No experience and going for Sec+ any tips?

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Hey there ladies and gents,

I'm going for my sec + cert and i have no prior experience with the IT field. For the last 8 years, I've been active duty in the United States Marine Corps with a job outside of IT. I heard of ITPRO.tv and wanted to give it a go. My end goal, of course, is to be a Penn Tester. First things first though and Sec+ from what I hear is what I need to be studying. I heard that a+ and net+ are simple so i haven't tried to get them as of yet. I have some basic knowledge of IPs and computers just not the networking side of the house. Any tips you guys can give me I'd greatly appreciate it.

Hello,
I am new in the cyber security field and I moved just from Germany to the US, but we have similar goals.

In my opinion Network+ was more difficult than Security+. For Net+ I had 3 minutes to check my answers, for Sec+ I had more time. Network+ was more difficult for me.

Pen Testing is an interesting field, we need a lot of knowledge. The required skills are very high. Network, servers, applications and web apps, IoT, mobile and wireless, python..... and much more. I to improve my English a lot, because social engineering and report writing is also a big part.
The field is so huge therefore we need a lot of time to gain the required knowledge. I guess I will need about 9 months to land a job as pen tester. I am studying 60 to 70 hours a week to reach this goal.

My path was:
10 years in IT as admin,
English, A+, Net+, Sec+, Server+, Splunk, CEH (just for HR and the DoD 8570), PTS

My path now:
English, Python, PTP and the new 2020 OSCP.

After taking the OSCP will try to get a job. OSCP is very hard (I need at least 400 hours) but it is still a "beginner" cert. Pen testing is very interesting but we have to learn new things every day.

I spend about $7500 in certs and books. Taking the CEH was a mistake, you learn not much except you study beyond the course and use the tools.

Pen Testers make a lot of money, but don't underestimate the required knowledge and the time to get it. It is insane ;)

You can watch youtube videos like the Zero to Hero path from The Cyber mentor to get an idea what you are doing. This i a 25 hour course for absolute beginners and only covers the basics in Network Pen testing.

I hope I could help you a bit. Be aware, that I am not an expert in this field. Maybe my path was not the best choice.

Hey @Judah-Strange, this is a great question! I would recommend CompTIA Network+ if you have no experience for the fact that if you are to secure networks it is important understand how the networks operate. Consider it the foundational knowledge and from there I would recommend moving into CompTIA Security+. From there you can go on to more advanced certification exams, however I will let other Edutainers speak to these more advanced exams as they have more experience with them. I hope this helps and welcome to ITProTV, we look forward to helping you achieve your goals and obtain success.

I can personally say I had no experience when taking Security + other than basic networking classes within my B.S for Cyber Security. You can absolutely take and pass Security + without experience or network + ( I did ). You will spend longer .. ( I spent about 4 months) to soak in the knowledge. You need to divulge in multiple resources and ITproTV is a good start but won't be enough in my opinion. ITproTV really helped me understand the concepts... ( looking at you Wes ! ).

Resources I used and recommend:

Professor Messor ... you can't go wrong with him AT ALL , buy his practice tests they are worth it for 25 dollars.

GCGA book ... read it front to back and answer the questions within the book

ITproTV really helps understand concepts and real world scenarios.

Use Professor Messor's free network + training to hit any area's you struggle with networking.

Jasion Dion ... I can't explain how helpful he is , get his Udemy course for $12 bucks if you can... really good source!

Like I said... multiple resources, take good notes and do what I said and you will pass.

I jumped the gun a little and failed my first attempt with 711 score. My second attempt was a score of 813. So you can do this and it is possible. I am also going towards pen testing like you said and it's just a long journey. I am in the process of wrapping up my studies on CySA+ and after that I am jumping into eJPT. Just keep learning and never stop. Also don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Just my personal advice !

@Gary-Dalkiewicz said in No experience and going for Sec+ any tips?:

Like I said... multiple resources, take good notes and do what I said and you will pass.

Yes, that is so true.

@Gary-Dalkiewicz said in No experience and going for Sec+ any tips?:

Just keep learning and never stop. Also don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something.

This is a very good point. Everything possible if you study for it. Pen testing is difficult and a long journey but there is a way.