best method of getting A+ certified?

[RBS]

well before heading off to college, i was thinking of getting A+ certified first for that nice jumpstart of my career...


quick and simple, what is the best route to take to get it? :ninja:

[91LudeSiT]

A+ wasn't worth the time and money IMO, I have an associates in CS and I am finishing my bachelors. But the best way is to get the book, study it and take the practice tests. There is a lot of material to cover and the test is adaptive.

[neonphenom3]

DITTO. A+ just isnt worth the money anymore but if you must have an easy cert. I would say go for Security+. It also depends on what your concentration in IT will be...cause the Cisco and SAP certs are hot as well.

[jorgen]

Security+ was by NO means easy.
Take a few practice tests.
A+ is a piece of cake.

[Maki]

A+ now a days means you can put a PC together, Granted it counts as 9 Months field experience but CCNA FTW!!. Try Security+, Linux+, CCNA, or MCP

[Vteckidd]

Security+ and mcp are far more valuable IMO

[Maki]

Security+ and mcp are far more valuable IMO
very true......


What are you trying to do as a career? What concentration? Networking, security, pc repair, IT????

[jorgen]

For what?
I got A+, Net+, MCP (XP), MCSA Server 2003 and Security+.
I have no idea how valuable these are.
They are not worth much for me now.
I am really hoping now that I have a job using them they may be worth something in a few years.

[Vteckidd]

depends what area of the field you want to go into. Either the Tech side or Customer Service side or management.

Im pretty much taking Security+ and MCP just to get familiar with the vocabulary. Ive already taken ITIL 3.0 and thats what im going to focus on so i can get management

[wazzyatl]

really depends on what you are looking for.. i have an aquantance that has his a+ but he didnt make really that much money.... anything with security, networking with Cisco or microsoft and youve got it made!

[cobalt9123]

He seems like he wants something to get certified in before starting college. And an A+ certification is a great idea for something like this. It's a pretty easy test. Get a book off of Amazon and make sure it's for the 2009 tests, not the 2006 ones.
The certification won't get you money...very little if any. But it will deepen your knowledge in the assembly and regular maintenance of computers.
I don't even know if I would bother with getting "certified" for the A+, but I WOULD suggest learning the material for the A+ if you don't have any prior background. It will help down the road and it is at least more structured than you designing a learning plan for yourself about basic computer hardware/OS's/maintenance.

[Maki]

He is right, if you have no background or experience it could mean getting an interview or not, its more of a foot in the door than anything if you look at it like that. They dont know what u actually know but they can see what is on a resume. it also counts as 9 months field experience if that helps.

[RBS]

thanks for all the info guys, if anymore feedback feel free to submit!

[cr0w21]

I did the same thing your thinking of, I got certified in A+, then Network+, then I went the microsoft track. MCP, MCSA and MCSE. I then got CCNA and Cisco SMB certified. I got a job taking care of small and medium business while getting certified for these and that gave me all the experience I needed. Now I'm working at GaTech in IT and they're paying for my college :)

[cr0w21]

Oh and if you want good software for taking the test, look around for pass4sure practice test...they're identical to the exams....