Workshop 2 · Take home
Tech track resources
Free first. The materials here have a free tier, a public-library angle, or are entirely free. Paid options noted where they earn the cost.
Downloads
- Prompt library (PDF)
Every prompt from every activity and use case across all three workshops. Keep it on your phone.
- Workshop 2 deck (PDF)
The slides from the tech session. Speaker notes embedded.
CompTIA study, free first
- CompTIA official site. The exam objectives PDF for each cert is free, current, and the only authoritative source for what is on the test. Always your first download.
- Professor Messer. Free, complete video courses for A+, Network+, and Security+. Production quality is plain but the content is correct and respected. Practice exams are paid; the videos are free.
- YouTube. Search "[cert name] [domain name]" and you will find dozens of walk-throughs. Mix three creators per topic, different explanations stick differently.
- Libby (public library e-books). Most US libraries carry the Mike Meyers and Sybex study guides as e-books. Free with a library card.
Paid resources, when they earn it
- Practice exams from Professor Messer, Jason Dion (on Udemy, often $10-15 on sale), or CompTIA's own CertMaster Practice. Practice exams are the highest-leverage paid purchase. Buy these; the textbooks can be borrowed.
- CompTIA voucher bundles. CompTIA periodically offers bundles that include the exam plus practice tests at a discount. Worth $30-50 over the bare voucher.
- Skip subscription practice apps until you have done two months of free practice. They are not better than the free options for the first 60% of your study.
Free hands-on practice
- TryHackMe. Free tier with rotating beginner rooms. The "Pre-Security" and "Complete Beginner" paths are great early Security+ practice.
- Cisco Networking Academy. Free Packet Tracer download for network simulation. Do the labs. Network+ becomes much easier with 20 hours in Packet Tracer.
- VirtualBox. Free. Run a Windows or Linux VM on your own machine for OS-level practice. Pair with the free Windows Server evaluation downloads from Microsoft.
- Microsoft Learn. Free, hands-on labs across Windows, Azure AD, and security. Earns a free Microsoft cert badge for completion of certain paths.
- SoloLearn or Codecademy. Free tiers. Bash and PowerShell intro courses are useful for help desk technicians who want to stop being intimidated by terminals.
Communities worth following
- r/CompTIA. Active. Pass posts, study advice, current voucher deals.
- r/ITCareerQuestions. Career path advice from people who actually moved through the path you are starting.
- r/sysadmin. The day-to-day of the role you might be moving toward. Lurk, do not post.
- r/cybersecurity and r/SecurityCareerAdvice. Read these before deciding security is the path for you.
Bonus guides on this site
- Tools comparison. Ten AI tools worth knowing, free first.
- AI headshots guide. Free options for a professional photo for your LinkedIn.
- Workshop 1 use cases. Resume, cover letter, interview, organization.
- Workshop 3: Agentic AI. The next workshop. Build agents that combine career and tech skills.