Tips for taking CompTIA A+?

[reidms]

HI-

I am soon to take the CompTIA A+ Certification test.

Does anyone have any recommendations for study material or test taking strategies?

I know the A+ is not that big of a deal- but I have not even graduated yet and I just want to have it on my record to get higher pay for my summer job.

Thanks for your time!

[kragen]

Hmm, I'm not sure if you've looked here already, but I found this simply by searching in google for "CompTIA" and following the link-trail :D

http://certification.comptia.org/resources/find_materials.aspx

I put in books and english and it came up with a massive list of them, it sounds like one of those would be your best answer :)

[Grout58]

Getting A+ is a very big deal. The thing that helped me the most was taking a crap load of online practice tests. Google for it but here are some good ones.

http://www.freepractice.com/Aplus/aplus.htm

Good luck.

[reidms]

Thanks for the links guys-

I do appreciate it.

[dspari1]

I remember when I took the A+ exam in 2002 when I was still in high school. I used an e-trainer to help me prepare for the exam.

I liked it because it had a lot of practice tests, video, and audio. I'm pretty sure the CD is outdated, but if you can find something similar, I recommend it.

The one I used is dated from 2000, so I'm sure that it's too dated these days, but if you can find something similar that is up to date, I would give it a shot.

Good Luck friend.

[reidms]

I remember when I took the A+ exam in 2002 when I was still in high school. I used an e-trainer to help me prepare for the exam.

I liked it because it had a lot of practice tests, video, and audio. I'm pretty sure the CD is outdated, but if you can find something similar, I recommend it.

The one I used is dated from 2000, so I'm sure that it's too dated these days, but if you can find something similar that is up to date, I would give it a shot.

Good Luck friend.


Taking it in highschool here too :)

Thanks for the response!

[Xzallion]

I suggest using links from the comptia website, and maybe purchasing a comptia A+ study book from barnes and noble or another bookstore. Everyone that I know that has taken it has said it was really hard, and most had to take it multiple times. Make sure you know your material before you take the test, and good luck!

[samjh]

I got my CompTIA A+ certification two years ago (passed on first try), so I'm a little behind the times. But the certification probably hasn't changed too much in the last revision.

The books I used were:
PC Hardware and A+ Handbook (http://www.amazon.com/PC-Hardware-Handbook-Pro-Admin/dp/0735620490/ref=sr_1_69/103-6064211-5006263?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179204737&sr=1-69)
ExamCram A+ PC Maintenance and Troublshooting Field Guide (http://www.amazon.com/Certification-Maintenance-Troubleshooting-Field-Guide/dp/0789732769/ref=sr_1_64/103-6064211-5006263?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179204782&sr=1-64)

Tip: Know your networking stuff - protocols, LAN topologies, cabling, etc. I neglected this and got bogged down in this section of the exam.
Tip2: Do lots of practice exams, even outdated ones are better than nothing. The ExamCram website site some fairly easy to moderately difficult questions (www.examcram2.com), as do some other websites. Google is your friend.

[reidms]

Well the test has changed a bit since the 2003 version.
The 2006 version now has 4 tests-
*Essentials(required)
*IT Technician
*Remote Support Technician
*Depot Technician

You have to take the essentials test and combine it with one of the other three and pass both.

Which one of these do you think is the best for a part time or summer job?

Also, can anyone tell me about how much is hourly pay for an A+ Certified person?

And as always- thanks for the input of you guys and thanks for your time!

[samjh]

Also, can anyone tell me about how much is hourly pay for an A+ Certified person?

Depends.

Certification complements your prior education and experience. Certification alone will NOT get you a pay rise, or even a job.

By all means, get your A+ certification. But do not expect to get a job or above-average pay with it. You will first need to find a job, and then after you have proven yourself to be a competent technician, leverage the certification for pay/promotion.

Keep in mind too, that A+ is an entry level certification. It won't really make you stand out enough for a pay rise on the basis of the certification alone. I recommend that if technical support is the field you wish to get into, you should obtain something higher like MCSA (Microsoft Certified System Administrator) or similar. That will help you later once you have enough experience and good job record, to be promoted to system admin jobs.

