CompTIA Data+
Data concepts, mining, analysis, visualisation and data governance. Work through the topics from the start of the list to the end. Readiness is calculated from your recorded study, labs, practice, quizzes and troubleshooting.
Overall readiness
0%
Status
Not Started
Topics
2
Recommended study time
21h
Exam readiness: CompTIA Data+
Not started — Nothing recorded for this certification yet. Study one topic and the score starts moving.
80 points to the 80% exam-ready bar
0 of 2 topics finished · 21h of study left
About 7 weeks away — roughly November 2026, at your planned 180 minutes a week.
What is holding the score back
Study path
Start with the groundwork, then core skills, then the advanced material.
Plain-language groundwork. Begin here if the certification is new to you.
The main body of the certification: the skills the exam tests most.
Reading and watching
Official material from the vendors themselves. Links open in a new tab.
WATCH
- Microsoft Learn shows and video seriesMicrosoft Learn · video · free
- Linux Foundation video channelThe Linux Foundation · video · free
- Professor Messer's CompTIA A+ 220-1201 Core 1 video courseProfessor Messer · video · free
- Professor Messer's CompTIA A+ 220-1202 Core 2 video courseProfessor Messer · video · free
- Professor Messer video channel — general CompTIA training (no dedicated CompTIA Data+ course)Professor Messer · video · free
READ
- Introduction to BashMicrosoft Learn · course · free
- Explore tech careersCompTIA · learning-path · free
Worked examples
The calculations and procedures this certification expects you to perform, shown step by step with practice items.
Read and set Linux file permissions
A script shows as -rwxr-xr-- . What are its numeric permissions, and what command would make it rwxr-x---?
- 1. Split the stringIgnore the leading file-type character, then take three groups: owner rwx, group r-x, others r--.
- 2. Score each groupread = 4, write = 2, execute = 1. Owner 4+2+1 = 7. Group 4+0+1 = 5. Others 4+0+0 = 4.
- 3. Read the numberThe permissions are 754.
- 4. Build the targetrwx = 7, r-x = 5, --- = 0, so the goal is 750.
Answer: -rwxr-xr-- is 754; chmod 750 script.sh produces rwxr-x---. A 'Permission denied' on your own script is usually a missing execute bit (chmod +x).
Now you try
What is rw-r--r-- numerically?
What does chmod 600 key.pem allow?
Which command changes the owning user?
Build a command line pipeline
Find every failed SSH login in /var/log/auth.log and count them per source address.
- 1. Filter the linesgrep 'Failed password' /var/log/auth.log narrows thousands of lines to the ones that matter.
- 2. Extract the fieldPipe into awk '{print $(NF-3)}' to pull the source IP from each line.
- 3. Group themsort groups identical addresses together; uniq -c then counts each group.
- 4. Rank themsort -nr puts the noisiest address at the top.
Answer: grep 'Failed password' /var/log/auth.log | awk '{print $(NF-3)}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr — each command does one job and the pipe passes text along.
Now you try
How would you keep the output for a ticket?
Which command shows a log as it is being written?
What does | actually do?
Prioritise a support queue
Four tickets arrive at once. Which do you take first?
- 1. List impact and urgencyA: one user's mouse. B: the finance team of 12 cannot print payroll, due today. C: a director's laptop is slow. D: the shared file server is offline for everyone.
- 2. Score impactImpact is how many people are stopped: D = whole site, B = 12, A and C = 1 each.
- 3. Score urgencyUrgency is how time-bound it is: B has a same-day deadline; C has none beyond annoyance.
- 4. Combine, do not let seniority decidePriority = impact × urgency. Rank: D, B, then A (blocking one person's work) then C (degraded, still working).
Answer: D, B, A, C — and set expectations with everyone in the queue. A job title is not a priority level; a documented matrix is what you defend the order with.
Now you try
One user cannot log in at all versus ten users with slow email. Which first?
What do you do with the ticket you cannot start yet?
What goes in the ticket when you close it?
Practice exam
Randomly generated from 24 questions. Written answers are graded on the idea, not on exact wording.
CompTIA Data+ practice exam
20 randomly generated questions drawn from 24 in the CompTIA Data+ bank.
20 questions. Question order and eligible choice order change with every attempt, and answers are saved as you work.
Practice
A fresh selection of practical work each time you generate.
- Incident record: Poor handoffs force users to repeat informationincident
- Scenario: PowerShell administration, Linux shells, remote support, network…scenario
- Troubleshoot: Incomplete ticket notestroubleshoot
- Scenario: Help desks, managed service providers, internal IT…scenario
CompTIA Data+ (DA0-002)
Data concepts, mining, analysis, visualisation and data governance.
Status: Not Started — no evidence recorded yet
Knowledge readiness
0%Practical readiness
0%Troubleshooting readiness
0%Retention
0%Quiz performance
0%Lab completion
0%Practice completion
0%Overall readiness
0%Domain readiness
Weak domains are listed first.
Data Concepts
0%1 objective · no evidence yet · weak
Data Mining
0%1 objective · no evidence yet · weak
Data Analysis
0%1 objective · no evidence yet · weak
Visualisation
0%1 objective · no evidence yet · weak
Governance
0%1 objective · no evidence yet · weak
Exam objectives
Objectives are editable data. Edit, add or remove them and readiness recalculates.
- 1.1 — Explain data types, structures and schemasData Concepts · no mapped topic yet
- 2.1 — Acquire, clean and profile a datasetData Mining · 1 mapped topic(s)
- 3.1 — Apply descriptive statistics to answer a questionData Analysis · no mapped topic yet
- 4.1 — Choose report and chart types that fit the audienceVisualisation · 1 mapped topic(s)
- 5.1 — Apply data quality, privacy and retention rulesGovernance · no mapped topic yet
Exam result
IT PATH never marks an exam as passed. You confirm the result yourself.
No exam results recorded.