Question about A+ certification

Bustaballs

Bustaballs

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I figured someone here might be able to help me out with this question since we have a lot of tech junkies on the forum. Is it possible to just fork over some cash to just take the test instead of sitting through a bunch of classes that'll just teach me shit I already know?

I was working as a computer technician when I was 16 years old. I'm currently 21. I'm not the smartest guy in the world but I've passed upon a lot of A+ certified fellows that don't know dick. I'm not trying to be a douche or anything. I'm sure there are quite a few things I would learn but I think I could just pick up a couple of well reviewed titles from Amazon to get the "book smarts" I need.

In the end, employers like you to have a piece of paper regardless of your actual knowledge or skill. I would like to skip all of the time consumption and money spending process for the classes.

Is this possible?
 
I think it is possible in a way, but very very hard to find and rarely do employers look at uneducated applicants. Your best bet is to have awesome references to prove how well you actually worked, being skilled, smart, reliable etc.

Sorry not much information there, but I do think it is possibe, just rare to find an employer like that.
 
The test isn't as hard as most people think it is, or as easy.

Yes you can pay straight up any time you want to take it, just register for it at a site near you, it's about $300 ish for both parts. You do not need to take a class for it.

About the employer thing: no one (very few) bothers looking at A+ certification these days.
 
I barely failed the over all portion but passed the help desk portion ~_~. Taking classes (barely had anything on the test) just gave me a discount rate and was offered by the school district so just went ahead and took it.
 
If you have a lot of experience, go ahead and just pay for a test voucher and take the test. The certification is the only thing that matters in the end, not where/if you took courses. You can also purchase a textbook if you'd like to study a little on your own:

https://store.comptia.org/shelf.aspx?shelf=11

Edit: And several employers do request ONLY certified individuals apply, so having the certification a must if you work in IT. If the employer doesn't ask for these certifications, the job is probably simpler and pays much less, but even then, having the certification would put you above other applicants.
 
A+ Certification is a fairly easy path.

The Essentials Test is IT 101, so five years in the field would give you ample material and experience to draw knowledge from.

You can tailor what you decide to certify in for the second test, ranging from overall IT professional, to desktop support-only, to remote-support, to depot tech. It depends on the job you're aiming for. IT Professional, of course, is all-encompassing, so I'd go with that one if I were you.

The vouchers are fairly inexpensive, but first I'd check with your existing employer to see if they would pay for you to take the certification as Continuing Education (pitch it to them that it'd be good for business)!

Good luck!
 
Arianelle said:
Edit: And several employers do request ONLY certified individuals apply, so having the certification a must if you work in IT. If the employer doesn't ask for these certifications, the job is probably simpler and pays much less, but even then, having the certification would put you above other applicants.
Click to expand...

Keep telling yourself that.

Tristam Green said:
The vouchers are fairly inexpensive, but first I'd check with your existing employer to see if they would pay for you to take the certification as Continuing Education (pitch it to them that it'd be good for business)!
Click to expand...

Vouchers are nice too, you can even hop on ebay and see them pop from time to time and save yourself approximately twenty to fifty percent.
 
Arianelle said:
Edit: And several employers do request ONLY certified individuals apply, so having the certification a must if you work in IT. If the employer doesn't ask for these certifications, the job is probably simpler and pays much less, but even then, having the certification would put you above other applicants.
Click to expand...

Princemercury said:
Keep telling yourself that.
Click to expand...

She's right though, loads of employers do list A+ Certification (which btw Busta, is also permanent and needs no recertification) as a requirement for consideration.

In those cases, when faced with someone who is A+ Certified and has 2-3 years experience, or someone who is uncertified and has 4 years experience, they'd still probably take the person with the Certifications because it shows initiative to continue relevant education within the IT field.
 
Tristam Green said:
She's right though, loads of employers do list A+ Certification (which btw Busta, is also permanent and needs no recertification) as a requirement for consideration.

In those cases, when faced with someone who is A+ Certified and has 2-3 years experience, or someone who is uncertified and has 4 years experience, they'd still probably take the person with the Certifications because it shows initiative to continue relevant education within the IT field.
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Like who?

Some people need to step outside of the cliche IT box.

Perhaps there are a few, very, private companies whom may require certification. Even so the ones that really matter to the HR / IT Mgmt. checklist are CCNA, MCSA or higher with x amount of years in experience to back it up.

Anyway my main point was your and Ari's idea that many employers require certifications (A+), which is false. The number of employers who require A+ certification for an entry level IT job is so low, it's not even significant to state as a main point of setting that certification goal.

Granted A+ is kind of marketable since it shows "initiative" if that's what you want to call it... if you really want A+ to stand out, use that combined with Net+ to fulfill the elective requirement for your MCSA.

And again, outside the box thinking... you may have a job posting available, and you may have 2 candidates, 1 with A+ and 2 years of experience, one with 4 years. But is that realistic? I think not, we're not marketing A+ so probably using real life statistics like, 20 other people with degrees and MCPs will be applying for the same position is a bit more plausible. Comparing the 2 monkeys at the bottom of the resume stack isn't.

And outside of textbook job seeker's ideals (which are unrealistic)... OP is correct, most people who even have A+, know dick, so 2 more years of experience beats 2 days of cramming an A+ book, if that's what level you want to think on. Anyone remotely part of the IT recruitment process knows this.
 
