How I Studied For the CompTIA Network+ Exam

I passed the CompTIA Network+ exam and only spent $30 on exam materials (other than the test). Since I've been focusing on learning information technology topics lately, I wanted to document how I got to where I am, hoping it helps others.

This article focuses on my study materials and general thoughts on how I passed the CompTIA Network+ exam.

First, I'll tell you right now that if you don't know how to subnet, you should stop reading and search for that topic. I'll probably write my take on how to do it in a future article since it's such a popular topic.
Next, go ahead and buy this book. I got one book.

This one is it.

I'm a big fan of the "All in One" books because they come with end-of-chapter summary questions and a practice exam in the back. I have chosen to buy these books on Kindle because I like to knock out a few pages when I have a lull in my day. Alright, now start reading that book. Next, you're going to listen to some videos. Let's meet Professor Messer. He hosts extremely high-quality YouTube video content with ~100 N+ exam topics and ~100 S+ exam topics.

I watched this video series twice. The first time was primarily for exposure to the topic, with the second time devoted to ensuring I picked up the details.

Once you're far along in the book and have made substantial progress in the videos, you should start taking the practice exams. I found these practice exams to be pretty good. They're free and give you a good benchmark for how you're doing. You're pretty close to ready once you're hitting ~75-80% on those exams. I would ensure you finish the book you bought (you paid for it, after all!) and rewatch a Professor Messer video or two. Now this last thing I'm going to post is optional. I started watching these but decided it wasn't going in the direction I needed. Udemy courses are excellent.

The one I have linked here is the one I plan on using for CCNA. It gives a pretty good insight into some Cisco-specific theories. Since Network+ is vendor-neutral, it doesn't explicitly cover Cisco gear... but the market is mostly Cisco, so I'll let you judge what to focus on.

I will add that I have looked at the Pocket Prep questions, and while convenient, they seem to be a bit on the easy side. They offer a free trial so that you can give it a go. Just don't get overconfident.

Okay, let's go to the exam. You will get a small number of Performance Based Questions and a large number of multiple-choice questions.

Skip the PBQs.

Don't even look at them.

They will take a disproportionate amount of time and ruin your mood.

Knock out the multiple-choice questions. Flag the ones you're unsure about (including the PBQs) and then review them. Once you're done with multiple choice, spend the rest of your time on the PBQs. Some might not make sense even if you know the material.

Generally, you're dragging, dropping, configuring, or reading and responding to something. An example might be looking at some server information and figuring out why it can't reach a specific host.

In one case, I had the PBQ break during an exam. I put in a chat request, and the agent told me that the question wouldn't be counted... so if that happens, that's what to expect (probably). The most stressful part of the exam is definitely between the "SUBMIT" and trying to click through a survey before seeing your results. I hope this helped you, and happy studying!

CompTIA Network+ is Copyrighted by CompTIA, Inc. This website has no affiliation with CompTIA, Inc.