a+ 4 real , myers, A+ can I?

[yvohath]

I have serious done mega research about what is needed and what is required to take and Pass the A+ Harware and OS.

I have determined, after much much research to buy A+4 real and the Newest Mike Meyers book. I am going to take Harware first . The OS.

My question: I don't have 500 hours of hands on experience, but I have scrapped together a desktop and have it running with win 98SE. Seems like it took me ALONG TIME to do it, but not quite 500 hours, and I did it all from reading and searching and ustilizing repair books and the like. I have read tons and tons of stuff.

How much self study time do I realistically need and does anyone have any tips or good solid tech information to arm myself with before I spend time on somethign I may not be ready for. Is it realistic for me to get An A+ Cert without going to a tech school?

Yvonne

 

[schase]

The short answer.

You bet it is - in fact - if your idea of a tech school is the 5 day boot camps - I'd stay away from them and save your money.

The long answer.

It really comes down to what you want to do, Certs provide you with the ability to prove a certain level of knowledge. e.g. you passed both tests therefore industry accepts that CompTia's certs say you have the equivalent of 6 months as a PC tech. If your goal is to be a programmer than perhaps a college degree in the IT field would be better.

Or certs first - then a degree later when it becomes feasible.

And as far as the test goes - you do not need to sit and have practical knowledge in front of a computer on installing ram, etc. That is not to - at all - lessen the importance of hands on experience. Book vs. Real life is the same in the IT field as it was in High School or College.

It is more or less - you learn a concept, the reasons behind it - perhaps the history. Then apply it hands on and adjust to fit your work environment.

Me personally - I'm much more of a hands-on learner. So I studied for about 2 months for each exam. That was about 2 hrs a night midweek, then 6-8 hrs on each Saturday and Sunday.

The A+ 4 Real is an excellent book for laying the foundation. Here is what (IMHO) I would recommend.

First read the A+ 4Real.
Take some practice exams - but not many just get an idea of where your knowledge level is at.
Read the Mike Meyers book.
Take more practice exams. If your like me you first would have gotten in the 60's after the first round of Practice Tests - then 80's after the second major book.

Then read one or two medium sized guides.
Follow that up with more intensive practice exams. You should be hitting high 80's to 90's by this point.

Follow that up with a few small guides. Then more practice exams. Mix the order of questions up if it gives you the option too. And see where your knowledge level is at. If you are not happy - re-read the medium size guides again.

Keep the process up until your routinely hitting 95% or higher on the practice exams.

Note - the A+ 4Real takes a different approach. They first cover OS then hardware. But either way I think it is best to read that book first, get the foundation and follow it up with Meyers.

It is _not_ an easy exam. Sure while the questions may be on the more basic level, you are covering a very wide area of subjects - not too deep into the subjects. But the material is indeed broad.

With the OS exam. TCat put it best I think - the OS Exam seems to target the one OS the individual knows the least about.

Check out my previous posts, I have listed almost exactly what I used for study material. There are quite a few free practice tests around - and smaller guides as well.

And of course - we're here if you need some help, encouragement, ideas, etc.

Best wishes.


"Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"

Stuart
A+, Net+

 

[yvohath]

Stuart,

I definately want to be a certified repair technician. All of the tech job I have seen around here REQUIRE A+ to even be considered for a job.

I got my grubby hands on a free copy of Absolute Beginners Gude to A+ By Mark Edware Soper. It also has two preplogic test exams with it.

I would like to see the

http://www.studyexam4less.com/aplus4realpack.asp

come in a printed book, or books. It would cost me rought $80 worth of inkt o print all the pages here.

I feel a little intimidated by IRQs, numbers and memory
( MY MEMORY) I need a serious, focused course of study.

SUNY Binghamton Offers a 600 hour course via Gaitlin online with a Mentor Instructor for $1500 - They also recommend haing a spare PC for trial and error.

I feel a little intimidated by the subject matter. I guess my main question would be , Where can I find a focused study outline?

I feel that paying out of pocket higher dollars for a valuable trade and a gained education is well worth it. Seems like $15oo + supplies is low in the grand scheme of things for a great career - but I want ot be sure and get as much input and advice before embarking ont his journey.

On the prelogic practice test I scoreed around 55% on the harware - that is without looking at the ABG Book by Soper.

I amindeed scouring this forum, and a few others - reading the posts and trying to learn from other peoples experiences.

