8-Week Study Plan

Built around a real schedule — an hour or two on weeknights, more on weekends. Weeks 1–4 cover the shared foundation every cert needs. Weeks 5–8 branch into your exam track. 🖨 Print / Save as PDF

Part 1 — Shared Foundation

Ch. 1–3

Networking Fundamentals

Chapter 1 — The OSI Model and TCP/IP Stack
Chapter 2 — TCP, UDP, and Ports
Chapter 3 — IP Addressing (v4 basics, private ranges, CIDR)

Goal: recite the 7 OSI layers cold, and know TCP vs UDP without hesitating.

Ch. 4–6

Name Resolution & Addressing Services

Chapter 4 — DNS (record types, resolution order)
Chapter 5 — DHCP (scopes, leases, reservations)
Chapter 6 — VPNs and Secure Tunneling

Goal: explain what happens, step by step, from "no IP" to "fully connected" on boot.

Ch. 7–9

Hardware & Threat Landscape

Chapter 7 — Network Hardware (switches, routers, access points)
Chapter 8 — Security Concepts and Frameworks
Chapter 9 — Threats and Attacks

Goal: match each attack type to its category without looking it up.

Ch. 10–13

Security Operations & Review

Chapters 10–13 — Security Operations through end of shared foundation
Redo every Gut Check question from Weeks 1–3 cold
Take the free quick reference sheet and cover the answers — test yourself

Goal: shared foundation locked in before branching into your specific exam track.

Part 2 — Your Exam Track

Weeks 5–6

Core Exam-Specific Content

A+ track: hardware, operating systems, troubleshooting
Network+ track: routing/switching depth, wireless standards, WAN concepts
Security+ track: identity & access management, cryptography, risk management

Goal: pick one track and stay in it — don't split focus across certs this stage.

Weeks 7

Practice & Weak Spots

Finish remaining chapters in your track
Flag every topic you hesitate on — that's your weak spot list
Re-read only the flagged sections, not the whole book again

Goal: a short, honest list of what still isn't automatic yet.

Week 8

Exam Week

Full review pass using only the quick reference sheet
Light review only — no new material this week
Sleep, don't cram the night before

Goal: walk in confident, not exhausted.

Real talk: This plan assumes you already have some IT exposure. If you're starting from zero, double the timeline — there's no prize for rushing a cert you'll be using for the next several years of your career.