I took my first CompTIA exams while I was still in high school. My school offered PC Support classes that, while not perfectly aligned with the A+ exam objectives, left students with more than enough education to take and pass the exam. That first certificate is what made me decide to go to a public vocational school, where I later earned my Network+, ultimately landing my first job in a help desk. Many years later, I studied for the Security+ on my own time and dime, and achieving that certification qualified me for security roles within the U.S. Government, where I worked for some time.
This is to say, I am no stranger to CompTIA exams: I know their worth, and I know how to study for them. However, I never expected to take and pass six of them in 19 days!
Allow me to back up a little. As I explained in my previous blog posts, many courses in the IT track at WGU are tied to the successful completion of a certification. In my degree, there are six: the two A+ exams, Network+, Security+, Cloud+, and Project+. I’d previously achieved the first four, but I’d achieved them so far in the past that they did not count as course credit.
When strategizing for the entire degree program, it made sense to stick those previously passed exams towards the beginning. My main plan was to split my work between reviewing material for CompTIA exams and learning material for general education courses. This worked great for the first week, but I realized that I was overpreparing for the CompTIA exams. When I learned the material for them on the first go-around, I had focused on really learning the ins and outs so I could successfully apply the knowledge in my career; this time around, I just needed to pass the exam.
This is also reflected in my exam scores: for both A+ tests and the Network+, I scored over 850 (out of a possible 900) when a passing score is generally in the high 600s to mid 700s, depending on the exam. In the interests of efficiency, after the Network+, I shifted my strategy to focusing on passing the remaining CompTIA degree requirements as quickly as I was able.
Study Methods
Except for the Project+ exam (more on that later), a cursory glance at the exam objectives showed me that I was familiar with 80-90% of the topics covered, thanks to my professional experience. Knowing that, my prep for each exam looked like this:
- Take a practice exam
- Identify weak points (missed questions)
- Either learn the concept, or create quick note
- Take another practice exam
- CRAM
- Exam
One of the great strengths of the IT courses at WGU is the wealth of third-party resources you can access. For each of these exams, you’re given a license for, at a minimum, all of CompTIA’s own resources (Certmaster Learn, Labs, Practice), and a lot of additional resources like Udemy courses and practice exams by Jason Dion, among a dozen other platforms.
In my case, I found the CompTIA resources endlessly frustrating at best, and actively damaging to my psyche at worst. From typos to questionable wording to being straight-up incorrect, they had me question my sanity multiple times a day. I was highly grateful for the additional content WGU provided. I also paid for PocketPrep out of my own pocket. I learned of that platform while studying for the CISSP exam and found the ability to take 10-question quizzes any time I had a few spare minutes invaluable.
After taking one of the practice exams (Udemy or Certmaster), I’d write quick notes on things that I missed due to not knowing the content, as opposed to just misreading the question or jumping to a conclusion.
For a lot of these, I’d either watch the Professor Messer video that covered the concept in greater depth, read more about it on Wikipedia or in RFCs, or ask ChatGPT to either explain it simpler, come up with a mnemonic, create a chart, or provide a real-life example. Sometimes, the quick note I took was plenty.
Once confident I’d committed them to memory, I’d take another practice exam and repeat the process until scoring 80-90%, then I’d request a voucher and schedule the exam ASAP – oftentimes the same day. Side note: Being able to take these exams from home is fantastic. The closest exam centers with regular availability are literally across an international border, or a few hours of driving in the other direction away – neither situation is conducive to cramming or quick turnaround.
My final preparation steps for each exam consisted of going over the objective list bullet by bullet and making sure I was 100% familiar with every acronym on the list. I’d add anything I wasn’t confident in to my notes list, then constantly review that until about 15 minutes out. From there, I’d stand up and stretch while doing some breathing exercises until it was go time.
Project+
I saved the best for last! And by the best, I mean the only one I hadn’t spent the last 15 years of my life actively practicing. Unfortunately, it also seems to have the least information about it online. While familiar with some terms like RFP and SOW from my work in a mature IT organization, I definitely lacked the knowledge to practice-test-cram this one out.
Luckily, several Reddit threads mentioned a CBT Nuggets course by Simona Millham. Finding the official material even more upsetting for this course, and the Udemy course being 4x as long, I opted to purchase a subscription. I ran through the course content in about 10 hours over two days, completing all the checkpoint quizzes, taking extensive notes, and highlighting things that would need rote memorization instead of standard comprehension.
Having completed Simona’s course, I went back to my old ways of doing practice tests until I couldn’t see straight. The course did a superb job laying the foundation, but the practice tests poked swiss cheese-level holes into my confidence for a while. Things like when to use a burndown chart vs a burnup chart took a lot of learning, and then there were their project-management definitions of cloud technologies and risk. Who knew that risks could be positive?
I eventually felt confident that I could score a 710, scheduled the exam, and passed it a few hours later. Out of the CompTIA exams I took, it was definitely the most confusing. Some wording felt intentionally vague, and several questions had answer banks where two or three options could fit. Thankfully, the PBQs were straightforward. For anyone reading this in a similar position (lots of IT experience but not a lot of Project Management experience), I’d urge you to make sure you know how this exam wants you to understand PaaS, SaaS, etc. Skating by on IT definitions will not be enough.
Overall, I did find learning this content worthwhile. I tend to be cynical about “business” concepts, but learning about project management processes has let me look back at previous failures I’ve had in projects, and know where I could have helped them succeed instead. And also gave me a term for that, I guess.
What’s Next?
Well, I may have buried the lede for this entire post. I wasn’t only working on CompTIA this whole time – not only have I passed those six exams, but I have also passed the Amazon Cloud Fundamentals and Linux Professional Institute Essentials exam! At the time of writing, the only external exam I have left is ITIL4, and I’ve already begun the test-and-review process for that exam – I hope to take it tomorrow.
I also completed several other WGU courses, including a few gen-eds and the prerequisites for the certification courses. In all, I am already 51% through my degree program!
For now, the plan is just to keep firing on all cylinders. So far, it’s been working out for me! I have some road tripping planned in September, but fully intend to keep up coursework during that period, even if it’s focused on courses that have me writing essays or code instead of speedrunning exams. I’m unsure when I’ll write another blog post, but I’ll get around to it sometime!