Plan certifications with clear, realistic weekly study targets. Track labs, practice exams, and revision milestones. Stay on schedule, pass confidently, and level up skills.
| Certification | Start | Mode | Window | Commitment | Buffer | Practice Exams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security+ | 2026-02-17 | Target date | 12 weeks | 8 hrs/week | 10% | 3 |
| CISSP | 2026-02-17 | Fixed weeks | 16 weeks | 12 hrs/week | 15% | 5 |
| OSCP | 2026-02-17 | Fixed weeks | 20 weeks | 15 hrs/week | 10% | 4 |
This planner estimates total effort, then converts it into weekly targets and a dated schedule. Values are adjustable and meant for planning, not guarantees.
This planner starts with a base hour profile for the selected certification and adjusts it using experience and focus multipliers. For example, beginners add roughly 15% effort, while experienced candidates reduce about 10%. A 10% buffer is commonly used to absorb interruptions, rework, and slower topics without breaking the schedule. If you set 8 hours per week across 5 days, the daily target is about 1.6 hours, supporting consistent recall and lab repetition steady.
The schedule distributes certification domains across learning weeks, then reserves the final review window for consolidation. If a certification has eight domains and you plan fourteen weeks with two review weeks, the tool spreads domains across twelve learning weeks and assigns focused milestones such as “Content + Notes,” “Labs + Integration,” and “Final Review + Practice.” Date-stamped milestones help you reserve weekends for labs and weekdays for review quick notes sessions.
Buffer percent increases total study hours, which increases required weekly hours when the deadline is fixed. A buffer between 8% and 15% often balances realism and pace. If you choose 0% buffer, a single missed week can push your projected exam date forward by seven or more days, depending on your commitment. More days off shifts the exam date without crowding weeks.
Timed practice exams are treated as planned effort and inserted as milestones near the end of the learning phase. A practical pattern is one mock exam, then two days of error review, then a retest of weak objectives. If your passing goal is 80%, aim for consistent practice results above 85% before scheduling the final attempt. Lab-first plans often work best with 40% hands-on time weekly.
The commitment check compares your entered hours per week against the weekly target required by your timeline. If required hours exceed your commitment, either extend the plan weeks, raise weekly hours, or reduce days off. Exporting to CSV lets you rebalance weeks, while the PDF snapshot helps share a stable plan with mentors or teammates. Flags trigger when weekly hours exceed 18 or days drop.
It multiplies a certification base-hour profile by experience and focus factors, adds timed practice exam hours, then applies your buffer percent. The result becomes the total study-hours target.
Use target date when you already booked an exam and need required weekly hours. Use fixed weeks when you prefer a pace, then let the tool project an exam date based on that duration and days off.
Most learners start with 10%. Use 8–15% if you expect schedule variability, travel, or slower domains. Lower buffers require tighter discipline and offer less resilience when you miss sessions.
Two to five timed mocks work well for many exams. Space them near the end of the learning phase, and spend at least one dedicated session reviewing incorrect answers and updating your notes.
The plan window may demand more weekly hours than you committed. The projection shows how long it will take at your commitment level, including days off, so you can adjust weeks, hours, or the deadline.
Yes. Download CSV to edit weeks, hours, and milestones in a spreadsheet. After changes, you can resubmit updated inputs to regenerate a clean PDF snapshot for sharing.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.