alt.certification.a-plus - A+: Need the lowdown

Author

A+: Need the lowdown

CDK Distribution

2003-01-30, 9:23 pm

What's up everyone?

I have a B.Sc. from Ryerson University (anyone in Toronto knows about that
school) and have been working in an electronics service environment for six
years; fixing everything from VCRs and Microwaves to PC, Macintosh and laser
printers. The company I'm working for is slowing down and I need to start
weighing my options. In spite of the degree, A+ certification seems to be
the standard that companies are looking for. I do not have that
certification, thus far I have not needed it so I never bothered to get it.

When it comes to practical servicing and repair, I'm pretty good, but I
haven't picked up a textbook in six years so I'm a little off in terms of
theory, which I understand A+ essentially is.

To those of you who have worked hard and studied hard to get the A+, please
take no disrespect when I make this next statement: I've seen two types of
people with this certification, those who have it and still know jack about
computers and those who have it and have used it to the maximum potential
possible to launch their careers or small businesses.

This is a request for help to all the A+ veterans in the group: How do I
get it and what is your advice for preparing for it? There seems to be so
many avenues...and no road map.

Respect and thanks for your help.

Peace.

NoBodyInParticular

2003-01-30, 10:23 pm

Go take the test, you'll pass it. I was working in the
industry in 1996, without the B.Sc., and without any books,
CDs, or other test prep. I passed it in one shot. It sin't
that hard.

CDK Distribution wrote:
> What's up everyone?
>
> I have a B.Sc. from Ryerson University (anyone in Toronto knows about that
> school) and have been working in an electronics service environment for six
> years; fixing everything from VCRs and Microwaves to PC, Macintosh and laser
> printers. The company I'm working for is slowing down and I need to start
> weighing my options. In spite of the degree, A+ certification seems to be
> the standard that companies are looking for. I do not have that
> certification, thus far I have not needed it so I never bothered to get it.
>
> When it comes to practical servicing and repair, I'm pretty good, but I
> haven't picked up a textbook in six years so I'm a little off in terms of
> theory, which I understand A+ essentially is.
>
> To those of you who have worked hard and studied hard to get the A+, please
> take no disrespect when I make this next statement: I've seen two types of
> people with this certification, those who have it and still know jack about
> computers and those who have it and have used it to the maximum potential
> possible to launch their careers or small businesses.
>
> This is a request for help to all the A+ veterans in the group: How do I
> get it and what is your advice for preparing for it? There seems to be so
> many avenues...and no road map.
>
> Respect and thanks for your help.
>
> Peace.
>

Cindy Archer

2003-01-31, 11:23 am

On Thu, 30 Jan 2003 21:24:44 -0500, CDK Distribution
<cdk-distribution@sympatico.ca> wrote:

<snip!>

>This is a request for help to all the A+ veterans in the group: How do I
>get it and what is your advice for preparing for it? There seems to be so
>many avenues...and no road map.
>
>Respect and thanks for your help.
>
>Peace.

Hi CDK,

Your first step toward preparation--or rather, knowing what
preparation, if any, you'll need--is to find out what material is
covered on the A+ exams.

As someone with a lot of experience, you may find that you're very
comfortable with the majority of the material; still, even long-time
PC veterans generally find that there's some area they haven't dealt
with much, or some obscure aspect of PC technology they've never
needed to know about.

So, if you haven't yet done so, I suggest that you check out the A+
objectives on CompTIA's web site:

http://www.comptia.org/certification/A/objectives.asp

Other questions you may have about A+ are also answered on the CompTIA
site, and of course you can sift through the archives of this
newsgroup. We have plenty of posters, and as many opinions of the best
way to earn an A+ certification!

If you check out the objectives, and decide that test preparation is
in order, I'd recommend that you find a couple of good resources (prep
books, videos, web sites), set a goal for the date you'll take your
exams, and then start studying.

When you get close to your exam date, try some test simulations and
see how you're doing. There are many sources for test simulation
software, which can (if done well) help familiarize you with the
format of the test and how it's delivered.

And of course, you can turn to this newsgroup with questions along the
way. :-)

Best of luck in your certification path and your career!

Cindy Archer
Total Seminars, LLC
www.totalsem.com

Michael Savage

2003-01-31, 6:23 pm

Your situation is much the same as mine was when I made the switch over to
PC\LAN support in the corp. world. You would probably have no problem with
the hardware side, (core exam) Still it is good to read up if you have never
dealt with laser printers and scsi equipment. For me the OS test was a
little tricky as I had never had much experience with NT and had to go back
and do some refresh on DOS and win 3.1 (this was still part of A+ when I
took the test, I don't think it is in the new test) Find an up to date study
guide and you will do well.

"CDK Distribution" <cdk-distribution@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:BA5F489C.CBFD%cdk-distribution@sympatico.ca...
> What's up everyone?
>
> I have a B.Sc. from Ryerson University (anyone in Toronto knows about that
> school) and have been working in an electronics service environment for
six
> years; fixing everything from VCRs and Microwaves to PC, Macintosh and
laser
> printers. The company I'm working for is slowing down and I need to start
> weighing my options. In spite of the degree, A+ certification seems to be
> the standard that companies are looking for. I do not have that
> certification, thus far I have not needed it so I never bothered to get
it.
>
> When it comes to practical servicing and repair, I'm pretty good, but I
> haven't picked up a textbook in six years so I'm a little off in terms of
> theory, which I understand A+ essentially is.
>
> To those of you who have worked hard and studied hard to get the A+,
please
> take no disrespect when I make this next statement: I've seen two types
of
> people with this certification, those who have it and still know jack
about
> computers and those who have it and have used it to the maximum potential
> possible to launch their careers or small businesses.
>
> This is a request for help to all the A+ veterans in the group: How do I
> get it and what is your advice for preparing for it? There seems to be so
> many avenues...and no road map.
>
> Respect and thanks for your help.
>
> Peace.
>

Howard Phillips

2003-01-31, 6:23 pm

My suggestion would be to take a few of the exams at www.freecomptia.com.
I'm not suggesting that they are much like the exam, honestly I don't
remember, but they do touch on the same topics. It has been my perception
for the last couple of years that certs don't get you the job, the interview
gets you the job, certs get you the interview.

On a similar note I was at a supliers warehouse today picking up stuff for a
job and there was another individual there talking on the phone. I
overheard enough of his conversation to know that he was in IT management
and so I asked what he thought of certifications in general. His response
was 'not much' he had just hired someone who had a self-earned MCSE (Must
Consult Someone Else) and the guy was not cutting it hands-on. Oddly enough
this news gave me hope, I know that certs or not I can cut it hands on. The
fact that this guy hired someone with only an MSCE meant that there are jobs
out there, and you don't have to have a PHD in computer science to get a
job. Which means it all goes back the what I said earlier. The interview
gets you the job, the question is "What gets you the interview?".

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