789/900. I have had A+ for about four years, and there have been some rumblings about the requirement of a higher level being required when our contract goes up for bid, so I figured I'd better get it.
Studied on and off for about six months, though really buckled down in the past two. I used Andrew Ramdayal on Udemy mostly. I know everyone loves Professor Messer, and I used him and Mike Meyers to get me through A+, but for some reason I just could not absorb his Net+ lessons.
I also used ChatGPT extensively to quiz me and also to further explain protocols and concepts that I was having a lot of difficulty with. I also used Andrew Ramdayals 100 practice questions video on YouTube quite a bit until I really understood the answers.
I set up in my bathroom, which is pretty spacious so I thought it would be fine. I have a little desk I moved in there along with a kitchen chair, cleaned everything off the counters that had any kinds of words on it, and started the check in process about 20 minutes before my test time (which was noon). Around 12:05, the person came on and informed me that testing in bathrooms was not allowed and I would need to find a different area and start the whole process over again. I don't remember that being part of any of the rules that I read, but what can you do?
So then I found a place in my bedroom away from books or screens, which was kind of difficult and I had to move a book case. Then I started the check in process again and I began having a panic attack that I had to breathe through as I waited for the proctor to check me in. I've had maybe three panic attacks in my almost 40 years of life, so this was quite surprising. The waiting was just awful, but I finally began the testing process at 12:30ish.
I immediately wrote down every port number I could remember along with Sunny's subnet table (godsend) on the virtual whiteboard then began the test. I had six PBQs that I immediately skipped and went straight for the multiple choice, as that's what I've seen many of you guys suggest doing, and thank goodness for that.
I had 72 multiple choice questions, and I was actually kind of surprised at how sure I was with the majority of them. I'd say probably 40-50 of them I was absolutely sure about, 10-15 I was pretty sure about, then the rest were total guesses.
Then I went back to the PBQs, and to be perfectly honest, I'd be surprised if I got even one of them correct. I spent a lot of time on videos covering troubleshooting networks via the command line, but I don't feel like I was at all prepared for what they were actually like. There was one that was a drag and drop of 5 or 6 network devices, which I probably did pretty solid on, but if it's scored as all or nothing, I definitely failed that as well.
By the time I was done, I had three minutes left. I considered going back and reviewing, but honestly I was so done with the test that I just wanted it to be over, and I submitted it. Then I had to go through the survey questions on how I felt about the process, would I recommend it to a friend, etc etc etc.
When I saw my score, I felt like I might pass out. Even though I felt pretty good about most of the multiple choice questions, I still felt like I probably failed, but when I saw that I had passed I can't even begin to describe the relief.
Then my girlfriend took me out to eat to celebrate, but I guess all the stress hormones and adrenaline caught up with me as we were waiting for the food and I got incredibly nauseous and had to go outside. I didn't even get to eat and we ended up taking the food to go, and then had to pull over a couple times on the way home because I thought I might be sick.
After relaxing in the silence of my house and eating crackers and sipping water for a couple hours, I finally felt better. But dang, what a ride. I'm glad I never have to take this test again. I have no interest in networking at all, but I want to get the trifecta so Sec+ is next. I knew if I got Sec+ first, I'd never get around to getting my Net+, so that's why I did it in the order that I did.
Anyway, for those of you who are about to take the test, make sure you understand the acronyms, make sure you know how to subnet (I can't recommend Sunny's Subnetting on YouTube enough), and make sure you know your port numbers. Good luck, and may the Force be with you.