So if you've done any research into beginner cybersecurity certifications, you would know that the CompTIA Security Plus is the most popular and employer sought-after certification for beginners looking to start a career in cybersecurity.

You'll find the Security Plus on almost all beginner and entry-level cybersecurity job listings, which is why even with all of the new certifications that are coming out, people are still looking to study for their CompTIA Security Plus because it just so happens to be the one that hiring managers and recruiters are looking for.

Now, I actually passed my Security Plus in my early career when I was just about a year into my first job in cybersecurity.

I was studying for it part-time along with my full-time job, but this video is going to be for those of you who want to study and pass your Security Plus as quickly as you can, especially going into the next hiring season for 2025.

If you get your Security Plus on your resume, it's really going to help boost you a lot, especially since nowadays it's such a common requirement for job applications that if you don't have it, then that already hurts your chances of getting a call back.

And of course, nowadays you just have way more study resources and you have AI studying tools and different technologies that you can use, one of which is the iFlyTech AI Note Air 2, which I'll also be talking about later in this video.

Okay, so here is how I would study for the Security Plus with just one month using all the resources and AI tools at your disposal.

First, let's talk about my top recommended study resources.

There's going to be four things that you need on this list.

Number one is Professor Messer's study notes and CompTIA Security Plus videos.

I know a lot of people who have primarily used Professor Messer's study resources to pass their CompTIA exams, and he has resources on the A+, Security Plus, Network Plus, you name it, and most of his study resources are completely free.

So I would highly recommend taking advantage of that, watching the entire Professor Messer CompTIA Security Plus study guide videos, and use that as your first pass for all the material on the Security Plus exam.

Number two, this one is a bit more optional, and that is the CompTIA All-in-One textbook.

Personally, when I'm studying, I like multiple mediums, video, physical textbook, online resources, and practice exams.

So we're basically going to cover the gamut.

Not everyone is going to want to study out of a textbook, but I personally use the CompTIA All-in-One textbook.

I rented it on Amazon when I was studying.

It's a pretty hefty textbook.

It's 600 plus pages, and I read that from cover to cover, but I was able to pass my Security Plus on the first try.

And that is not something that everyone can say, and one of the big reasons I think is because of a textbook.

It's just very different reading something on paper compared to just skimming through it online.

Sometimes it can feel like it sticks in your head more when you have the physical textbook in front of you.

But again, it's not for everyone, and if you only have one month to study, then you're primarily going to be using the chapter summaries and the appendix at the end of the book.

So that is one of the big reasons why I think the textbook is an optional piece, unless you really have the time to dedicate to reading through it.

And then official exam objectives guide and good old AI learning tools.

So basically choosing the AI learning tool of your choice, going on there, using the CompTIA exam objectives guide, and having them make you a personalized study plan for the next four weeks.

You can even tell them which areas you want to focus more on.

For example, if you're not as familiar with network security or network protocols, then you can have it create a study plan catered towards your needs and your specific learning areas that you need more help on.

And when I was studying for my Security Plus, we did have all these AI tools, so I would highly recommend taking advantage of them to basically 2x or even 10x your study time.

And if you're looking for a study tool that can help you take quality notes while keeping you organized, I'd recommend checking out the iFlytec AI Note Air 2.

Thank you to iFlytec for sponsoring this portion of the video.

This is currently my favorite note-taking tool because of the paper-like screen and writing experience.

It feels like I'm writing in a notebook, but it's much more portable and convenient to use, and it has a built-in AI summary for audio-transcribed notes.

Using your chat GPT account, everything is securely synced to the cloud.

The real-time voice-to-text feature is perfect for note-taking while you're watching, study material for the Security Plus, or any other certification or course, all on an 8.2-inch e-ink display.

And if you like, you can convert your handwriting to typed text so your notes are easily reviewable the next time you go through them.

You can also use iFlytec DocScan to quickly paper documents or notes for digital access and even take notes directly on PDFs.

There's also a schedule management tool, which I've been using as my personal daily schedule, where you can automatically create to-dos with your audio or handwritten notes when you circle or store content using the pen's side button.

Then you can automatically highlight attention items to manage your schedule.

The feature can be activated in the settings.

You can also view your weekly work report, which is a perfect way to track your progress.

The iFlytec AI Note Air 2 is the perfect study tool for certifications or anything else that you're currently studying for.

And something really cool about this tool is that it can also perform real-world multi-language translation with their voice-to-text feature, which can be used for work meetings or any scenarios where you're actively taking notes, even internationally, which can happen more often than you think while working in cybersecurity.

Right now, iFlytec is having a huge discount, and you can check out the iFlytec AI Note Air 2 through the link in my description.

And now, let's get back to the rest of the video.

All right, guys, so here is the full study timeline that I would recommend.

Starting with a high level, week one is a full Security Plus exam objectives guide walkthrough.

Week two, review all key concepts in the CompTIA Security Plus all-in-one textbook, and don't forget to take notes and complete all of the chapter summary questions.

Week number three, complete Professor Messer's entire CompTIA Security Plus course.

Again, this is free on Professor Messer's YouTube channel and his website, so feel free to use whichever resource you prefer.

But remember, these four weeks are going to be eat, sleep, breathe, Security Plus, so you really need to log into the schedule and take this seriously because you don't want to pay another exam fee if you don't pass the first time around.

