At the time of this writing, I’ve gotten the CompTIA Project+ certification. As of now there’s no expiration date and I didn’t learn that I passed until 6 months after I took it.
The Story
At 9:30 A.M. on a Monday, I notice an email notification on my phone that reads something like ‘Last day to take CompTIA Project+ Beta Exam’. I look into this email and it turns out that the exam price is just $50.
Normally, the CompTIA exams are upwards of $300+, but I knew NOTHING about this certification at all. Although for $50, I’m willing to take a gamble on myself. I’ve spent $50 on dumber things.
So I schedule a proctored exam for the SAME day that afternoon at 4:45 PM. I go through my work day, get off work, and cram as many definitions, concepts, and scenarios into my head for the exam. CompTIA exams usually last around 3 hours, so I went through the exam and said goodbye to my money.
Months later, I log into my CompTIA account portal and notice that the Project+ is listed under my active certifications!
Now, there are some other factors to consider here.
- I’m a decent test tasker – I usually do well on multiple choice tests (and tests in general). I’m one of those people.
- I had access to resources related to the exam – I’ll touch more on this below, but having resources is important.
- I took a beta exam – The beta exam is structured differently than the publicly available exam. It’s possible that questions I answered were weighted differently.
Truth be told, the test exam reads like a regular CompTIA exam except some of the questions are extremely difficult to answer with the amount of information (it’s a bit more vague in some areas).
Additionally, I’m not big on cramming. This was my first time cramming for such a large exam with such a small time window allotted for study. I never do it. I always take time to study for my exams. But this time, I had no choice. Let’s go through the plan I made for myself. That’s the first step. Having a plan or strategy.
1) Making Your Strategy
When preparing for an exam I always ask myself two questions:
- How much do I need to learn for this test?
- How long do I have to learn what I need to know?
In this case, the Project+ exam objectives were much shorter compared to other CompTIA exams I’ve taken like the A+ or Network+. Thank goodness. At this point, I review the material to determine what I know and what I need to learn.
1.1) Absorbing Material
I comb through the CompTIA Project+ exam objectives like a madman. Noting any terms, definitions, or behaviors that I don’t know. Why? Because I’m going to Google all those terms later.
That’s right. All of them. Depending on how much time you have to cram, I recommend spending as little time as you can on this stage so you can move on to studying and fitting content in your brain.
2) Have Resources (Preferably, Paid Ones)
In this area, I was extraordinarily lucky. I was able to utilize a paid training platform with delegate access to find materials related to the Project+. It’s a class based on the material and it’s only 2.5 hours long. I load this and listen to it latently during my work day.
(If you don’t have access to paid resources, take to YouTube for exam related resources. I used everything from general overview videos to practice exams)
During my lunch break, I go through those terms and notes from the previous step and ensure I have an understanding of each thing from the exam objectives.
Now, as my work day is wrapping up, I’m studied up on the material I need to know for the exam. There are some things I know or just intuitively understand. But what about the stuff I don’t know?
3) Exhaust Your Resources
In the cases where I’m combing through my cram material and I find a new concept, there’s always a thought in my head screaming: “Well, what does this mean? How does it function?”
In my experience, it’s not enough for a CompTIA exam to know the definition of things. Usually, the exam tries to elicit a sense that you understand how these things function in the real world. So I always research the application or usage of a new term or concept from the exam objectives that I don’t understand. It’s never failed me, and I learn something new every time.
Conclusion
Now, let me be clear:
I do NOT recommend cramming for a CompTIA exam in 2 hours. The experience was very nerve-wracking. I was taking a test that I knew practically nothing about. However, if you’re inclined to, then I hope these tips help you.