Study resources and practice exam links for CompTIA certifications via Professor Messer.

Free CompTIA certification study resources from Professor Messer — and how to use them effectively.

Who is Professor Messer?

Professor James Messer provides completely free video training courses for CompTIA certifications including A+, Network+, Security+, and CySA+. His courses are used by hundreds of thousands of IT professionals worldwide.

Free Resources Available

• Video courses — Full exam objective coverage, free on YouTube and his website
• Study groups — Monthly live study group sessions (free)
• Exam tips — Video walkthroughs of what to expect on each exam
• Course notes — PDF notes for purchase (affordable)

Recommended Study Path

• CompTIA A+ — Start here for IT fundamentals (hardware, OS, networking basics)
• CompTIA Network+ — Covers TCP/IP, routing, VLANs, wireless, and troubleshooting
• CompTIA Security+ — Entry-level security certification, DoD 8140 baseline (IAT Level II)
• CompTIA CySA+ — Intermediate blue team / threat analysis

Effective Study Tips

• Watch each video, then pause and explain the concept in your own words
• Use free practice tests from ExamCompass and Quizlet
• Build a lab: use VirtualBox or AWS Free Tier to practice hands-on
• Take notes in your own words — don’t just re-read slides

Sysadmin Certs Beyond CompTIA

• RHCSA/RHCE — Red Hat Linux (highly respected in enterprise)
• AWS Solutions Architect Associate — Cloud fundamentals
• HashiCorp Terraform Associate — IaC certification