One thing that woud help agreat deal is if people could Post the ISBN of the books theya re using -only to make things easier tor esearch- WHY? Because there appears to be thousands of A+ Cert books around.

The reason why I am considering the 600 hours techs chool is because it is done at home, online with amentor/tutor - I have a 7 year old gilr who goes to dance, swin, ballet, and the list goes on. I am a hands on learner as well - and think I would not feel pressure or intimiation if I was in my office doing stuff ta my own pace.

Thank you so much for the encouragements and realist ideals of what to do and expect. I will be reading your post!

Yvonne
NOT YET

 

[schase]

Time - wish we had more. In fact thinking I couldn't get myself to study - I paid 2K to attend a class. Long story short it was a waste of money. I still ended up studying on my own for a couple months.

So it is going to have to be in your best judgement. Maybe read a book or two and see where you are at before committing 1500.00. I spend about 300-500 per cert studying on my own between practice exams, study guides, cert cost. etc. that 1500 could pay for both A+ and Net+ easily. Maybe even more.

I think you can get the 4Real in a book - check on amazon.com if memory serves right.

Mine didn't have the ISBN numbers - but the title and usually from where was noted.



"Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"

Stuart
A+, Net+

 

[yvohath]

I have looked everywhere for the A+4Real in print- one place- booksourge- ha sit - but I am unfamiliar with them. I prefer to get it off one of the big shots site ie half.com , amazon or alibris - anyone thats been around a while.

Yvonne
Not yet

 

[schase]

Just took a quick look. I may/probably was wrong on the 4Real. I did see some exam insights there.


"Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"

Stuart
A+, Net+

 

[glister]

BookSurge is a legit operation. they are the publishing house for the A+ 4Real book. It is called "print on demand". They don't print and bind the book until you buy it. It is a quality binding and you will be pleased. It is printed at various locations, depending on where you are. This keeps costs down. I understand there is now a paperback edition out. It might even be a little cheaper, not sure.

No worries about BookSurge. You will be satified with their service and quality.

A+,N+,S+,L+,I+,HTI+,e-Biz+,Security+,CETsr,CST,CNST,CNCT,CFOT,CCNT,CCTT,ACSP,ISA CCST3

 

[yvohath]

The book A+4real at booksurge is around $50 - Thats steep-

I don't doubt its worth and value- but ie... I have found numerous books on half and amazon for a 3rd of the money.

Do you know who/where/what has the paperback version and what is the ISBN of A+4Real ?

 

[glister]

A+ 4 Real : StudyExam4Less Computer Series
by Ian Kayne, Tcat Houser, Gudrun Funk, et al.
ISBN: 0-9767992-8-6
Binding: Trade Paper
728 pages $39.00

http://www.booksurge.com/product.php3?bookID=IFUT00001-00002

A+,N+,S+,L+,I+,HTI+,e-Biz+,Security+,CETsr,CST,CNST,CNCT,CFOT,CCNT,CCTT,ACSP,ISA CCST3

 

[DanD76]

Yvonne,
I agree with schase on the expensive training. From my experience, you don't get your money's worth.

As for your main question - "Where can I find a focused study outline?"

You might take a look at this on-line training to get you started:

http://www.ed2go.com/cgi-bin/oic/newofferings.cgi?num=CC

You can take it through a College in your area if you like. Here's a link from the CC in my area:

http://www.ed2go.com/cgi-bin/newoic/newofferings.cgi?name=bmcc&dept=CC

I took the Network+ class from these guys along with the daily questions emailed from CramSession.com and just recently passed the Network+ exam (scored 780 out of 900). I do have a few years experience but this online class did cover most everything that I saw on the exam. What I liked about this training was that it was on-line so I could do the course work at my job or at home - anytime. It also had deadlines for the reading assignments & quizzes which kept me from slacking. You can also post questions to the instructor and other students. Course was 6 weeks long and cost $99.

I see the A+ Cert Prep has 3 courses so it's a little more spendy if you do all of them.

I ran across this post 'cause I am doing research for my plan of attach to get my A+ cert next. I'll probably take the online courses and possibly pickup the M.Meyers book. And I've got the cramsession questions coming in for A+ now.
Good luck,
DanD76 Net+

 

[yvohath]

I am going to check out the online course linked above.

I am read the chapter of cpus in the mike myers book, and after reading that chapter, I opened the michael graves book and read the cpu chapters in that on eas well.

The on think I like about having bought several books is that I get several different sets of infomation that are the same thing in different words.

Yvonne