Short answer: yes, if you're starting out
If you're asking whether Security+ SY0-701 is worth sitting, here's the honest answer from someone who's coached dozens of people through it: yes, if you're early in your cybersecurity career or moving into it from IT support, helpdesk, or a different field entirely. It won't get you a senior analyst role on its own, but it opens doors that a CV with no certifications simply won't open. Most UK SOC analyst and IT security job adverts still list Security+ as "desired" or "essential" for entry-level and junior positions, and recruiters use it as a fast filter when they're wading through hundreds of applications.
What it won't do is guarantee you a job. I've had students pass it and still spend three months applying before they land an interview. The certification proves you understand the fundamentals — risk, cryptography basics, network security, identity and access management, incident response concepts. It doesn't prove you can do the job. That gap is why I push students toward a home lab and a couple of small projects alongside the study, not instead of it.
What Security+ actually gets you
Three concrete things, in my experience:
- A CV that clears automated filters. Applicant tracking systems and junior recruiters scan for keywords. "Security+" is one of the most common ones in entry-level cyber security postings in the UK.
- A shared vocabulary. Once you've studied the objectives, you can hold a conversation about CIA triad, zero trust, PKI, or incident response phases without sounding like you read it off a script the night before.
- A vendor-neutral foundation. Unlike Microsoft's SC-200 or platform-specific certs, Security+ isn't tied to one vendor. That makes it a sensible first cert regardless of which direction you go next — cloud, blue team, GRC, or pentesting.
Who it isn't worth it for
If you already hold a CISSP, hold years of hands-on security experience, or you're targeting a mid-to-senior security engineering role, Security+ adds little. It's an entry-level credential and reads that way to hiring managers. I've also seen people over-invest — collecting Security+, Network+, and A+ back to back without ever building anything practical. Certifications without any evidence you can apply them start to look like stalling.
Security+ against the other common entry points
| Certification | Best for | Vendor-neutral? | Typical starting point |
|---|---|---|---|
| CompTIA Security+ | Career changers, IT support staff moving into security | Yes | First cert |
| ISC2 CC | Absolute beginners, no IT background at all | Yes | Before or instead of Security+ |
| Microsoft SC-200 | People already working with Microsoft security tooling | No | After some foundation |
| BTL1 | Aspiring SOC/blue team analysts wanting hands-on proof | Yes | Alongside or after Security+ |
If CISSP is on your radar as a longer-term goal once Security+ is behind you, see CISSP vs Security+ for how the two actually relate — they're not competing certifications, they sit at different career stages.
What I tell my students
I tell every student the same thing before they book their exam slot: Security+ is a floor, not a ceiling. It tells an employer "this person has done the reading." It does not tell them "this person can triage an alert in a SIEM" or "this person understands how an attacker actually moves through a network." If all you do is memorise flashcards for eight weeks and sit the exam, you'll pass, and then you'll stall at the interview stage because you can't answer a single scenario question with confidence.
The students who move fastest from certification to job offer are the ones who pair the study with something practical — a home lab, a hands-on path, a couple of documented projects. I'd rather see a CV with Security+ plus a write-up of a home SIEM build than Security+ alone.
A realistic study approach
You don't need a rigid twelve-week plan to make progress. What matters is consistency and covering all five domains properly rather than cramming the ones you find interesting. For a structured week-by-week plan, I've laid one out in full here: Security+ SY0-701 study guide. If you're wondering how long it should realistically take given your background and hours available, that's covered separately too: how long to study for Security+.
Roughly, most working adults with some IT background need six to ten weeks of consistent evening and weekend study. Complete beginners often need longer, and that's fine — rushing it to hit an arbitrary deadline is how people fail and have to pay for a resit.
FAQ
Does Security+ guarantee a cybersecurity job?
No. It's a filter that gets your CV noticed, not a guarantee of an offer. Pair it with practical projects, a home lab, or a portfolio piece, and be ready to talk through scenarios in interviews, not just recite definitions.
Is Security+ still relevant with SY0-701?
Yes — SY0-701 is the current version and reflects modern topics like cloud security and operational technology. It's regularly updated by CompTIA, so it stays reasonably current with what employers expect from an entry-level hire.
How much does the Security+ exam cost in the UK?
Exam fees change and CompTIA prices in USD with regional adjustments, so check the official CompTIA page for the current fee before you book — don't rely on a number you saw in a forum post from last year.
Should I do Security+ before or after ISC2 CC?
Either order works. Some students do ISC2 CC first as a genuinely low-barrier taster, then Security+ for the deeper, more widely recognised credential. Others go straight to Security+ if they already have some IT background.
If you want a second opinion on your study plan or where you're stuck, book a trial lesson and we'll work out a route that fits your background rather than a generic checklist.
