A+ Certification

WexCan

Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone here has taken the A+, what they think of it, etc etc. I'm considering doing it and progressing to N+, MCSE etc etc. No formal qualifications at the moment.

Feedback appreciated :-)

CyberGhost

I did it,

Liked it, the first part covers all hardware, the second software and networking.

but be warned during the test those sobs throw in questions that aren't covered in A+, so you better be prepared

btw, use search, there were many many questions and threads about A+ certification, I remember there was one big one, but I'm too lazy to search for it now.

WexCan

Hehe i've tried search but it drops the "+" so it brings back all threads with A in them lol

WexCan

lol jus after searching for CompTIA. I'm an idiot

CyberGhost

Yes, you are my friend, yes, you are!

jk

WexCan

Where did you do it? Or did you just self-study and then go do the exams - that's what I'm thinking of doing since the prices can be astronomical - and then there's exam fees

CyberGhost

nah, I did it online I registered with them, sorry don't remember phone number, you can of course self study but it's always better to learn what they teach you since most of the stuff will be in the questions.

WexCan

Well like I know FÁS has the online course for €120 which I wouldn't mind I suppose. It's just fees for classroom courses are ridiculous - IACT are looking for almost 2000!

CyberGhost

yep, that's the one I took(FAS), it's pretty good, I've heard you can buy a book instead which pretty much has the same stuff, but never searched for it.

the_syco

WexCan: do ye have a job? If not, go the FAS route, and get paid to do it.

CyberGhost

get paid? how?

christophicus

I was looking at it and considering doing it it looks quite good(I was going to do it with Fas).Does anyone know if there is an age limit for doing with fas as i am only 16.Also how long does it take and is it ok to do it with a 56k line?

MrVestek

56k, hehe *snigger*. If you check out Crumlin College they don't officially do the A+ course but when I was there last year the tutor went over the A+ material with us and told us that we could take the test at our discretion (and pay for it ourselves, obviously) at a test centre.

christophicus

Achilles wrote:

56k, hehe *snigger*. If you check out Crumlin College they don't officially do the A+ course but when I was there last year the tutor went over the A+ material with us and told us that we could take the test at our discretion (and pay for it ourselves, obviously) at a test centre.

Hey man thats harsh.Its not as though i dont want BB,I just cant afford it and my parents dont want it that much.Also i live in waterford so I cant really go to crumlin college.

unklerosco

Im studying the A+ at home at the mo, have a couple of books/cds/dvds... Tried doing the Net+ in fas in finglas but the lecturer was cack..

7aken

i sat the a+ last wednesday (second exam) it's a good qualification to have and a great starting point. it covers a broad range of topics from os fundamentals to basic networking. i tried the online course but didnt find it practical (too many distractions) also the online course in here is run by a company called thomson prometric and there are problems with the actual engine running the course. also in hindsight there were a lot of discrepancies in the online course (compared to knowledge on the net/books)

im currently on a course with fas (computer and communications technician traineeship) which covers the a+ and net+ as well as block release work experience (big help). you'll find details for the course on the fas website aswell as all requirements (minimum age etc). have some books and cdroms id be willing to part with cheaper than you could buy them if your interested. pm me if you are.

apart from that i would highly recommend the a+

WexCan

the_syco wrote:

WexCan: do ye have a job? If not, go the FAS route, and get paid to do it.

I do, working for a certain computer company actually lol. Haven't been there long so they're not gonna pay for it either lol. (Actually I don't think A+ is offered anyway, even though half the tech jobs specify A+, N+, MCPs etc desired.

WexCan

christophicus wrote:

I was looking at it and considering doing it it looks quite good(I was going to do it with Fas).Does anyone know if there is an age limit for doing with fas as i am only 16.Also how long does it take and is it ok to do it with a 56k line?

Have you done ECDL? Might be a good idea to get that under your belt too. If you're going into transition year most schools do it - better to get it for free now than having to pay for it and from what I've heard it's a good base for A+, specifically the OS part, but then again I haven't done either so don't listen to me

Redrocket

ECDL? i dunno why... but i stay the hell away from that...
if you want fix computers/networks, do your A+ / net+, and stick to it, stay away from the ecdl otherwise you might end up supporting office problems???

XT_Dweezil

i agree with stevenk "..stay the hell away from that..." (the ECDL)

ECDL is not recognized for anything any more

Start with either A+ or a MCP (i would recommend the A+). I took it about a year ago and learnt a few new things.

Redrocket

it is recognised but for the wrong reasons,
i've got an ecdl means i know how to use office,
at work here i get a lot of people asking me to help them with their ms office problems,
thats not my job, im not here to show you how to use ms office, its their job to know how to use office.
all i do is at most install it.

CyberGhost

what does MCP stand for?

unklerosco

Microsoft certified Professinal..

unklerosco

Obviously when u get the cert they spell it right..

CyberGhost

ah thanks!

is it available in fas too?

unklerosco

www.fas.ie

CyberGhost

ty!

Ruu_Old

i agree that taking the online yoke is a waste of time. The A+ one is recognised in a lot of jobs here in the US that i have seen anyway. Get yourself the A+ for Dummies, im going through it, it seems to be covering everything in the exam and also stuff thats not included good luck anyway.

christophicus

WexCan wrote:

Have you done ECDL? Might be a good idea to get that under your belt too. If you're going into transition year most schools do it - better to get it for free now than having to pay for it and from what I've heard it's a good base for A+, specifically the OS part, but then again I haven't done either so don't listen to me

Yeah i just went through Transition Year and did the Ecdl which i found really easy and i looked over what you stucy with the a+ and it seems pritty basic but it will be good to have something formal along those lines.

christophicus

What is N+ like? is it just amore advanced version of A+?

CyberGhost

http://www.scheidegger.co.uk/network_engineer.html

network orientied technician

christophicus

so its just about networking then?