I want to get my A+, what are good books or courses?

U

user3657

Limp Gawd
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Aug 23, 2007
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Ive been doing helpdesk/feild support for 4 years and laid off recently. I want to quickly get my a+. I would need to study since I understand the new a+ is alot of windows 7 which we didnt even touch.

What books or courses do you recommend me getting? and also what is the next course after the a+? network +?
 
The A+ doesn't really focus on any one operating system. In fact, it's mostly hardware related stuff.
If you have a few years experience I really wouldn't even bother buying any books. Look online for a few study guides, read them, then just go take the test.
The A+ is the most basic entry level cert there is.

What's after A+ and Network+ ?
On the desktop side there are all the Microsoft certs.
On the network side there is the CCNA.
 
I have to do this too this year because i lost the papers that i had from my last A+, so i get to re-do this again.

I would just down load exam crams and read on line, it's not to hard. it is mostly about trouble shooting and what each component is and what it does and what each slot does ram types etc etc...
 
If you have a decent amount of experience with troubleshooting, maintenance and general use you should be good to take the A+. I took my A+ in 2007 without really studying anything. Although I took Network+, I would recommend that if you want to move into the networking field choose a cert path that is bound to a vendor such as Cisco or Juniper, these will usually get you more interviews than a general cert like Net+. Personally, I am trying to get my CCNP completed by this time next year.
 
l3thal6 said:
If you have a decent amount of experience with troubleshooting, maintenance and general use you should be good to take the A+. I took my A+ in 2007 without really studying anything. Although I took Network+, I would recommend that if you want to move into the networking field choose a cert path that is bound to a vendor such as Cisco or Juniper, these will usually get you more interviews than a general cert like Net+. Personally, I am trying to get my CCNP completed by this time next year.
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Experiance helps with this :) I have over 18 years with HANDS on actual hands on not reading books and doing stuff here and there..
 
I just want to take the a+ as alot of offerings mention that and I dont want to be kicked to the bottom. its pretty easy so its not like im starting from the bottom. but I hear its been updated with windows 7 stuff, I worked with only xp systems.

what if I fail, how soon can I retake it if I just want to show up and take it?
 
user3657 said:
I just want to take the a+ as alot of offerings mention that and I dont want to be kicked to the bottom. its pretty easy so its not like im starting from the bottom. but I hear its been updated with windows 7 stuff, I worked with only xp systems.

what if I fail, how soon can I retake it if I just want to show up and take it?
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down load the exam crams and pre-test programs they work pretty good..
 
I'd go so far as to say that the mere fact that you hang out in these forums and knew enough to ask means that you will probably pass without studying. It's a very easy cert to get if you've been working (professionally or personally) with computers for a few years. That said, I was quite nervous before taking it when I did despite 15+ years of building and repairing systems, so I can understand where you're coming from.
 
Professor Messer

/thread

Though the A+ exam was really about spotting trick questions. When questions contain words like ONLY or ALL it should throw a flag. Just read the question fully and you should be fine.
 
Not sure why anyone would get an A+ cert? Its pretty useless, but just get some guides and question dumps to get a feel and just take it.
 
Ugh.. give me a break. Question dumps are what's ruining the certified pool in the first place. People who have no experience or understanding from studying who simply pass by memorizing answers.

Professer Messer has great free videos, also Total Seminars has good practice exam software and they all sell the exam vouchers at the best price I found. My personal style is to use practice exam software to get an idea of which topics I need practice in.

The A+ does not stand up by itself nowadays, meaning employers want more then just A+. I don't knock it, it is what it is. If you want to go the support/sysadmin route learn the Microsoft certification route as well. I think the MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician: Windows 7 is enough on it's own to help you considering most offices are not assembling computers or swapping parts out on a regular basis. Nowadays it's warranty replacement in 24 hours.

Just don't treat certifications as magic papers to get you a job. It's a combination of a lot of things, experience, personality, ability to communicate your knowledge and expertise.
 
A+ is a great entry level cert, and if you have 4 years of Help Desk under your belt you probably already have a fair amount of experience in several of the areas. I used one of the editions of this book when I did mine several years back. It was a great study guide.
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certi...1338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329884950&sr=8-1

When you get done with the A+, take a look at the Net+ or Security+ or a Microsoft cert depending on where you want to take your career or what job opportunities for growth your next job might bring you. Best of luck.
 
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Whatever you do, do NOT use question dumps! It is simply unethical and I have seen a lot of paper tigers in the field that have fancy certs but know next to nothing. They get fired pretty quickly...
 
I did the A+ thing back in like 1998, has it been updated since then? I seem to recall it having a bunch of stuff that was barely relevant even back then, like ISA IRQ bullshit and memorizing resistor color codes, etc.
 
GotNoRice said:
I did the A+ thing back in like 1998, has it been updated since then? I seem to recall it having a bunch of stuff that was barely relevant even back then, like ISA IRQ bullshit and memorizing resistor color codes, etc.
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I took mine in '07 and it has definitely updated, I just remember a lot of questions about printers and general PC hardware.
 
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