IT Strut - Any of ya'll ever taken the A+ exam?

JectWon

So, I know the exam isn't any real measure of IT knowledge/ability but my work is paying for it and it helps me get into some more fun departments within the company.

Anyways, I took an online course courtesy of my employer and I'm about to take the actual two part exam. I was wondering if anyone had any advice. I've taken a grip of practice quizzes and exams via this course but I just realized I really haven't talked to anyone about what to expect.

Also, has anyone taken the Networking+ exam that compTia also offers?

Thanks.

cookbook

i'm not A+ certed, but i have a handful of MS certs. you did the right thing... take tons of practice exams. good luck!

SPlDEY

A+ isn't so difficult.

I studied for it by going to Borders, and grabbing one of those big books, and writing down everything I didn't know. Every day for a week until I had the book memorized. I also had 5 years of computer experience before I took it though.

- spidey

JectWon

Sweet that's what I figured. Also, whatsup with those MS cert's? I head if you rack up enough of them (or the significant ones) you can get some pretty sweet contract gig's. Any truth to that?

cookbook

JectWon said:

Sweet that's what I figured. Also, whatsup with those MS cert's? I head if you rack up enough of them (or the significant ones) you can get some pretty sweet contract gig's. Any truth to that?

that is what i have herad as well. there are tons of them, and ive only begun to scratch the surface.

JectWon

cookbook said:

JectWon said:

Sweet that's what I figured. Also, whatsup with those MS cert's? I head if you rack up enough of them (or the significant ones) you can get some pretty sweet contract gig's. Any truth to that?

that is what i have herad as well. there are tons of them, and ive only begun to scratch the surface.

Cool...well if you don't mind I might hit you up every so often to get your take on them. I think after I get N+ I'll start getting some MS certs.

Agent45

A+ and N+ are pretty much the first two certification steps anyone should take. Where you go after that depends on where you are and where you want to be. But getting those two out of the way will help you with prerequisites needed for some M$ certifications. Even better if your employer will pay for 'em!

cookbook

JectWon said:

cookbook said:

JectWon said:

Sweet that's what I figured. Also, whatsup with those MS cert's? I head if you rack up enough of them (or the significant ones) you can get some pretty sweet contract gig's. Any truth to that?

that is what i have herad as well. there are tons of them, and ive only begun to scratch the surface.

Cool...well if you don't mind I might hit you up every so often to get your take on them. I think after I get N+ I'll start getting some MS certs.

no problem, let me know, i think i have some pirated study materials as well. a friend dumped them on me, and i figured why not get a few certs.

JectWon

Agent45 said:

A+ and N+ are pretty much the first two certification steps anyone should take. Where you go after that depends on where you are and where you want to be. But getting those two out of the way will help you with prerequisites needed for some M$ certifications. Even better if your employer will pay for 'em!

Yeah the fact that all this is paid for is pretty mcuh the main reason I work here....everything IT related is totally comped...doesn't come out of paycheck at all....unless you fail.

Jimster

I have sat a bunch of these but not for a while - bascially not since going IT contractor and having to pay for them myself (which costs me a week's pay in time off before I even start). I just can't afford it these days as contractor rates are down on what they were.

But last one I did was for Project Manager accreditation (Prince 2 Practitioner) which was a hard exam - this is chess not checkers and was 4 hours of solid, fast, writing. Worth having though.

The multiple choice ones you can pass by memorising brain-dumps and I'll throw you this bone:
http://www.examcollection.com/

:necessary:

neil_something

Speaking of IT, I'm currently in PHP hell trying to set up a bare bones dynamic site...

Can't figure out how to get my navigation links to work by using just two pages - I know it's going to be a for loop or switch, but just can't figure out how to change an SQL query and page title using variables that will then change the content on each page.

Jimster

You constantly find that the best solutions are the ones that make no logical sense but make use of every glitch and "Feature" of the given platform. And the curve is always a couple of years to learn all these glitches and features. Then another couple of years to discover why the stuff that should work won't work.

Then there's 10,000 geezers in India who will do it quicker for 1% of your wages. Coding has become too much of a ball-ache.

JectWon

J i m s t e r said:

http://www.examcollection.com/

:necessary:

Jimster....thank you....thank you....thank you.
:holygrail:

I have a feeling this site will become my best friend.

Jimster

NP dude. I find memorising Q/A's easy. Ideal for the multiple choice exams. Bang, Bang, Bang, out of the room in 10 minutes. But remember these just train you to the pass the exam and don't teach you anything about the subject itself. If that's all you want; if having the paper opens a door to an interview etc. these are perfect.

Always backup knowledge of How with knowledge of Why. A man who only knows How will always work for a man who knows Why.

JectWon

J i m s t e r said:

NP dude. I find memorising Q/A's easy. Ideal for the multiple choice exams. Bang, Bang, Bang, out of the room in 10 minutes. But remember these just train you to the pass the exam and don't teach you anything about the subject itself. If that's all you want; if having the paper opens a door to an interview etc. these are perfect.

Always backup knowledge of How with knowledge of Why. A man who only knows How will always work for a man who knows Why.

Yeah good advice. I keep telling myself that as well. I am totally aware that these exams are a bit monkey see monkey do type mindless memory. Max transfer rate of this and then max transfer rate of this2.0 etc. Lots of mindless shit involved in these exams with little to no explanation of why. For example, right now I'm going through a lecture online about APIPA and how to see if it's being used or not on your computer....but absolutely no explanation as to why you'd want it "on" or "off" aside from having it (edit) on allows your computer to communicate on the network off the rip. This test makes me learn every single bit of pathing to do this or that at the command level or via GUI but never tells you why the hell it is relevant.

Basically I have a lot to learn.

But thanks again for the advice and the link. I'm currently hunting down a free VCE file viewer.

SPlDEY

J i m s t e r said:

You constantly find that the best solutions are the ones that make no logical sense but make use of every glitch and "Feature" of the given platform. And the curve is always a couple of years to learn all these glitches and features. Then another couple of years to discover why the stuff that should work won't work.

I guess a need to make sense is relative really. Kind of like arguing with a woman. The thing is about IT.. Everybody loves to watch the Magician, because they can't explain the illusion.

I got into the computer game, cause back in highschool i liked abusing the schools Mac room for nefarious shit. Simple shit really. Getting answers, Snooping, Installing Quake to the server so I could play it in every classroom when I'm bored. I'm really good at backwards engineering shit.. and getting into places I'm not supposed to be. Figuring out how things are made, and jumping off of other peoples small ideas, and flipping them in better ways.

To this day, I could really give a shit about computers.. or the technology behind anything really.. It's all boring as shit. I realized most of the other dudes were getting into IT cause they were fat, and honestly didn't want to move around too much.

Now, I do it professionally, and shit hasn't changed much really..

- spidey

JectWon

Just crushed both parts of the A+ Cert. Thanks, Jimster and everyone else for the advice. I never did get a VCE file viewer so I'm yet to take advantage of that amazing site but I have a feeling it will come in handy down the road.

Next up N+...

Thanks again, Strut.