CompTIA Security+

My Honest Review

The CompTIA Security+ certification is a great starting point for anyone who’s curious about cybersecurity and wants to understand how everything fits together. It gives you a solid baseline of knowledge across security concepts, tools, and technologies.

When I first started studying for Security+, I was extremely new to cybersecurity. I was in my final year at CSULB and honestly felt like I barely knew anything beyond what I learned in the one cybersecurity class offered for my major—plus the basic stuff like “don’t click suspicious links” or “avoid sketchy websites.”

I was pretty hesitant at first. The semester I chose to study for Sec+ was also arguably my toughest semester of undergrad, and I was taking six classes at the time. On top of that, I had never paid out of pocket to take a certification exam before. The idea of failing and losing money when I barely had any was scary. After a lot of self-pep talks and a push from my goated mentor Jacob (Chet Apichart), I eventually came to the conclusion that it was worth it. Not only did I need to learn more about the field I had chosen for my career, but I also needed to start earning certifications since they carry real value in security.

The main resources I used were the Professor Messer Security+ 701 YouTube videos. This was honestly the hardest part because sometimes I struggle to sit still and focus on one thing for hours. I personally didn’t take notes—I learn better by listening closely and replaying whatever I didn’t fully understand. But that’s just my style; if you’re someone who needs notes to retain information, definitely take them. I also used the Security+ app on the App Store (the one with 6.3K+ reviews by Thanh Hung). On top of that, I bought the practice exams from Professor Messer’s website and used those to gauge whether I was actually ready. In my experience, if you take at least two of those exams honestly (don’t cheat yourself) and score at least an 85+, you’re probably ready.

Overall, I recommend using Security+ as a stepping stone and an entry point into cybersecurity. The exam is mostly theory and won’t fully prepare you for real-world work (yes, unfortunately this certification alone won’t get you hired). But you can take the knowledge you gain and apply it in hands-on ways to make it way more valuable. I’d recommend starting a homelab or spinning up a few VMs in VirtualBox or VMware and learning how to configure some of the technologies Security+ covers (firewalls, IDS/IPS, etc.)

Security+ isn’t the end goal, but it’s definitely a strong start.