How I Passed the CompTIA Linux+ Exam (And What Actually Worked)

I recently passed the CompTIA Linux+ certification — and it wasn’t easy. This exam dives deep into the inner workings of Linux: bootloaders, systemd, permissions, scripting, networking… everything. But after 70 days of consistent studying, I made it through. 🙌🐧

Here’s exactly what helped me pass:

✅ Jason Dion’s Course — Perfect for the fundamentals and exam structure. He breaks things down in a way that builds your confidence early on.

✅ Imran Afzal’s Full Library — His hands-on labs were a game changer. I followed along with his videos step-by-step and used his explanations to truly understand what I was doing — not just clicking commands.

✅ CompTIA Linux+ All-in-One Book — This was my core reference. I took notes, highlighted every key detail, and kept coming back to it when something didn’t make sense.

✅ ChatGPT & Gemini (Prompt Engineering for the Win) — Any time I hit a wall or got confused, I used tools like ChatGPT to break it down in plain English. I’d type in the exact thing I was stuck on, and get a more relatable answer in seconds.

Here’s an example:

often found myself confusing commands like tar and sar. I knew one was used for archiving and the other for system activity reporting, but I could never seem to remember which was which.

And tr? That one really threw me off. I kept forgetting that it’s used to translate or delete characters from a stream of text.

What made things more challenging was that each time I encountered a new term, it felt like I was unraveling something I thought I already understood. For instance, I’d see the word “stream” and immediately think, “Wait… isn’t that what awk is for?” That would lead me to open Gemini and ask for clarification. It would return a helpful explanation of awk, and I’d then wonder, “Okay, but how is that different from grep?”

That kind of layered questioning — constantly comparing definitions and real use cases — became a major part of my study process. I didn’t just stop with the answer from Gemini or ChatGPT. I cross-referenced what I learned with CertMaster Learn + Labs, which I found to be an excellent resource for understanding what actually matters on the exam.

In contrast, the All-in-One Linux+ book was where I’d dive deeper. It helped me explore each command’s full context and use cases, giving me a broader understanding — while CertMaster helped me focus on the exam’s priorities.

That back-and-forth process — asking, comparing, and drilling into each term — is what finally helped the concepts click. AI tools weren’t just search engines for me; they became my personal Linux tutors, walking me through each layer until the confusion cleared.

Then there was the difference between sort vs unique options in command-line outputs — like sort, uniq, cut, etc. I’d look it up, forget it a week later, and repeat the cycle.

Using AI to break things down with analogies and simple language helped me actually understand instead of just trying to memorize.

Passing Linux+ taught me something deeper:

💡 It’s not about cramming facts — it’s about forming a mental model of how Linux operates.

While studying, I used both CentOS and Ubuntu side by side to practice. Since they represent different Linux families (Red Hat vs. Debian), it gave me a clearer understanding of key differences — like RPM vs DEB, and how tools like dnf, yum, dpkg, and apt behave in their respective environments. That hands-on experience helped me connect the dots and reinforced what I was learning from books and video courses.

https://kelvinintech.hashnode.dev/breathe-new-life-into-your-old-mac-with-linux-like-popos