Question about A+ certification

Thanks for all of the information everyone. I think it's time to save a little money for books and exam costs. By the time I can afford the tests I should be able to have an encyclopedia memorized.
 
If you're looking to get a career kicked off without education, experience and certifications; and are contemplating fast food, I'd suggest getting into a "big box" store like Best Buy, Circuit City or something of the like. They have computer departments, and being retail, you can get in without too many hard and fast qualifications. By working with the technology every day, you'll get exposed to different facets that you wouldn't get elsewhere. You'll get questions about computers, networking and such that'll cement the book knowledge you're studying. Get it 40 hours a week and then do your studying at home. You might meet some folks who have their A+ already, and they might be able to help you out further. I guess the point here is, association is key. Once you become the "go to" guy in the big box store, move on to the next place and become the small fish in the sea again. Learn, improve and flourish!
 
crookedmidget said:
If you're looking to get a career kicked off without education, experience and certifications; and are contemplating fast food, I'd suggest getting into a "big box" store like Best Buy, Circuit City or something of the like. They have computer departments, and being retail, you can get in without too many hard and fast qualifications. By working with the technology every day, you'll get exposed to different facets that you wouldn't get elsewhere. You'll get questions about computers, networking and such that'll cement the book knowledge you're studying. Get it 40 hours a week and then do your studying at home. You might meet some folks who have their A+ already, and they might be able to help you out further. I guess the point here is, association is key. Once you become the "go to" guy in the big box store, move on to the next place and become the small fish in the sea again. Learn, improve and flourish!
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the Staples EasyTech station is a good area to get in as well. They don't require any certifications and you get a lot of hands-on experience that allows you to stay up-to-date with new technology with the retail experience. The pay is pretty reasonable. In Maryland, they make around $11/hr or so depending on experience as part-time employees. Full-time staff would obviously make more and make adjustments based on cost of living in your state.

Once you get your certifications cemented, find a good place that you can stand to start at the bottom and work your way up like crookedmidget said. I'd look for an entry-level government job or a government contracting job because those will be willing to sponsor security clearance (which is a HUGE plus in IT). If you feel still a little lost, contact recruiters at some of the companies you are interested in and ask what kinds of skills they look for in new hires. Staffing agencies would also be helpful since their money depends on getting other people a job.
 
Fast food is the only thing hiring people around my area. I do have some experience as a computer tech. I worked at a store called Computer South in Georgia before I moved to Oklahoma. It's very difficult to get any other type of job. I was hoping gaining certifications would assist me in obtaining a better job and might help me out in there future.
 
Bustaballs said:
Fast food is the only thing hiring people around my area.
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That's a bummer. Another thing to consider is getting into some of the ancelary fields like cabling, telcom, or ISP work. Starting on the bottom rung here might be harder than getting into fast food, but I can't stress enough the power of positive association. It will accelerate the processes needed to get certified & qualified. Some decent companies will even pay for your certifications if they see promise in you.

Not sure about your age, living arrangements or whatever. But if you're in an area that isn't condusive to your goals, maybe it's time to consider a move. I can tell you from personal experience; it's risky, it's hard and you'll be in for an uphill battle. I moved from my living with my parents to getting myself to Silicon Valley, landing with $52 in my pocket. I had a job that started the next day, but I knew no one, had no place to stay/live, but I made it work. It took me years to get on my feet properly (maybe next time I wouldn't move to such an expensive place, lol ), but that laid the foundation for what I'm doing today, which can be summed up in the two words "Dream Job".

You know what's best for you, I'm not saying that doing it my way is the way to go. But it can work if you're smart, lucky(IMHO, everything is helped by some good luck ;) ), willing to work hard and sacrifice everything in the short term while you're working for your long term goals.
 
Yeah, man. I wouldn't have a problem moving if I didn't have a kid. If I didn't have a kid, I would have been back in Georgia years ago. Perhaps I could have gone to Full Sail like I originally wanted to.
 
crookedmidget said:
If you're looking to get a career kicked off without education, experience and certifications; and are contemplating fast food, I'd suggest getting into a "big box" store like Best Buy, Circuit City or something of the like.
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Not much left is there? Circuit City liquidated it's stock and is closing doors for good. Breast Buy is no commission and (in Canada at least) I hear the wages there are not much higher than burger flippers.

My personal opinion, don't bother with A+ or Net+. Save the cash and do a CCNA course. Even if you can't afford the cert test, you should get some certificate from the school saying you completed/passed it which shows the employer that you didn't just sign up and fail.

CCNA can be had for less than $1000 up here. I have seen a lot of guys go from network idiots to fixing VLAN routing issues over the course of one month at a few nights a week. Even if you end up working for a company that has zero Cisco equipment, the CCNA criteria packs leagues of industry-standard info from subnet math to dot1q tagging (I think they even do QoS in the new CCNA). Plus if you do end up at a telco or cable company, they often deploy Cisco gear and you'll already have your foot in the door with IOS.

A proper IT admin would have a screw loose if they took an A+ Net+ certified candidate over someone with CCNA training. The latter has got to cover at least triple of Net+ material, and A+ knowledge is a lot more common nowadays. When I was looking for a related job after graduating, the only places I saw that demanded A+ were support techs working at Future Shop / Best Buy sort of places. The telcos and corporate entities wanted experience and/or Cisco training.
 
Beh, I really don't know what to recommend. When you're low on M1 and have a kid, options are very limited to say the least...

