A+ Certification

I was wondering if there was anything I should be aware of about the A+ test. I think the current test is the 220-221 and the 220-222 for the Hardware and OS Technologies respectively. I haven't heard much about the politics with A+, but I think the 2003 versions are coming soon (Q4 2003/Q1 2004) and Linear mode testing will start in September 19, 2003 I believe. Linear mode means non-adaptive.

I have a fairly old A+ certification book made by Syngress & Osborne from 2001. Windows 9x, NT and 2000 are covered in the OS portion, however Windows XP was not created when this book was made. That doesn't really bother me too much since Windows XP and 2000 are so similar.

Is Windows 9x really still tested or has Windows NT based operating systems taken over the OS portion of the test? I hope my book isn't too outdated :(.

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Certifications: CCNA
Working on: A+ then Network+ preferbly before mid-September
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Originally posted by jagojago12
[B]I was wondering if there was anything I should be aware of about the A+ test. I think the current test is the 220-221 and the 220-222 for the Hardware and OS Technologies respectively. I haven't heard much about the politics with A+, but I think the 2003 versions are coming soon (Q4 2003/Q1 2004) and Linear mode testing will start in September 19, 2003 I believe. Linear mode means non-adaptive.

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Do they still do Dos, IRQ's and windows 3.1? That was most of the test I believe back in 1997 :)

Eric

a friend took it this last year and said it was mostly monitors printers and crap, at this point if they didn't they should phase out dos, i would have taken the test but i never got the voucher from the comptia class i took, funny thing is, im going to a tech school and it's required to graduate, so i just plan on doing a big brain dump and taking it as soon as i can, since if i do take it before or during the class, i get an automatic 6 credits and don't have to go to the class anymore. also the test is adaptive, you answer a question, if your correct you get a harder one, if you get it wrong, you get an easier one, my friend only had like 20 questions and passed, also, Trav2003 might know more since he took it also.

I wouldn't invenst too much time on the A+ test. It's way too low level for most people. I read your posts all the time, you could pass the test without studying for it. I hire computer technicians all the time and at the level I have been hiring lately, a recent A+ is actually a negative. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago when the computer business was in full bloom this had some value, then there were jobs for A+ certified technicains but now I see it as unnecseary. No company fixes hardware, its sent out for warranty, and everybody needs to know DOS.

pugdog13 is right. Unfortunately everyone really does need to know "dos" even though I HATE it. It gives you a good foundation for
typing path and switch commands. Without it your screwed...;)

Stick with the Cisco path. We have come full circle in the computing world. We are now headed back to distributed computing - Citrix style connections on dumb terminals. Desktops are problematic pigs tat cause more trouble than they are worth.

In the end there will always be:

1. Security, Security, Security - enough said

2. Routing and Switching - the telephone companied have this mastered

3. Data Bases - erveyone needs their data handed to them how they like it!

4. Desktop Support - people want to feel important when at work

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Originally posted by pugdog13
I wouldn't invenst too much time on the A+ test. It's way too low level for most people. I read your posts all the time, you could pass the test without studying for it. I hire computer technicians all the time and at the level I have been hiring lately, a recent A+ is actually a negative. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago when the computer business was in full bloom this had some value, then there were jobs for A+ certified technicains but now I see it as unnecseary. No company fixes hardware, its sent out for warranty, and everybody needs to know DOS.

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Thanks for the kind words :).

So you think it will actually hurt to have an extra certification? I know A+ isn't very prestigious, but it shouldn't hurt can it? About 2 years back I wanted to get the A+ certification, then I switched my priority to Cisco. Now that my CCNA is finished, I was thinking of finally finishing the A+ exam, as a result of the wait my book is slightly outdated now :(.

What's your opinion of Network+?

pug, you might want to tell all the companies who look for A+ cert people that it's not important then. i still hear that many companies will take an A+ cert person with an AAS compared to someone with a BS and no A+

If you think that you can sit the exam straight off (which you should really, with no extra work), then sure go ahead and do it. If it's going to take you some work beforehand then I'd pass. Pursue your Cisco further. More and more people are getting their CCNA nowadays so in order to differenciate yourself you need to take the next step and get your CCNP, while aiming to get your CCIE. The learning centre at which I work will be offering CCNA courses free of charge from September. We considered offering A+ but decided against it in favour of the CCNA.

Oh yeah, I'll definetly pursue Cisco furthur. I have about 1.5 months before College starts for me so I'm not ready to start my CCNP yet. I'm thinking that I can try to get A+ and/or Network+ rather quickly before I'm bogged down by College & work.

when I took it...there was absolutely nothing on irq's or basically anything related to fixing a computer...I found a lot of the test was basically "how many pins are on..." or "to get to this setting in windows you click..." there may have been one or two dos questions but I can't remember if there are any...I took it about 4 (I think?) months ago too...I barely passed because everything that I studied for wasn't even on the test...

*EDIT* also some of the wording on the test sucks and a lot of terms that we use here will be called something different on the test...

I'm also thinking of getting my A+ and Net+ out of the way before getting into some college courses in a few months, right after I finish up my MCSE. I'm already in the IT field, I'd just like to have the extra certs to put on my resume. I've studied for them somewhat, but it's all felt more like a review than really studying(hopefully that's a good sign). If you do take the tests let us know how they are.

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Originally posted by pugdog13
I wouldn't invenst too much time on the A+ test. It's way too low level for most people. I read your posts all the time, you could pass the test without studying for it. I hire computer technicians all the time and at the level I have been hiring lately, a recent A+ is actually a negative. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago when the computer business was in full bloom this had some value, then there were jobs for A+ certified technicains but now I see it as unnecseary. No company fixes hardware, its sent out for warranty, and everybody needs to know DOS.

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:eek: A negative? Why would it be even worse if the person had shown they have the knowledge covered in A+?? Sure you send out hardware under warranty, but A+ isn't about fixing hard drives, it's about troubleshooting and identifying problems. Half of the test is software...

I've been wanting to get my A+ out of the way before they add in Windows ME and Windows XP, among other things, to the test. I haven't been studying and unless I can do a huge cram session, I might not get it before Fall.

I think A+ still has some relevance today. Not as much as a few years ago but it's a good starting point. I'm personally going to get A+, Network+ and a computer security cert. I think that last one is what businesses will be looking for more than anything.

Well, I finally took the A+ exam the final day on September 11, 2003 before CompTIA switched to linear mode (linear means no more adapative).

The test was not challenging at all and very expensive at $290 (Compared to the regular price of $125 for a Cisco CCNA) for both tests without the use of any discounts. Anyone who has been tinkering around with computers should be able to pass this without much problem.

This is how I look at it: If you are able to use a computer and sign onto something such as AOL and maybe know enough to install a video card, you might be able to pass ;). I'm adding a little satire to that description, but the A+ really does not require much knowledge at all. All you need is a 46% to pass and I'm sure someone with minimal computer knowledge can achieve that, if after a few tests and some lucky guessing. A+ won't do much for you nowadays; you will be most likely limited to local computer shop jobs or working at Best Buy's computer technician team.