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Thread is about if its possible to get A+ w/out taking courses; not the relevancy of A+ in the field. You will find employers where experience is more valued for entry level IT and you will find others that are 'paper' fascists. To debate it is kind of mute because he clearly seeking to get his A+ certification.
 
Arctyrael said:
Thread is about if its possible to get A+ w/out taking courses; not the relevancy of A+ in the field. You will find employers where experience is more valued for entry level IT and you will find others that are 'paper' fascists. To debate it is kind of mute because he clearly seeking to get his A+ certification.
Click to expand...

Answers for OP:

1. You may sit for the A+ exam anytime you would like, however if you fail, there are certain time limits you must wait post 2nd attempt. Can be quite expensive too, so study hard!

2. Don't need study or official prep of any type to sit for the test and there are no prerequesites, unlike CISSP or upper level SAN certifications.

3. Voucher issue... can't find any on ebay atm, but if you google CompTia Voucher you could find some pretty nice deals that will save you chunk of cash. All it is, is a string of numbers you use during registration and the price will be applied with discount.

Reply to Arc:

Yeah, OP was iquiring steps to taking A+, but I feel it's better if he understands not to get too excited about it. I know many people who have and were greatly dissapointed after the fact.
 
If you have industry experience, and are interested in the certification, I wouldn't recommend a class teaching hardware. Just get yourself ready to pass the A+ test. This is a very controversial approach (out of scope for this thread), but let's face it, were talking about A+ here not CCIE. Get the certification, get your job and start learning the material for your next cert. I got my A+ Certification about 10 years ago, so I can't talk to the new tracks at all. But from my perspective (I interview candidates for employment), I can tell you that if you have no other relevant certifications (or formal education), A+ will be important.

Check out http://www.transcender.com/ for sample tests, there are some other providers, but Transcender has been around for eons. If you're looking for a book, check out Exam Cram.

To employers, A+ is an indicator certification. It says that this person is serious about the field, and doesn't get their computer experience from troubleshooting graphics card issues with WoW. ;)

Good luck with the cert, and hope you're rewarded as much as I have been.
 
crookedmidget said:
If you have industry experience, and are interested in the certification, I wouldn't recommend a class teaching hardware. Just get yourself ready to pass the A+ test. This is a very controversial approach (out of scope for this thread), but let's face it, were talking about A+ here not CCIE. Get the certification, get your job and start learning the material for your next cert. I got my A+ Certification about 10 years ago, so I can't talk to the new tracks at all. But from my perspective (I interview candidates for employment), I can tell you that if you have no other relevant certifications (or formal education), A+ will be important.

Check out http://www.transcender.com/ for sample tests, there are some other providers, but Transcender has been around for eons. If you're looking for a book, check out Exam Cram.

To employers, A+ is an indicator certification. It says that this person is serious about the field, and doesn't get their computer experience from troubleshooting graphics card issues with WoW. ;)

Good luck with the cert, and hope you're rewarded as much as I have been.
Click to expand...

I can mostly agree with everything up there. You're the first person to state the general population thinks if they can swap a card they think they're the shit. As well that A+ is just a textbook exam.

Only thing I don't agree with is,

crookedmidget said:
I can tell you that if you have no other relevant certifications (or formal education), A+ will be important.
Click to expand...

No formal education + no other certifications + no documentable experience + A+ makes you useless in the IT field. Granted when I see a resume with something listed under "certifications" even if it is just A+, I do take a second look, but it's easily shoved into the bit bucket 100% of the time because it just carries no weight.

Contrary to the other posts way above, if all you have is A+, there are jobs out there who pay as low as they can who only hire entry level A+ techs. Not higher.
 
Thanks for the information everyone. I don't mind low pay as long as it's better pay than fast food. That's all I can seem to get hired for as every single other job seems to be taken in the towns around my area. Also, it's something I love to do. I'd probably enjoy working at a video game shop just as much but I wouldn't expect much above minimum wage at a job like that.
 
I will say this and only this.

I have 2 year college diploma for computer networking and technical support. Ranging from computer hardware to network design. I graduated in Feb 07. and it took me close to a year to find a job in the field that wasnt an lolcallcenter. I have to say I have learned more at this job than I did in the 2 year college program I took. And I still have a lot to learn. With certs I would have to say go big or go home. My college almost counted for shit with lack of experience.

I have been here since Oct 07, unfortunatly my contract expires 31 Mar this year with little chance of renewal due to lack of money (damn you economy).
 
Bustaballs said:
I figured someone here might be able to help me out with this question since we have a lot of tech junkies on the forum. Is it possible to just fork over some cash to just take the test instead of sitting through a bunch of classes that'll just teach me shit I already know?

I was working as a computer technician when I was 16 years old. I'm currently 21. I'm not the smartest guy in the world but I've passed upon a lot of A+ certified fellows that don't know dick. I'm not trying to be a douche or anything. I'm sure there are quite a few things I would learn but I think I could just pick up a couple of well reviewed titles from Amazon to get the "book smarts" I need.

In the end, employers like you to have a piece of paper regardless of your actual knowledge or skill. I would like to skip all of the time consumption and money spending process for the classes.

Is this possible?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is possible to just take the test without having to take any courses. To find a testing center, click here.

That being said, in the current economy, it's not so much what you know, it's who you know that will get you a job in the field.
 
Thanks for that.

I'll start looking into the other exams as well. Does anyone have any suggestions of what would best benefit me as far as other certifications go?
 
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