And if you're following this guide and this timeline, then your chances of passing are already very, very high.

So as Gen Z and Gen Alpha say, you have to lock in.

If you want to pass your Security Plus exam on the first drive, you have to take this seriously and basically study hundreds of cybersecurity concepts into four weeks, which is definitely possible, but again, it's going to take a lot of work.

Don't think that this is going to be an easy exam that you can just get under your belt after just nonchalantly studying and not doing it with your full dedication.

Studying for your Security Plus, especially if you're a beginner with no previous experience, is going to need your full attention.

Starting in week one, which is when we cover the complete exam objectives, and what this is, it's basically a document created by CompTIA that'll give you the full vocabulary list of all the exam topics, all the protocols, all the concepts that are on the Security Plus exam, and basically all outlined in one PDF document.

I basically use this as a sanity checklist.

The first week going through this, you can also cross-reference through the Security Plus all-in-one textbook and this exam objectives guide because both of them will have all the concepts on the exam, but just in different formats.

Your job is to get as familiar as you can with all the topics on the exam objectives list, and then week two is going to be where we're diving headfirst into the all-in-one textbook.

I highly recommend taking a lot of good notes because you're also going to refer back to them when you're doing your practice exams and practice questions.

Most Security Plus textbooks will also have a practice exam question or summary at the end of each chapter.

There's usually about 15 to 20 questions per chapter.

I would always do those.

When I was studying for my Security Plus, I also went back and re-reviewed all of the practice questions and answers before I took the official exam.

That's how helpful they were, so definitely don't sleep on those.

Do them.

Again, week two, I don't expect everyone to be reading a textbook full-on in just one week, but you should at least be doing those practice questions, reading through the chapter summaries, going through the appendix, and reading through the specific areas of the concepts and topics that you're not as comfortable with.

Maybe you don't know anything about cryptography.

Maybe you're not as familiar with digital forensics.

Maybe you're not as familiar with the types of vulnerabilities and exploits.

Then read those chapters.

You can jump around the textbook.

You don't have to read the chapters that you're already familiar with or already learned in the past in another course or any other resources.

Week two is really about filling in the gaps for the areas that you have the most trouble with, so when you see it on an exam, it won't catch you off guard.

Another thing to note is that you should not be relying on memorizing acronyms.

For example, I had someone in our Discord channel tell me that they took their Security Plus exam, but because the practice exam that they did had all the acronyms in the questions and answers spelled out for them, so they didn't know that they had to actually memorize acronyms.

This is one of the most important things to keep in mind.

Not everything is going to be completely spelled out in the actual exam.

No matter what practice questions that you do, no matter what AI tool that you get to generate you practice questions, you need to make sure that you're using practice questions and practice exams from multiple different sources and not just relying on one Don't just remember the acronym, also remember what the acronym stands for and what it means.

Week number three, this one should be an easier one.

You're basically solidifying all the information that you first learned through reading the exam objectives guide and the CompTIA Security Plus textbook, and now you'll be focusing on Professor Messer's Security Plus course.

This course is video based, so you don't have any more reading to do, at least not as much, but you're primarily going to be soaking in that information and tying it back to what you've already learned.

You're basically making connections every time you study from a new format.

It's going to remind you of info that you've already learned.

It might show you areas that you might have missed.

This is why I plan out the study guide this way, because you're basically studying from beginning to end in week one, and you're studying from beginning to end in week two, and then finally one last time in week three, from beginning to end of the CompTIA Security Plus material.

Because let's face it, you're basically cramming months of study material into four weeks.

But if that's what it takes to get Security Plus onto your resume before next year's hiring cycles, then it's going to be well worth it.

And finally, in week number four, you're going to be focusing all in on practice exams, practice questions.

I probably did almost a thousand or more practice questions, and I did at least two full-on practice exams.

So I treated these as real exams.

I timed myself.

Obviously it was a practice exam, so I was still able to review my answers and see what I got wrong.

But every time I answer a practice question set and I get a question wrong, I'll always go back and try to figure out why, what the correct answer was, and really trying to knock it into my head to remember for next time I see something similar, potentially in the real exam.

So when you get something wrong, that is always something to keep in mind, and write down so you can re-study it at least a few days before the official exam.

Now I have a lot of exam resources I can share linked in my description, including Josh Matakor's Security Plus practice questions.

He has a really huge set of practice questions that you can use, along with all the other study resources I mentioned in this video.

The Security Plus is a study for, but trust me, it is going to be worth it when you finally get certified.

This was my first official professional certification that I've ever gotten in my career, so personally I do think that it's very well worth it.

And it also helped me get my second job in cybersecurity, so it is very, very well worth it to have this on your resume.

Alright, that's it for this video.

Don't forget to check out the iFlytec AI Note Air 2 and get their product launch discount through the link in my description.

Thank you guys so much for watching.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments below.

Don't forget to also stay connected on LinkedIn and on our Discord channel, which are both also linked in the description, where we discuss cybersecurity career questions, share resources, and chat about all things cybersecurity.

If this video was helpful, please consider liking and subscribing as it really does help out the I post videos weekly, and hopefully I'll see you guys in my next video.

Bye!