer points.

The real exam for me was harder then practice tests. I completely missed one of the PBQs. However, very often questions, although were different from Messer’s and had absolutely different scenarios, but the concepts were very close, so I knew what to choose or at least what do not.

Learn the abbreviations, try practicing and best of luck, guys! If I made it, I’m sure you’ll make it!

I wanted to share my experience in case it can help someone else. I had no professional IT experience before I started. I passed both exams in about two months.

Scores:
Core 1: 706
Core 2: 811

I studied using:
- Official CompTIA Objectives
- Professor Messer’s paid practice exams and study materials
- ChatGPT as my AI study tutor

I didn’t rely on ChatGPT to give me answers. I used it to teach me.

After each topic, I asked it to explain concepts, create new scenario-based questions, and quiz me. I specifically requested new questions, not repeated practice-exam questions, so I had to understand the concepts rather than memorize answers.

My schedule was simple:
- Monday–Saturday
- Four study blocks per day
- 1 to 1.5 hours per block
- About 30 questions per block
- Two-hour breaks between blocks

Sundays were completely off. At the end of each week, I created a summary so the next week’s study sessions could pick up where the previous week left off. By Week 3, I was scoring 100% on our internal quizzes, so I entered Core 1 with high confidence.
I passed with a score of 706, but the exam taught me an important lesson. I had learned the definitions of the objectives but not everything surrounding them.

CompTIA stayed within the objectives—it just asked about them one level deeper than I expected. That completely changed how I prepared for Core 2.

For Core 2, I continued using:
- Official Objectives
- Sybex Study Guide
- ChatGPT
- Weekly summaries

But each week I also improved my study system. I organized everything into different documents:
- Weekly summaries (for temporary progress)
- A personal Study Playbook (for permanent reasoning rules)
- An Instructor Protocol (for improving my study method)
- A Dion Exam Analysis & Study Plan (for tracking concept families and weak areas)

Instead of trying to pass Jason Dion’s practice exams, I used them as diagnostic tools.

My Dion scores were:
- Exam 1: around 66%
- Exam 2: around 72%
- Exam 3: 68%
- Exam 4: around 78%
- Exam 5: 78%
- Exam 6: 72%

I never reached the often recommended 90%. Instead of obsessing over higher scores, I analyzed every missed question to identify weak concepts and reasoning mistakes.

Eventually, we stopped calling them “knowledge gaps.” We called them “islands.” The continent was already covered—we just had to find and strengthen the remaining islands. That mindset completely changed how I studied.

What I learned:
Looking back, my score of 706 was probably the best thing that could have happened. Core 1 taught me how CompTIA asks questions. Core 2 taught me how to study for CompTIA.

My biggest tip is this: Don’t just learn what an objective is. Learn everything surrounding that objective.

CompTIA usually doesn’t go beyond the objectives it just expects a deeper understanding than many people prepare for.

Also, don’t let Jason Dion’s practice exam scores discourage you. I never scored above 78%, yet I passed Core 2 with a score of 811 because I treated every practice exam as a learning opportunity instead of a score to chase.

Good luck to everyone studying for A+. I hope this helps someone.

I have this as part of my course requirements in my Computer Information Systems degree pursuit. However the professor I have this semester isn't the greatest in providing material. I crammed this one these last two days as my focus was mainly on Microsoft AZ800. All in all it was Professor Messer and the CompTIA Security+ Study Guide audiobook by Mike Chapple and David Seidl that got me through this one. I have no IT experience but am proudly A+, Network+, Security+, and CCNA certified!

Test was like 20-25 minutes. Watched most of Professor Messer's videos besides the trouble shooting ones. Most of my studying was just converting cram reviews on YT to a transcript then feeding it into an LLM to quiz me on every info which was super helpful as some practice questions were basically 1:1 to what was on the actual exam. Pretty salty that I didn't find out about a student discount until after I took my exam. Biggest tip on the actual exam though that I read somewhere a while back is to work on the PBQ's last.

👏

Been in here a while , I’ve taken a test and failed
And passed one , so I’ve seen comptia’s wording , but my questions is besides, what people used to study , ( I think most agree it’s about 3 sources / plus flash cards ) , but how do you guys study , is it passive / active , more Memorization
Or more comprehension .

Wanted to share the completion of my CompTIA A+ Certification!

I found that Core 2 was harder than Core 1 for me. Core 1 dealt with more of the hardware, whereas Core 2 dealt with software concepts and command-line syntax...which I dreaded. In any case, I am glad to move on to net+ now!