I am going to dedicate three hours a day to study CompTIA Security+.
I have created a schedule using AI: Studying 7 days a week is the perfect strategy for a 32-day sprint. It keeps your brain in “exam mode” without letting information fade over weekends. By spreading the load evenly, you only need to commit 2.5 hours every morning to hit your 17.5-hour weekly target.
Here is your balanced, non-stop morning routine leading up to August 28.
📅 Week 1: July 28 – August 3 (General Concepts & Architecture)
- July 28–29: Watch Pluralsight’s “General Security Concepts”. Focus on the CIA triad, mutual authentication, and non-repudiation.
- July 30–31: Finish Pluralsight concepts. Master symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption and hashing (SHA-256 vs. MD5).
- August 1–2: Switch to LinkedIn Learning’s “Architecture and Design”. Focus on Zero Trust architecture and secure cloud deployment models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).
- August 3: Review CompTIA’s official Domain 1 and 3 checklists. Highlight any terms you cannot define from memory.
📅 Week 2: August 4 – August 10 (Threats, Vulnerabilities, & Mitigations)
- August 4–5: Use Pluralsight to study threat actors (APT, insider threats, hacktivists) and their specific motivations.
- August 6–7: Dive into social engineering tactics (phishing, vishing, watering hole attacks) using LinkedIn Learning.
- August 8–9: Focus heavily on system vulnerabilities, CVEs, and malware classifications (ransomware, rootkits, trojans).
- August 10: Create a dedicated flashcard deck for common ports (e.g., SSH 22, RDP 3389, HTTPS 443) and test yourself.
📅 Week 3: August 11 – August 17 (Security Operations)
- August 11–12: Watch Pluralsight modules on security monitoring tools, SIEM configurations, and SOAR capabilities.
- August 13–14: Use LinkedIn Learning to learn log analysis. Practice reading basic firewall rules and web server logs.
- August 15–16: Study the lifecycle of incident response (Preparation, Identification, Containment, Eradication, Recovery, Lessons Learned).
- August 17: Review digital forensics basics, including data volatility order (RAM first, then hard drive) and chain of custody.
📅 Week 4: August 18 – August 24 (Governance & Baseline Testing)
- August 18–19: Finish Domain 5 (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) on Pluralsight. Learn regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS.
- August 20: Study risk management strategies (Accept, Mitigate, Transfer, Avoid) and calculation metrics (SLE, ARO, ALE).
- August 21 (Friday): Simulate the real exam. Take LinkedIn Learning Practice Exam 1 for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) during your 2.5-hour block.
- August 22–24: Spend these three mornings meticulously digging into every wrong answer from Exam 1. Do not rush this step.
🏁 Final Countdown: August 25 – August 28
- August 25 (Tuesday): Take LinkedIn Learning Practice Exam 2 for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) timed for 90 minutes. Target an 80%+ score.
- August 26 (Wednesday): Review missed concepts from Exam 2. Read through the official CompTIA acronym list to catch any hidden gaps.
- August 27 (Thursday): Light 1-hour review of your flashcards only. Do not take new tests. Relax your brain and check your exam testing environment rules.
- August 28 (Friday): Exam Day. Use your peak morning brainpower to crush the test.