[tcpip4lyfe]

Quick question. How much is it to take? I have a degree and experience as a network administrator but Im still getting turn down by simple tier I support jobs. Im thinking that an cert wouldn't hurt.

[reidms]

Thanks for the previous posts guys-

The A+ is 158USD for non-members.

I have no job experience(I am not even old enough right now to legally get a job where I live :p)

But I am in a sea of computer illiterate people, where the shop owners are not that keen on computers(not to offend them, but it is the truth- a quote from one of them when asked about Linux:"Microsoft is the way to go."- I believe we were speaking of office productivity at the time)
Another shop owner thought that Linux was a program.

I can probably put my attendance of my Linux User Group and the work I did recently for a Aurora Sparc Server.

Also if one wanted to do private repair and had an A+ certification- they could advertise "Certified Computer Repair"

[macogw]

I have an A+ book, but that much money? Screw that. Isn't it $300 though? It's $158 per test, and it's two tests. One's hardware (which one's parallel and which one's serial?) and one's Windows. Every single kind of Windows you can imagine (okay, thankfully no Vista yet). Oy!

I'd rather get Linux certified. Then you can be a sysadmin.

[samjh]

I have an A+ book, but that much money? Screw that. Isn't it $300 though? It's $158 per test, and it's two tests. One's hardware (which one's parallel and which one's serial?) and one's Windows. Every single kind of Windows you can imagine (okay, thankfully no Vista yet). Oy!

I'd rather get Linux certified. Then you can be a sysadmin.

It's not every single version of Windows.

When I took the test in 2005, it only covered Windows 98, 2000, Me, XP, and 2003 Server.

A+ is fantastic value for money, and it will prepare you well for more advanced certifications like Network+, Security+, and the MCSA and MCSE certifications. A Linux certification would only be worthwhile if there are lots of Linux jobs in your area, and most Linux certifications are not mature enough to be well regarded by employers yet. But things like MCSA, MCSE, and Network+ are de facto benchmarks in a lot of sysadmin and tech support jobs.

[reidms]

The test has changed though since 2006-

It is the Essentials test which is required- then you can take one of three other tests to become certified-

One is a Bench Technician- which has no operating system questions on it.

[Alterax]

I believe it was 2005 when I first took my A+ exams, so I admit I haven't kept up with the revisions that much since. But I do remember a lot of the material on it.

It would be really easy to discount it as irrelevant after reading a few of the posts, but I have to say I think it has enhanced my own skills far more than had I not taken it.

It may not get you a job. If it does, keep in mind that the pay will most likely be right at what others without the skill are making. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it is irrelevant. I've found that more often than not some arcane question comes up when I am troubleshooting with clients, and some of the admins around here are scratching their heads. This is especially true with hardware; many admins can tell you all about their server settings and routing tables, but don't have the first clue on what to do about hardware--which is where much of the A+ exam that I took came from. That knowledge gives you an edge that many others do not, and that is exactly what you should aim for.

So why bother taking it? Because the knowledge that you get from that--the hardware side of it--is getting your foot in the door, and setting yourself up with more concepts you can build on later. It's also a confidence builder when you have something tangible to show you have an idea of what you are talking about, and confidence (not to be confused with arrogance) is something that we all can use in our dealings.

Now, with that said, I don't know much about the new exams, but I definitely do have some tips for it that have worked for my own tests.

First, select a good book for the test. Don't skimp on it by getting just the answer book or a cram book; it's more important to know the concepts themselves. Read through it once, about as fast as you can, to get an idea of what is going on. Some of the concepts will click immediately and some will not. That's okay. Then set aside a couple of weeks to study the materials for the first test. I recommend one uninterrupted hour of study per day during that time. Make it a habit. If you miss a day, don't try to play catch-up because the human brain tends to retain less information if you overload it. An hour is about right. If there are practice questions in your book, wait at least two hours before taking those. This helps to measure your long-term retention of the material.

Once you have gone through the book a second time, get a practice question book. Go through one chapter at a time and see where you do the worst. Then study up on those areas, again no more than an hour at a time. Don't go over the question book over and over; you'll just memorize those questions and it'll do you little good when it comes to the real test.

