One of the things we hear most from people preparing for a certification exam is some version of: “I know I should be studying, but I do not know how to structure it.”
They have the material. They have the intention. What they are missing is a plan – something that turns “I need to pass Security+ in three months” into a concrete weekly schedule they can actually follow.
We built something to fix that.
Introducing the IT Dojo Exam Study Plan Generator
Enter your target certification, exam date, how many hours you can study each week, your current knowledge level, and how you prefer to learn. The tool calculates a personalized week-by-week schedule, broken into four phases:
Phase 1 – Core Concepts covers the fundamentals, domain by domain. Phase 2 – Deep Dive returns to the harder material with more focus and hands-on practice. Phase 3 – Practice Tests shifts to timed exams and weak-area review. Phase 4 – Final Review is a lightweight cram before exam day.
If your timeline is tight, the tool flags it directly and tells you how many extra hours per week you would need – or how many weeks to add – to have a realistic shot at the exam.
Why We Built It
The certifications we teach – Security+, CISSP, CySA+, CASP+, AZ-104, AWS Solutions Architect, and the rest – are not easy. The candidates who pass are almost always the ones who studied consistently over time, not the ones who crammed for a week. But “study consistently” is meaningless advice without structure.
We work with federal employees, DoD contractors, and corporate IT teams who have real jobs, real deadlines, and limited time. What they need is not motivation – it is a schedule. Something that says “this week, cover Threats and Vulnerabilities for 1.5 hours a day.” That is what this tool provides.
Use it, print it, add the exam date to your calendar, and get to work.
<div class="row g-4 mb-3">
<div class="col-md-7">
<div class="sp-section-label">Which certification are you preparing for?</div>
<select id="spCertSelect" class="sp-select" onchange="spUpdatePlan()">
<option value="">-- Select a certification --</option>
<optgroup label="CompTIA">
<option value="secplus">CompTIA Security+</option>
<option value="netplus">CompTIA Network+</option>
<option value="cysa">CompTIA CySA+</option>
<option value="casp">CompTIA CASP+ / SecurityX</option>
<option value="pentest">CompTIA PenTest+</option>
<option value="cloudplus">CompTIA Cloud+</option>
<option value="linuxplus">CompTIA Linux+</option>
</optgroup>
<optgroup label="ISC2">
<option value="cissp">CISSP</option>
<option value="ccsp">CCSP</option>
</optgroup>
<optgroup label="ISACA">
<option value="cism">CISM</option>
<option value="cisa">CISA</option>
</optgroup>
<optgroup label="EC-Council">
<option value="ceh">CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)</option>
<option value="tcmethical">TCM Ethical Hacker Bootcamp</option>
</optgroup>
<optgroup label="Microsoft Azure">
<option value="az900">AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals)</option>
<option value="az104">AZ-104 (Azure Administrator)</option>
<option value="az305">AZ-305 (Azure Solutions Architect)</option>
<option value="az500">AZ-500 (Azure Security Engineer)</option>
</optgroup>
<optgroup label="Amazon Web Services">
<option value="awscp">AWS Cloud Practitioner</option>
<option value="awssa">AWS Solutions Architect Associate</option>
<option value="awsdevops">AWS DevOps Engineer Professional</option>
</optgroup>
</select>
</div>
<div class="col-md-5">
<div class="sp-section-label">Target exam date</div>
<input type="date" id="spExamDate" class="sp-date" onchange="spUpdatePlan()">
</div>
</div>
<hr class="sp-divider">
<div class="mb-3">
<div class="sp-section-label">
Hours available to study per week
<span class="slider-val-badge" id="spSliderVal">10 hrs/wk</span>
</div>
<input type="range" id="spHoursSlider" class="sp-slider" min="2" max="20" value="10"
