A+ certification

B

Ballz2TheWallz

2[H]4U
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
Messages
2,352
Well long story short my mom was getting on me about not doing any extra curicular(sp) activities and bitchin that im not ever gonna have a job because i wont work at mcdonalds because they "wouldnt pay enough", so i bitched back about if i ever got to that point id buy me a couple books on the matter and get A+ certified then apply to work for the geek squad. ok mabey that wasnt shortend but anyway

now shes bent on me doing this(hey she was trying to stick me into a college course damnit)and obviously i dont wanna fuck up if shes gonna pay for me to take the damned test. How difficult is this test and what books should i buy to read up and thing to help me study for it?



any help would be greatly appreciated(and if this gets locked, which it shouldnt because there have been other A+ threads in here, plz pm me help)
 
we are not speaking on terms of having a job RIGHT NOW there....but she bitching about my future


and since i said this to shut her up....i have to do it now
 
The A+ test isnt that hard at all if you have a basic knowledge of computers. I took it about 2 years ago without really studying that much and it was pretty cake. If I recall correctly it was just general knowledge like what certain components do, abbreviations and basic concepts. But anybody feel free to correct me and/or fill in the blanks that I most surely left.
 
lifeinchains said:
The A+ test isnt that hard at all if you have a basic knowledge of computers. I took it about 2 years ago without really studying that much and it was pretty cake. If I recall correctly it was just general knowledge like what certain components do, abbreviations and basic concepts. But anybody feel free to correct me and/or fill in the blanks that I most surely left.
Click to expand...
heh well....im 14 and i consider myself to have "basic" knoweldge, i have upgraded various pcs, fixed many with software issues and few with hardware issues and i have built my own



but still i hear theres lots of subtle odd questions on the test from 95/98 days
 
I took both when I was 12. I found an Exam Cram book at the library. Easy. My parents payed for the test.
 
Just picked up a guide at Borders, actually - 'The Ultimate CompTIA A+ Resource Kit'.

It goes kinda hella overboard w/ videos, sample tests on the CD, flashcards, etc. Whole 9 yards. If you ace that, I can't imagine failing the test.

Anyway, only reason I mention it was the price. It's $69.99, but Borders had it for 20% off = $56. Then, it had 2 coupons in it for 20% off each of the two test parts. That's $28 off each test (otherwise $145 each), so, the resource kit = paid for itself...if you pass.
 
Ballz2TheWallz said:
heh well....im 14 and i consider myself to have "basic" knoweldge, i have upgraded various pcs, fixed many with software issues and few with hardware issues and i have built my own

but still i hear theres lots of subtle odd questions on the test from 95/98 days
Click to expand...

Yep, lots and lots of 95/98 and most importantly, DOS stuff on the OS section. Having run a 486 well into 99 it was pretty cake for me, but never having installed or really played with 98 or 2000 made that section a bit difficult, but nothing studying didn't do. Also I took finished my A+ just a month ago, so that's pretty much whats on it now.

#1 piece of advice, DON'T GET COCKY. I've known too many people that think they can pass with just skimming over a book in the library because they can OC their home system and and have neat cabling. Study, study from various different sources, take practice exams from the books you buy, from books your friends have, from practice tests online and then have a go at it. Don't rely on "basic" knowledge, and if you can get yourself on a DOS/W3.1 machine and learn your autoexec.bat and config.sys tweakings. Alot of us here still remember needing a different boot disk for every game we had, and that kind of knowledge help big time.

-wil
 
You dont need to be A+ to work for the geek squad but its always good to have. Also you need to be 18 to work for the Repair area of the geek squad but only 16 to work in best buy or do geek squad Phone calls / Paperwork / computer setups. We have a 16 year old working with us and its a good way to get your foot in the door at a younger age.
 
I wish I could work for the geek squad but the nearest best buy to my house is an hour away... currently working for a bank as IT and data processing. theres 3 of us there for 4 different branches
theres

President of IT: knows a crap load about AS/400 operations and has been there for 25+ years, mostly does manager style work

Vice president of IT: MCSA certified actually manages most of the network been there 5yrs

ME : security+ A+ working on N+. do all the crap fixing computers, service calls ect. been there about 6 months

I still hear good things about the pay for best buy. Since im working part time im not salaried but make a measly 7.00 an hour. have to drive 30 min to work everyday in a V8 2003 dakota gas guzzler(its fast though!) the main reason I took the job is the potential benefits( can someone say a months salary for christmas bonus? hehe) and most importantly... resume. IT at a bank is HUGE on the resume!

A+ isn't hard but don't think you can just pass it easily...I was doing things back in the early win95 and even 3.1 days. ( im discounting the hacking into the tandy and fixing it when I was six.. i loved fiddling with that old thing) there is a lot of crap I never used and truthfully I learned most of what I know on the job and by myself.

few tips:
-know your IRQ and DMA addresses ( ive never used them but they're on the test )
-learn networking( play with the stuff as much as you can! )
-study up on printers... if your like me I don't like'em but they are on the test too. (which is just as well cause I got to work with every kind at the bank)
-even if you think you know something, read it anyway... you never know you just might learn something new.
-[H] read everything you can here about everything...ask questions... read about peoples problems and the answers others give... learn to think and troubleshoot for yourself and not what a book teaches you to do.(although one helps to know whats on the test) just learn man!

your always learning in this field so just keep playing with the OS and hardware and your be fine!
 
Hell if your mom want to put you in a college cource to learn the a+ test do it. They will prob teach you more then just how to pass the test. You may want to try for some other tests after that. Things like net+ are not that hard. With a few certs when you get older they may come in handy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top