Then there's the test itself. It consists of several multiple choice questions, which can be daunting, but it's really not so bad once you think of it logically: Every multiple-choice question is simply a series of true/false statements. Remember that, relax and take your time (You are paying big bucks to take these tests; get your money's worth). If you studied up properly, you'll do fine.

The secret is habit. I wish you the best of luck.

--Alterax

[adina001]

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[Slug71]

Is going for the A+ soon too.

Then Network+, Linux+, maybe security+ and then Project+.

I have the a test exam, shoot me a PM with your email and i can email it too you.

[macogw]

Is going for the A+ soon too.

Then Network+, Linux+, maybe security+ and then Project+.

I have the a test exam, shoot me a PM with your email and i can email it too you.

Don't bother with Linux+. LPIC is a more stringent cert.

[stmiller]

Yeah Linux+ is a joke. If you can put in a disc and install Linux you are certified with Linux+.

The redhat cert is the only one that matters to employers who care about Linux certs. Though it is expensive and there are no refunds if you don't pass.

[Tristam Green]

Awesome spam advert there by adina001 on a necro'd topic.

[Slug71]

Thanks for the info regarding Linux+. Good to know. :)

[nair]

I'm taking the A+ exam in about a week, the 220-601 and the 220-602 IT Technician, and I've done a lot of studying thus far, but I don't think I'm near ready for passing the test. I've got the Mike Meyers book in hand, and I've read the first 500+ pages of it, typing out very detailed notes the whole time. I've got nearly 20 pages of typed out notes in Open Office, 12-13 chapters in. The whole book is around 1100 pages of pure content, in addition to a 6 page acronyms list and a 55 page glossary, both of which come in a .pdf format in the CD provided with the book. I'm just getting through all of that material. I haven't touched any other content besides reading the physical book.

Of the 8 domains covered in the exam, I've only really touched on 1-2 of them...(1) components in full and (2) OS, Windows 2000 + XP basically, in a small part.

If anyone out there has taken either the the 601 or 602 recently, I'd love to know how you prepared for the exam, particularly if you used the Mike Meyers book, (highly recommended to me by a fellow employee who got certified some 5 years ago, using a different edition of Mike Meyers AND taking a different CompTIA exam pre-2006).

I've tried searching google and youtube for solid videos for A+ specifically, but haven't come up with much yet. Most of the video tutorials I've found are for Network+ or other non-CompTIA exams, like Cisco.

[jrusso2]

I took that test and got them all right. The way I studied was to read the book until I found the mistakes in it.

And take the practice tests.

[nair]

Are you referring to the tests that came with the book/CD? There are tons of questions out there from a limitless number of sources, and I'm curious which source people who have passed the exam would support or verify.

[nair]

On the vue.com and prometric.com sites, the test is $168, but does that cover the cost of both exams? The Meyers book says you need to get two vouchers for the two exams.

Also, if you fail one or both exams, the 601 and the 602, do you get a refund? Or pay for the ones you passed? Or pay again for the next attempt? The CompTIA website says you can take the exam up to 3 times in 14 days if you fail, but does not mention the cost.

As I understand it, you are required to pass the 601 in order to take any of the 602, 603, and 604 exams, so it's possible that all of A+ counts as one exam.

[Frak]

I took that test and got them all right. The way I studied was to read the book until I found the mistakes in it.

And take the practice tests.
Same.

I found a lot of the A+ Essentials books contain a crapload of errors. Two biggest I remember were:

1. Opteron's run at 8000GHz
2. Mac OS X is based on Linux

[noelvh]

Also, can anyone tell me about how much is hourly pay for an A+ Certified person?

I have no idea what a tech would get with no A+ cert, but I make $30.00 and hour and have no certs at all. I have tried many time to take the test, but started a family just after I got out of tech school. I graduated in Dec of 2003 and went to work for $15.00 an hour. 6 mouths later I was at 18.00. In 2004 I jumped to $24.

So it is up to the company you work for, and there requirements.

Some day I will have a cert or 2, but for now I just keep working.

And I am 43 now and had no clue how to use a computer before 2001 when I started tech school.


Noel