PSC exam difficulty - is the physical security knowledge or the compliance side harder?
I've been studying for the PSC for about 10 weeks and I'm finding the regulatory and compliance material way more demanding than I expected. The physical controls content - barriers, access control systems, CCTV placement - clicked pretty quickly since I've got 8 years in the field. But the standards frameworks and legal liability components feel like a completely different exam.
I'm scoring around 71% on my practice tests overall, but when I break it down I'm hitting 84% on the operational security sections and only 58% on the standards and compliance domains. That gap is worrying me with maybe 3 weeks left before my scheduled date.
Has anyone else hit this specific split? I'm wondering if doubling down on the regulatory material for the next 2 weeks is the right call, or if there's a smarter way to bridge that gap. I'm doing about 2 hours per day right now and not sure I can push much higher given my work schedule.
Same experience here. The compliance sections caught me off guard because I'd assumed field experience would cover most of the exam. Ended up spending 60% of my final 2 weeks purely on regulatory frameworks and that definitely made the difference.
Your practice test breakdown looks pretty solid for 3 weeks out. I'd focus on understanding the reasoning behind compliance requirements rather than memorizing codes, since PSC questions tend to test application rather than recall. That shift got my compliance scores from 61% to 79% in about 2 weeks.
2 hours a day is enough if it's focused. I passed studying 90 minutes daily for 8 weeks. Quality of review matters more than total hours at this stage.
The physical security side and the compliance side really do feel like separate exams. Most of the people I know who failed the first time were strong operators but weak on the standards material. You're smart to identify that gap now rather than in the exam room.
Same boat here honestly. I've got a similar background to you and the physical side felt almost like revision, but the compliance and standards content has been a grind. I've been drilling the psc core concepts and principles stuff pretty hard this past week and just pulled a 74% on a timed practice run, which felt like a turning point after a rough few weeks of low 60s.
I'm targeting the end of July to sit the real thing. Feels like enough runway to lock in the regulatory framework without burning out. How far off are you from booking yours?