Studying for IT certifications - Hey man, if you get your CASP+, we can move you from help desk to cybersecurity.

[hideandgoseekchampion]

Fellow chuds,

What do you guys do to study for your IT certifications? Trying to take my CYSA+ soon, and I've been reading out of a textbook, but I'm curious on how using an audiobook would work, provided you try to use different mediums/the learn 3 ways technique.

 

[Irregardless]

When it comes to CompTIA stuff I personally enjoy audio then practice tests. If you have trouble retaining info, try writing down your notes as it's easy to unknowingly tune out when you're reading/listening to something, but when you're writing something down you're using a different part of the brain that takes more dedicated focus to use, causing you to focus more on the information you're writing.

 

[libRT]

A lot of certifications have been ruined by pajeets collecting them like pokemon then forgetting the skills 2 weeks later, which is why I don't bother anymore

 

[Uncle Sid]

Most are total rip-offs. For example, the MCSE has long been known to include so many multiple-choice questions with more than one correct answer that even if you know the material from back to front, there's a 50% chance you won't score high enough on the exam and will have to pay M$FT to take it again. And again. And again. Your best bet is to pay for an expensive, shady exam tutor/broker company that will just train you for the test (not the material) and then provide you with the version of the exam that they coached you for.

 

[Harm]

No idea about audiobooks, but if you're studying the CompTIA certs then the Exam Cram book series is a great resource. You can find them for free if you know where to look (Library Genesis). However, I've heard that the latest versions don't cover all the materials present in the certification exams since they've been expanding them.

If you have cash to invest, then there's the TestOut online courses which are decent and some of which can get you certified if you pass the classes. The CCNA one does for sure.

 

[I'm Really Feeling It]

I could personally never learn from audio alone and make extensive notes. Currently studying for Security+.

 

[gibbslets]

anything I can recommend to a friend trying to get a helpdesk/cysec job out of a tech school? I agree w/ the whole sentiment that pajeets devalue certs, but I'm not really an expert on non-collegiate stuff because that's not my field and I fell for the college meme, I can't really give him advice

 

[augment]

Most of my comments have been compiled in this here video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKMALTnKAxw

 

[llllIllIllIIIIllI]

IT is literally just for failure-niggers who can't figure out any programming language

Certs are gay
>Oh but hurr, see, muh industry standard, in this obscure useless sector of IT, X cert is LAW
>30 posts in it's just a battle of the fats, fat-chuckling, "heh, around here X cert is shit, Y cert is superior"
NGMI general

anything I can recommend to a friend trying to get a helpdesk/cysec job out of a tech school?

Learn to code

 

[gibbslets]

IT is literally just for failure-niggers who can't figure out any programming language

Certs are gay
>Oh but hurr, see, muh industry standard, in this obscure useless sector of IT, X cert is LAW
>30 posts in it's just a battle of the fats, fat-chuckling, "heh, around here X cert is shit, Y cert is superior"
NGMI general


Learn to code

lol alright. I always see a bunch of it guys pushing carts around the 'facs and scroolin in their LTT hoodies so I figured it'd be a good job for a guy who has a high enough IQ to plug in a printer. I'd worry about coding though just because with tighter budgets, even we've been forced to cut quality. Can't tell the bosses enough that 10 indians !> 1 huwitey/east asian. What I'm hearing here (and this is the truth as I know it) it's all just nepotism or the modern equivalent: some random dude they met on discord. Makes me glad I can scoff from my ivory massa tower

 

[Demonslayer1776]

anything I can recommend to a friend trying to get a helpdesk/cysec job out of a tech school? I agree w/ the whole sentiment that pajeets devalue certs, but I'm not really an expert on non-collegiate stuff because that's not my field and I fell for the college meme, I can't really give him advice

Those are 2 jobs that require very different qualifications. Cybersechrity you better get some form of accreditation, help desk you don't really need anything. My biggest advice would he to avoid getting stuck in helpdesk, and I've seen many people who start there, sometimes even with a CS degree, and never really move past it because they lack initiative and their manager has no intention of giving them the tools to move on. They think a promotion will come with time but don't know to fight for it. I find it incredibly depressing to see relatively smart people wasted and spending years helping boomers connect to a printer.

A lot of certifications have been ruined by pajeets collecting them like pokemon then forgetting the skills 2 weeks later, which is why I don't bother anymore

Problem is recruiters and business people. They have no technical knowledge and often can't identify competent hires. Certs help get through that component. If you have experience you can move past it, but for someone new it can help get an opening.

 

[xmpp]

As someone as who's worked in a security testing related field for a few years, if you want a certification that'll let you be more then a security analyst sitting in a SOC waiting for MS defender alerts, consider the following:

Offensive Security's Certified Professional (OSCP) - Expensive, but basically gold standard for getting hired in a penetration testing job
TCMSecurity Certifications - Fairly well respected nowdays, can pick them up in a sale usually
Different HackTheBox courses, staying up to date on machines/labs they have, I heard they offer like pathways now that have exams and what not that are well respected
INE Security's Junior Penetration Tester (eJPT) - This is basically your cheapest welcome to the club certification but will show merit to any employer that you're trying towards a certification

Take a look at Security Certification Roadmap to see what you potentially want to do.