CCNA is nice and covers almost everything Net+ covers but it's very proprietary and landing a job with a Cisco partner, people who hire Cisco certified associates and above for equipment lease incentives, will be hard without prior experience on paper. (Cisco partners are more likely to take your certification seriously, and pay you accordingly DOE.)

Well... everything about CCNA, outside of the first few sections of CCENT is IOS based and includes only theory behind routing protocols. Even if you get the material down, it's very hard to pass the CCNA on the first, second or third attempt for that matter, if you're starting ground up, which is the OP's case. It takes a lot of dedication to remember all the topics and be able to apply them not just on the exam but in the real world. Usually on the test there are 10-15 lab type questions and you only have an average of 60-90 seconds to complete them each. Even some of the questions which are not lab type require you to work them out just as if they were. I walked in thinking I was the shit after hard study and taking several practice exams. I failed my CCNA (2004) and BCMSN (2006) on my first attempts at those examinations. Received CCNP after even more focus. Failing a certification test is embarrassing since the proctor gives you a weird look but it's a definite slap back to reality, however it's an experience I hope no one else has to go through, if you can help it...

I don't know Busta... all I can add about wages is when I used to be Services DM at Best Buy (Maryland), we paid Geek Squad techs $11/hour up to a cap of $14.50. These were 2006 figures when I migrated careers. I bring that up because it is significantly higher than minimum wage and that the position does not require any prerequisite skills. Regardless of all the smack I was talking about A+ and Net+, those certifications will, to some degree, actually help you out here since most Services and General Managers only recognize those certifications. All you have to do is make friends with a few of the techs there and you're guaranteed to be hired via word of mouth. Sadly, that's just the way it is with Best Buy's hiring process (outside of the normal one). Or hell get yourself a blue shirt floor position and move up to the Geek Squad Service Counter. Even floor sales makes $8.75/hour+ (2006), possibly higher today since they usually conform to ~$2.00 over minimum wage for all their floor employees. I remember there was a guy there in a similar position you were in, one of the stores initially hired him at $8.50 for the floor. His sales killed. After a year we made a special approval that slapped him at the service counter at wage cap after he requested a private meeting for his career plans. It was clear he was all in it for the company and his starting family at his young age. Another young woman (26 years old) was a single mother. Started as default initial rate, after 6 months and explaining her situation and having an excellent sales record, they promoted her to appliances senior and we approved her over salary cap. They really do look at performance and reward you accordingly. (Can't say the same for you cashiers, I guess you better sell more magazines.)

If you're really starting from zip, as much as I hate the company, Best Buy is really a good place to build a career. $15/hour + for senior positions and $48,000+ base salary for Magnolia Sales (the guys in the Magnolia room behind most money area Best Buys) are just what you can expect, which on average isn't bad at all for no degree and experience.

The options I'm stating are early family friendly and geared towards the starting IT field.
I really hope you find an option you are happy and successful with. Try not to jump the gun and pay for it the hard way like I did.

Wish you the best.
 
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Bustaballs said:
Yeah, man. I wouldn't have a problem moving if I didn't have a kid. If I didn't have a kid, I would have been back in Georgia years ago. Perhaps I could have gone to Full Sail like I originally wanted to.
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That is one thing I didn't have to contend with. I can't really offer any advise here, since I haven't walked a mile in those moccasins.

There are lots of options suggested here, but when you're tied to one area, it seems like it's all about grabbing the best opportunity and running with it. Jump for the highest rung on the sturdiest ladder you can find.... And climb.
 
Bustaballs said:
Yeah, man. I wouldn't have a problem moving if I didn't have a kid. If I didn't have a kid, I would have been back in Georgia years ago. Perhaps I could have gone to Full Sail like I originally wanted to.
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I have two, so I can relate to your predicament. When I found out number two was on the way, I got kinda lucky and snagged a job at a call center with little/no experience in what I was asked to do. In the Baltimore area, there are at least 10 call centers I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm not sure how many there are near you. Call centers aren't all that bad as long as you aren't doing something crappy like collections. You just have to stay focused and try to enjoy what you do even though you know you won't be doing it forever. Call centers all have IT departments, and like with any company, you have to pay your dues, but they may be willing to let you slide on some of the education needed when trying to transition into IT.
 
Bustaballs said:
Yeah, man. I wouldn't have a problem moving if I didn't have a kid. If I didn't have a kid, I would have been back in Georgia years ago. Perhaps I could have gone to Full Sail like I originally wanted to.
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If you're in Oklahoma and want to work in the tech field you owe it to yourself, really, to just go ahead and move to Texas. It's not as big a step as headin' all the way back East and it has a much, much better job pool than probably both areas combined. Not to mention the schools here are much better for your kiddo. I'm not sure where in Oklahoma you are but just movin' to a place like, eh, Sherman, TX puts you in a good range for hundreds of thousands of jobs. I mention Sherman because it basically borders OK as does Gainsville, which would be the route to take if you prefer the Fort Worth job market to the Dallas one, I'd take the Dallas route though. Just off the top of my head I can think of Texas Instruments, Ratheyon, and Nortel who have a lot goin' on around here. TI goes through a round of lay-offs ever so often but ever since Ratheyon downsized and stopped doin' less military work, about 5-6 years ago, I haven't heard anything mentioned on them about lay-offs and the sort, granted I don't scour the web for info on them though. Nortel is the more uppidy-up, you never hear any negative from their side, but I'm almost sure they'd require high training, experience, or a college degree.
 
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