Welcome! Today we’ll be reviewing the CompTIA Security+ “Get Certified Get Ahead” Study Guide by Darril Gibson.
Review Summary
- Length: 11 chapters, 587 pages
- Cover Type: Soft
- Personal Completion Time: Roughly 2 months
- TL;DR Summary: A rather lengthy (but compact) book covering all of your CompTIA Security+ study needs. As with all certification study material I recommend you use another resource to answer some study questions to properly prepare for the exam.
- Book Link: Amazon
- Final Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars
Please check to make sure that you’re purchasing the latest edition of any certification study material you find on this website – these links go outdated easily!
Truthfully, the CompTIA Security+ certification was one of the first certifications I was actually excited for. I no longer had to tediously study the inner workings of a laser printer (as I did with the CompTIA A+) and I had already finished studying the many networking ports, protocols, and procedures of the CompTIA Network+ – but for some strange reason when I picked this book up to write my review I didn’t have such fond memories. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, so when I held this study guide in my hands for the first time in well over 3 years to write my review I think I realized why: the font is larger than most of my other certification study material, and the spacing was much more compact. While this might seem like a small detail to gripe about, I think this may result in increased tiredness when studying certification study material for 6-8 hours at a time (in retrospect I think its actually the opposite and would result in the material being easier to read, maybe my memory is incorrect here)! All of this considered, while I didn’t get such a “warm and fuzzy feeling” when deciding to revisit this study guide, I think its worth pointing out that after revisiting this guide for a second time the actual material inside this study guide stands out as clear, concise, and complete – and this, in my opinion, should be what you prize the most if you’re looking to take (and pass) the CompTIA Security+.
With regards to the actual reading material, this book is quite different than most. While the other certification study guides I’ve reviewed were almost exclusively larger, more evenly spaced, and included an (average) 10 question post-chapter exam to test your understanding Darril took a different path. This study guide opts instead to include an average of 15 questions at the end of every chapter in addition to a whopping 75 question post-assessment exam! If you’ve read any of the other Certification Study Guide reviews I’ve posted on this website you’ll know I’m a big fan of using practice questions whenever possible to test your understanding. Its also worth nothing that while skimming the contents of this book Darril very clearly took extensive time and effort to lay out the contents in a readable and easily digestible way. I’d even go so far as to say the way Darril laid out the contents of this book is the best example of laying out complex material in such a compact fashion – inside this book you’ll find many, many example of tables, diagrams, pictures, and bullet point lists and this is almost identical to how I lay out my notes. In summary, reading Darril’s study guide was a joy and (strangely) like reading a better summarized version of my own notes – a refreshing, complete, and entertaining experience, and one that I can’t recommend enough if you’re considering studying for the CompTIA Security+.