 

[hideandgoseekchampion]

IT is literally just for failure-niggers who can't figure out any programming language

Certs are gay
>Oh but hurr, see, muh industry standard, in this obscure useless sector of IT, X cert is LAW
>30 posts in it's just a battle of the fats, fat-chuckling, "heh, around here X cert is shit, Y cert is superior"
NGMI general


Learn to code

no1 cares lol

 

[llllIllIllIIIIllI]

>Oh but hurr, see, muh industry standard, in this obscure useless sector of IT, X cert is LAW
>30 posts in it's just a battle of the fats, fat-chuckling, "heh, around here X cert is shit, Y cert is superior"

Offensive Security's Certified Professional (OSCP) - Expensive, but basically gold standard for getting hired in a penetration testing job

 

[hideandgoseekchampion]

I could personally never learn from audio alone and make extensive notes. Currently studying for Security+.

Good luck, I didn't have an issue with it since it was pretty interesting but I took a while studying for it (3 months, but I took a month break and I definitely could have gotten it done quicker, maybe like 60 hours total, if that.)

 

[Seething Troon Collector]

It depends. For vendor exams, I usually take the test rubric and fill it out with the vendor’s documentation. For exams that aren’t associated with a vendor, I still take the test rubric and fill it out after doing some research on each subject area.

After this, I go take the test. If I pass, great, if not, I study the test rubric that I just made into a study guide.

I also only take exams strategically, either it’s required for a job, or I find the most valuable certification in a field I’m interested in pivoting into. Very early on, I thought that collecting acronyms was a good thing, but you learn quickly that it’s not. Rajesh collects acronyms, Rajesh has an email signature that’s larger than the message in the email body. Rajesh doesn’t know anything. Rajesh is the reason why the H1-B visa should be eliminated or reduced in scope to graduates of American universities only. Do not be like Rajesh.

If you can afford it, you’ve been in the industry for awhile, and have a decent understanding of the concepts and tech in the exam, taking the exam to get a benchmark of where you are is also a good idea in my opinion. You use an exam attempt and it costs money, but you can really focus on the areas you didn’t do great on while studying to take it again and it gives you some direction.

 

[hideandgoseekchampion]

It depends. For vendor exams, I usually take the test rubric and fill it out with the vendor’s documentation. For exams that aren’t associated with a vendor, I still take the test rubric and fill it out after doing some research on each subject area.

After this, I go take the test. If I pass, great, if not, I study the test rubric that I just made into a study guide.

I also only take exams strategically, either it’s required for a job, or I find the most valuable certification in a field I’m interested in pivoting into. Very early on, I thought that collecting acronyms was a good thing, but you learn quickly that it’s not. Rajesh collects acronyms, Rajesh has an email signature that’s larger than the message in the email body. Rajesh doesn’t know anything. Rajesh is the reason why the H1-B visa should be eliminated or reduced in scope to graduates of American universities only. Do not be like Rajesh.

If you can afford it, you’ve been in the industry for awhile, and have a decent understanding of the concepts and tech in the exam, taking the exam to get a benchmark of where you are is also a good idea in my opinion. You use an exam attempt and it costs money, but you can really focus on the areas you didn’t do great on while studying to take it again and it gives you some direction.

Thank you for your input mr chungus.

Unfortunately I am in a situation where I need to get an acronym soup (college credit for a bachelors) so I'm in a retarded state. Got my A+ to try and get back into the certification mindset (my highest is Sec+) so I can get my CASP+ (the subtitle of this thread is a quote from my bosses) which is kinda demonic because other cybersecurity guys near my area don't need a CASP+ for a entry level cybersecurity job lmao.

I guess another question for everyone is how do you all discipline yourselves to keep studying? I literally have the best possible job for this (night shift IT at a place where theres like 4 people in the building, including me and another IT guy) and I was able to get my A+ by pushing through it but in the face of my CYSA+ I'm just eating shit and making rape threats in A&N.

 

[Seething Troon Collector]

where I need to get an acronym soup (college credit for a bachelors)

No judgment here. I did that shit too. It was cheaper than actually taking the classes.

As far as discipline. If you schedule the exam in advance you’re giving yourself a deadline. Set it far enough in the future but not so far that you’ll procrastinate. I can’t really tell you how far, it depends on the test and other things that vary from person to person. With a deadline, I’d just break the major parts of the test into sections and go over one section at a time on a schedule.

So you schedule the test for say, I don’t know, 45 days from now. You can say you’re going to study section A for two weeks, section B for two weeks after and so on. Give yourself a couple days buffer at the end to go over some last minute things you’re shaky on and maybe take a practice test.

I also don’t stress over taking practice tests over and over or try to study everything in a panic the night before, that never seems to work and I wind up doing worse. The cliche about getting a good nights sleep is actually true in this instance, plus you don’t psych yourself out and you go into the test both refreshed and relaxed.

Just my two cents though, it’s gotten me through plenty of certification exams.

 

[Delta Integrale]

Certs are becoming almost as useless as college degrees nowadays. You're better off actually learning whatever you want with practice rather than wasting time with certs. Sometimes the content for some of the certifications is contrary to what you would do in real life.

That being said, here's one of many ways pajeets use to collect their certifications: https://www.examtopics.com/
It has "mock" questions (in reality, it's people reproducing actual test questions). Some of the content is locked behind paywalls but you can just use search engine caching/path traversal to get to the locked content.

 

[emergenigger]

Does anyone have a some kind of a backup or a copy of all netacad materials? (E.g all the content they host behind a paywall)