oninput="document.getElementById('spSliderVal').textContent=this.value+' hrs/wk'; spUpdatePlan()">
<div class="slider-labels"><span>2 hrs/wk</span><span>20 hrs/wk</span></div>
</div>
<hr class="sp-divider">
<div class="mb-3">
<div class="sp-section-label">Current knowledge level</div>
<div class="sp-level-grid">
<button class="sp-level-btn" data-level="beginner" onclick="spSelectLevel(this)">
<i class="bi bi-rocket-takeoff"></i>Complete Beginner
</button>
<button class="sp-level-btn" data-level="some" onclick="spSelectLevel(this)">
<i class="bi bi-journal-bookmark"></i>Some Background
</button>
<button class="sp-level-btn active" data-level="solid" onclick="spSelectLevel(this)">
<i class="bi bi-bar-chart-steps"></i>Solid Foundation
</button>
<button class="sp-level-btn" data-level="review" onclick="spSelectLevel(this)">
<i class="bi bi-check2-circle"></i>Just Need Review
</button>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="sp-divider">
<div class="mb-3">
<div class="sp-section-label">Study style preference (choose all that apply)</div>
<div class="sp-style-grid">
<label class="sp-style-label">
<input type="checkbox" value="video" onchange="spUpdatePlan()" checked>
<span class="sp-style-check"></span>
<i class="bi bi-play-circle"></i>Video courses
</label>
<label class="sp-style-label">
<input type="checkbox" value="reading" onchange="spUpdatePlan()">
<span class="sp-style-check"></span>
<i class="bi bi-book"></i>Reading / books
</label>
<label class="sp-style-label">
<input type="checkbox" value="practice" onchange="spUpdatePlan()" checked>
<span class="sp-style-check"></span>
<i class="bi bi-clipboard2-check"></i>Practice tests
</label>
<label class="sp-style-label">
<input type="checkbox" value="labs" onchange="spUpdatePlan()">
<span class="sp-style-check"></span>
<i class="bi bi-terminal"></i>Hands-on labs
</label>
<label class="sp-style-label">
<input type="checkbox" value="flashcards" onchange="spUpdatePlan()">
<span class="sp-style-check"></span>
<i class="bi bi-card-list"></i>Flashcards
</label>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Plan output -->
<div id="spPlanOutput">
<hr class="sp-divider" style="margin-bottom: 0;">
<div class="sp-plan-summary" id="spPlanSummary"></div>
<div class="sp-warning" id="spPlanWarning">
<i class="bi bi-exclamation-triangle-fill"></i>
<span id="spPlanWarningText"></span>
</div>
<div class="sp-phases-strip" id="spPhasesStrip"></div>
<div class="sp-section-title">Week-by-Week Schedule</div>
<div class="sp-week-wrap" id="spWeekTable"></div>
<div class="sp-cta-section" id="spCourseCta">
<div class="sp-cta-label">Accelerate Your Prep</div>
<div class="sp-cta-title" id="spCtaTitle">Take IT Dojo's course</div>
<div class="sp-cta-sub">Expert-led live remote training, structured around the exam domains. Employer sponsored training only.</div>
<a id="spCtaLink" href="#" target="_blank" class="sp-action-btn sp-btn-primary">
<i class="bi bi-mortarboard-fill"></i>View Course at IT Dojo
</a>
</div>
<div class="d-flex flex-wrap gap-2 sp-print-actions">
<button class="sp-action-btn sp-btn-outline" onclick="spDownloadIcs()">
<i class="bi bi-calendar-plus"></i>Add Exam Date to Calendar
</button>
<button class="sp-action-btn sp-btn-ghost" onclick="window.print()">
<i class="bi bi-printer"></i>Print This Plan
</button>
</div>
</div>
How IT Dojo Can Help
A good study plan gets you to the exam door. Expert-led instruction gets you through it. IT Dojo offers live, instructor-led training for all of the certifications in this tool – including Security+, CySA+, CASP+, CISSP, CCSP, CISM, CEH, AZ-104, AZ-305, AWS Solutions Architect, and more.
No recorded videos, no self-paced guesswork. Every course is taught live by an experienced instructor, built around the exam domains, and designed for federal employees, DoD contractors, and corporate IT professionals who need to pass.