CISSP Certification Exam Prep Course vs CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Complete Course & Practice Exam

The course covers all eight CISSP CBK domains as defined by (ISC)²: Security and Risk Management, Asset Security, Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security, Identity and Access Management, Security Assessment and Testing, Security Operations, and Software Development Security. Chapple structures each domain systematically, beginning with foundational concepts and building toward the scenario-based reasoning that the CISSP adaptive exam rewards. Learners consistently report that Chapple's lectures decode the conceptual density of the Official Study Guide and reframe key ideas in ways that make the most challenging domain content — particularly risk quantification, cryptography, and PKI — accessible without oversimplifying. His background as both an active security practitioner and academic means domain coverage contextualises theory within real organisational security decisions rather than presenting isolated facts. The main content gap noted by experienced candidates is the volume of built-in practice questions. The video instruction is comprehensive, but most successful CISSP candidates pair it with a dedicated practice test resource such as the Official (ISC)² CISSP Practice Tests, also co-authored by Chapple, or a third-party platform such as Boson ExSim.

Mike Chapple, Ph.D. holds the CISSP, CISM, CySA+, PenTest+, and Security+ certifications and serves as Teaching Professor of IT, Analytics and Operations at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. He co-authored the Official (ISC)² CISSP Study Guide (now in its tenth edition) and the Official (ISC)² CISSP Practice Tests, and has written more than 50 technology books and produced over 150 Udemy and LinkedIn Learning courses. His teaching style transforms dense regulatory and conceptual material into clear, structured instruction without sacrificing technical accuracy. Students consistently describe him as "calm," "methodical," "patient," and "one of the best technical instructors on any platform." His explanation of the CISSP managerial mindset — thinking as a security manager rather than a hands-on technician when selecting exam answers — is cited by numerous first-time passers as the single most valuable insight they received from any study resource. CertMike community testimonials note that his course is "far more helpful than a $2,000 boot camp."

At Udemy's standard promotional pricing of $15–25 (promotions occur near-weekly), the course represents exceptional value relative to the $749 CISSP exam fee and the $2,000–$3,500 price range of in-person boot camps. Multiple learners in Reddit's r/cissp community explicitly describe abandoning boot camp registrations in favour of Chapple's course after comparing outcomes reported by peers who used each approach. The course pairs naturally with the Official (ISC)² CISSP Study Guide that Chapple co-authored, creating an integrated study ecosystem where book and course reinforce each other at a combined cost still well below most single-day boot camp fees. For a credential with transformative career impact — median salaries for CISSP holders exceed $120,000 in the United States — the cost-to-certification-value ratio is unusually favourable.

Multiple learners report that the CISSP preparation process through Chapple's course produced a materially more comprehensive view of organisational security than their prior professional experience had provided. The eight CBK domains together constitute a breadth-first survey of enterprise security governance, and working through them systematically often surfaces gaps in candidates' understanding that were invisible from within their specialised day-to-day roles. Security professionals in roles such as security architect, CISO, security manager, and senior analyst specifically credit the course with reinforcing enterprise security governance frameworks — NIST CSF, ISO 27001, SOC 2 — in ways that improved their day-to-day security decision-making well beyond the exam context. The risk management and security assessment domains are cited as particularly rich in immediately applicable content.

Mike Chapple maintains a companion platform at certmike.com where he facilitates free 90-day CISSP study groups. These structured group programmes — featuring weekly schedules, live Q&A webinars, and community forums — are cited by multiple graduates as a significant differentiator that addresses the primary failure mode of solo CISSP self-study: losing momentum across the months-long preparation period. Within Udemy, Q&A response times are variable, a structural issue across the platform rather than specific to this course. The CertMike study group fills much of this gap. Learners seeking broader community discussion also gravitate toward r/cissp on Reddit, which frequently recommends Chapple's resources as a primary study tool. The slight fragmentation between Udemy Q&A and CertMike community is the main friction point noted by learners.

The course covers all five SY0-701 exam domains across 264 modules and 31 hours of video, spanning General Security Concepts, Threats and Vulnerabilities, Security Architecture, Security Operations, and Security Program Management. Reviewers on OpenCourser and Reddemy consistently praise the structured domain breakdown, acronym walkthroughs, and the alignment with official CompTIA exam objectives. The main content gap flagged by multiple learners is limited hands-on lab simulation — the course is predominantly lecture-based, which can make performance-based question (PBQ) preparation less thorough than the actual exam requires.

Jason Dion brings over 20 years of IT and cybersecurity experience to the course and is consistently described by reviewers as easy to follow, thorough, and amiable. OpenCourser reviewers Victor Cabrales and Mark Guillen both called out his clear explanations and acronym-focused teaching style as the course's standout feature. He holds CompTIA Platinum Partner status, and Dion Training's 4.6+ star network-wide rating across 2 million+ students reinforces his reputation as one of the most reliable certification prep instructors in the field.

The course is almost always available on Udemy for $13–$20 during the platform's frequent sales, a price point that Reddemy commenters repeatedly highlight as exceptional for 31 hours of content plus practice materials. One Reddemy user noted purchasing both the course and the separate practice exam set for approximately $13 each during a sale. At that price, Dion's course delivers one of the lowest cost-per-hour ratios of any paid Security+ preparation resource, with lifetime access and periodic content updates included.

Multiple reviewers who passed SY0-701 on their first attempt credit Dion's course as their primary preparation resource, including John T. (Medium), who passed in under two months with no prior cybersecurity background. The course's exam-focused framing maps tightly to Security+'s five domains and the career skills they represent — threat analysis, security architecture, and incident response. However, the lecture-only format and absence of hands-on labs mean learners entering cybersecurity roles will need additional practical experience beyond what the course alone provides.

Like most Udemy courses, learner support is limited to the platform's Q&A section — there is no live instructor interaction or direct email support. One Reddemy user flagged a structural navigation issue, noting difficulty jumping directly to specific domains without watching the course sequentially. Response times in the Q&A section are generally adequate for a high-enrollment course, but learners who need real-time feedback or personalized guidance will need to seek supplementary communities such as the r/CompTIA subreddit.